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Second chance interview?

Hello all,

 

I participated in a round 0 case interview with McKinsey and it didn’t go particularly well.  However, the recruiter said I could try again within a 6 month time frame if I wanted too, providing that I prepared to the best of my abilities.  I guess I’m surprised that a second chance is even available- is this common procedure?  I haven’t decided if Ill give it another shot: I did put time into initial preparation but my mistake was that I did not practice with a partner because I was too nervous to ask anyone online.  As a result I screwed up what should’ve been an easy quantitative problem due to pressure and time constraints.

 

Anyways, please leave a comment if you know anything about these second chances or the thought process behind them!

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Top answer
Lucie
Coach
on Apr 19, 2022
10+yrs recruiting & BCG Project leader

Hi Chip, 

it looks to me you werent really prepared for the 1st recruiting process nor you are super certain about the new one. 

I would  recommend taking time to understand well how the process works and what are the steps you will need to take and how to best prepare for that. 

From my coach experience I would recommend you:

1. familiar yourself with the type of cases you can get https://www.preplounge.com/en/bootcamp.php and check cases published on PrepLounge

2. Practice math!

3. Dont learn any framework by hard, understand rather how to structure a problem and form a hypothesis to prove/disprove with an analysis

4. Practice with peers and take a few sessions with a coach

Feel free to reach out if you need a coach to support you, I am rewarded as a top BCG trainer, training new hires all the consulting skills (including how we create frameworks), as well as experienced coach. 

Good luck!

Lucie

Was my answer helpful?

on Apr 18, 2022
#1 rated McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

Of course there are second changes. There are also third chances and more :) 

There's usually a freeze of 6 months or a year (depending on firm / location) but after that you can apply again. 

The important thing is that you know understand what you should've done differently and can put that into practice. Also, I'd recommend you apply to several firms in order to maximise your chances. 

Florian
Coach
on Apr 19, 2022
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 600+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hey there,

The usual application ban for McKinsey is actually 12 to 24 months. 6 months are offered to applicants who showed a strong performance, yet interviewers were not fully convinced.

Based on that you should definitely re-apply.

My recommendations on your resume:

Improve in 2 of the following 4 areas

  • Academic records
  • Work experience
  • Time spent abroad
  • Extracurriculars

My recommendations for your case prep:

  • Work on your perceived weaknesses so that you do not have to worry about them anymore (e.g., math under pressure in your case). This is the baseline you need to cover for the case as a whole.
  • Work on your strengths to create the spikes that make interviews want to hire you. This is the element that differentiates good candidates from candidates who actually receive an offer

Check out the two articles I wrote on the McKinsey interviews to guide your prep:

Cheers,

Florian

Ian
Coach
on Apr 19, 2022
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

First of all, this is good news!

Ultimately it can be because they saw something in you that they liked (and felt you were unprepared) and/or they have high demand.

Also, honestly of course you failed! It's almost impossible to succeed if you don't practice live. Next time around please please find partners and case (aim for 20 live cases or more!).

If you're shy/nervous, then get a coach! I help a lot of candidates get more comfortable with their first case (we do a “start-stop” case) so that they can go out and start swimming :)

Paul
Coach
on Apr 18, 2022
PL-level BCG experience (6 years)|Interviewer at BCG| 6/6 personal + 95%+ candidates offer success rate

Agree w/ other experts - “second chances” are common in big-3 interview processes (some after “freeze” period).

- An additional variable that strongly influence amount of “second chances” is supply/demand equilibrium in the single consulting firm office: e.g. if office XYZ has a huge lack of e.g. associates they could be a bit more flexible with freezing periods 

Hope this helps.

Ken
Coach
on Apr 19, 2022
Ex-McKinsey final round interviewer | Executive Coach

It's quite simple where the read from the recruiter is that you have a good profile but you weren't ready for the interview process.  Their role is to be a filter to ensure candidates are sufficiently prepared.  If you are still interested, I would practice (with partners this time) and have another try.  You should be doing so for the actual interview preparation either way and so there's not wasted effort going in!

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