Repeating Fit Interview Stories

There are several great questions questions in this post. Let’s start with establishing what interviewers are given before the interview, what overlaps exists between interviews and what interviewers discuss after the interviews are completed. 

Before the interview, interviewers:

• Receive your resume and any notes from the resume screeners
• Receive any feedback from recruiters from on/off campus interactions (e.g., firm presentations, case preparation sessions)
• Choose a case from the active case library that unique from the other interviewers they are paired with for the day to avoid “case overlap”
• Are rarely assigned a “fit interview” question, but rather choose their own. They may, however, be assigned a “fit interview area” (e.g., leadership, drive/achieving, etc..) to probe

Overlaps that may exist

• Background walk through
• Why consulting
• Why MBB
• Fit question

After the interview, interviewers:

• Make the “case for” and make the “case against” (different interviewers do each)
• Discuss each portion of the candidate’s interview. So, stories told multiple times will get a reaction like, “Yeah, she told me that story too. It was interesting but…”
• Come to a consensus agreement whether to extend an offer to the candidate.

So, to answer your specific questions:

“Also, are the interviews coordinated amongst the interviewers such that after all interviews they circle back with each other to get a complete picture of fit that covers all the dimensions of fit?”
Yes, there is an in-person meeting with all interviewers to discuss the candidate and compare interviewer notes.

Alternatively, will I ever get two interviewers asking about a leadership example? 
Yes, it’s definitely possible.

If yes, is it advisable to repeat the story or do I need another story?
Do NOT repeat the same exact story. If you have a way of telling the same story with an entirely different spin, then that’s fine. But, it needs to have a 180-degree spin on it.

NOTE: The degree of discussion and comparision after the interviewers is probably 5x more during final rounds versus first rounds.

Hi!

If you have time I would recommend to have 1-2 backup stories per question for the following reasons:

1. "This story does not fit. Do you have another story?" - an interviewer can easily say something like this if he is not convinced that your story is good enough or the story does not fit his criteria for some reason.
2. It is essential for you to prepare at least three stories for each area so that in case you get the same question by a couple of interviewers you are not telling the same story. I personally had 3 interviewers asking me exactly the same story. Originally the three of your interviewers are supposed to ask the different questions. In reality, interviewers don't often have a chance to meet before the interview, and sometimes they are urgently replaced by the colleagues. Of course, you can use the same story, but it is much better to demonstrate a diverse experience.
3. Finally, the interviewer may ask you the questions you didn't even expect. It's always good to have some backup stories and adapt them to answer those unexpected questions.

Good luck!

You should definitely provide a different example!

If an interviewer in Round 2 asks a similar "experience question" as in Round 1, chances are that they were not entirely satisfied with the example you provided earlier and want to probe deeper on one or two sub-aspects.

So what I am usually working out with my coachees are different examples per topic that might be under scrutiny during the fit/experience part of the interview.

Cheers, Sidi

Hi Anonymous,

Matthew gave a great overview of the sharing process inside the firm; in terms of your main question, I would suggest to use different stories for each question, as you may lose points repeating them, in particular if the question is exactly the same.

If the fit story you are mentioning can be divided in non-overlapping parts, so that it sounds like two different stories, then that’s something you could use; however, it would probably be simpler to use a different example, as it would be difficult to avoid any overlap. As a rule of thumb, you can consider whether it would be appropriate to use a specific answer assuming the interviewer is always the same person in the various interviews, as, given they will share the information, that would be a comparable situation.

Best,

Francesco

Hey anonymous,

Definitely do not repeat stories between different rounds of interviews (or even within the same round), regardless of the time elapsed between them! Interviewers share feedback, and they will for sure notice that.

Best

Bruno

Hi,

At least at McKinsey interviewers do not share the results of the previous round and they don't share the stories you've told them. So I would not be concerned about repeating the stories between the rounds.

However, I recommend to always have at least one backup story per question for the following reasons:

1. "This story does not fit. Do you have another story?" - an interviewer can easily say something like this if he is not convinced that your story is good enough or the story does not fit his criteria for some reason.
2. It is essential for you to prepare at least three stories for each area so that in case you get the same question by a couple of interviewers in the same round you are not telling the same story. I personally had 3 interviewers asking me exactly the same story. Originally the three of your interviewers are supposed to ask the different questions. In reality, interviewers don't often have a chance to meet before the interview, and sometimes they are urgently replaced by the colleagues. Of course, you can use the same story, but it is much better to demonstrate a diverse experience.
3. Finally, the interviewer may ask you the questions you didn't even expect. It's always good to have some backup stories and adapt them to answer those unexpected questions.

Good luck!

Hi Anonymous,

non-overlapping stories usually work better. The reason is that:

• using the same story twice although from a different angle could lead you to “force” a story not perfectly fitting the request
• interviewers will align after the interview, thus using the same story could bring the perception of not enough experience/coverage of relevant fit areas

If you really have to reuse the same story, it should then have to appear as coming from a completely different angle.

Hope this helps,
Francesco

Hi there!

In principle - i.e. if you have the opportunity to do so - it's definitely better to use different, non-overlapping examples. By using different examples you also implicitly communicate to the interviewers that you have a range of experience under you belt from which you can choose from, instead of needing to stick to 1 single underlying situation.

That being said - quality always comes first. If you feel that this one underlying situation makes a clearly superior example compared to all other options you have for a certain PEI dimension, than I would still recommend using the same underlying situation with a different focus for the respective PEI dimension.

In respect to "re-using" examples across different interview rounds, you can find a detailed blog post on my McKinsey PEI Blog (http://mckinsey-pei-blog.consulting-case-interviews.com/can-i-use-the-same-pei-example-in-different-interviews/)

Hope that helps!

Hi!

I would recommend to have 2 stories per question that are rather different for the following reasons:

1. "This story does not fit. Do you have another story?" - an interviewer can easily say something like this if he is not convinced that your story is good enough or the story does not fit his criteria for some reason.
2. It is essential for you to prepare at least three stories for each area so that in case you get the same question by a couple of interviewers you are not telling the same story. I personally had 3 interviewers asking me exactly the same story. Originally the three of your interviewers are supposed to ask the different questions. In reality, interviewers don't often have a chance to meet before the interview, and sometimes they are urgently replaced by the colleagues. Of course, you can use the same story, but it is much better to demonstrate a diverse experience.
3. Finally, the interviewer may ask you the questions you didn't even expect. It's always good to have some backup stories and adapt them to answer those unexpected questions.

Good luck!

Hello!

On top of the insights already shared in the post, next week will be pusblished in PrepLounge´s Shop material related. 

In concrete, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB". It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally,  as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Hope you find it useful!

Dear A,

If you didn't manage to lead the team in the past in your professional career, then try to remember some examples that you show in your private life. You can also apply it. 
 

Good luck,

 André 

Repeating the fit stories in the second round of interviews is ok, but if you know for sure that they are excellent. In this case, you can keep them for the next round.

Also, I would recommend having another stories, in case something will go in a way you don't expect.

Having a broad experience in preparing candidates specifically for the final round, I have to add that candidates need to be extra prepared. Especially for question formats that they have not encountered in earlier rounds viz.

If you need any further help or advice with preparation, feel free to reach out.

Cheers,
GB

Repeating stories is OK if several of your interviewers asked for the same skill, but try to have sufficient stories to chose between several of them. Having 3-4 stories for each skill (they can overlap to a certain extend) gives you the comfort of not having to repeat one.