Should I defer McK 1st round after not passing BCG??

Hello!

Thanks for the very detailed post, this always helps. 

It´s honestly very very hard to tell you without knowing where you stand. You could be “almost” there, in which case working with a coach and buying some time would be extremly beneficial, or you can be perfectly ready, in which it would be redundant and expensive. And both can very well fit with a person who passed 1st round but then unfrotunately not 2nd round. 

Given that the stakes are really high here, I would perhaps consider doing a session with one coach to get their assessment and, more importantly, so you see how much value to get out. I got some coachees who then realized that they needed only one/two sessions, and others who saw incredible value yet missing in their prep and continued. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi there,

I would not defer just to get the feedback from BCG – the feedback they give is usually quite generic.

However, there are benefits in postponing the interview if you don’t feel ready now, which is why I would recommend doing so:

1. You will have more time to identify the possible issues. This is the main and most clear advantage. You may do so thanks to experienced peers, current consultants or a coach.
2. You could more easily feel you have done 100% of what you could do to prepare, regardless of the outcome. This could help you to feel “psychologically ready” and more confident for the interview. It depends on your current mindset, but you may feel you have to review parts of your prep in specific areas or do a few additional cases to be ready for McK. If that’s the case, postponing could help you to feel you have done everything in your control to be in the best possible shape for the interview, which is an important confidence booster. 
3. There are no real downsides if you postpone. Deferring the interview is totally fine and you don’t get any penalty (although ideally you should do so at least 1 week in advance to help the company to reschedule). The only possible “cost” is if you work with a coach, pay for the class and get rejected. However that won’t be wasted money, as you are planning to get a coach in any case – so basically you would anticipate an investment you would make anyway. You should be able to use most of the feedback from the coach in subsequent interviews even if later on, in particular if he/she provides written feedback.

As a side note, if you reached the final round you should have already a good level. You may not need a high amount of practice to fix the possible improvements once understood the areas you have to work on.

For other questions please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

A coach will help guide your decision but ultimately the desire to interview has to come from within. The best candidates have a burning desire to get the offer and are willing to overcome all obstacles to do so. If you are able to dedicate your energy and time to get the offer by all means do so right now. If not then postpone to when you feel ready.

With 30 cases practice, I dont see why you should postpone the McK interview. An opportunity at hand today may not arise in future and given McK shortlisted you, you clearly have what it takes. Rejection is part of the process and pretty much everyone faces it. Dont let the BCG rejection, make you question everything. Learn from it and move on. It happens.

Suggest you work with a coach and zoom into your weaker areas and go for the McK interview. Seems like a lot is going to happen in your life in future, so holding out for future interview performance doesnt seem right to me at this stage.

Only if you truly genuinely feel within you that your case prep needs major improvement, then postpone it by a month. Otherwise, not.

Please have a look at this article for some very helpful tips on mindset and managing interview anxiety-https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/job-interview-stress

All the best!

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about your not successful experience with BCG!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it.

Given the description of your current situation, I would advise you to postpone the McKinsey interviews for the following reasons:

• You will have sufficient time to receive and reflect on the BCG feedback (even if I think it will not help you a lot).
• You will have time to overcome your rejection with BCG emotionally (which is something you should not underestimate).
• You will have more time to practice (even if you will most probably not need a lot of practice, it is still meaningful to get used to the slightly different type of interviews with McKinsey).

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your upcoming McKinsey interviews, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Given what you said, it feels like you are not far away from being prepared, it feels like a waste not going to the interview - but it is also clear that you don't feel 100% ready yet.

As you are considering a coach, I have to agree with Ian on this - just book a session from an experienced coach and get their opinion (and a training plan). It could have been bad luck, a minor issue that is easy to fix, ot it can be something that actually requires relevant preparation - only a coach will be able to give you a really informed opinion.

Hi there,

I note that both options 1 and 2 include a coach.

If you're going the coaching route, then, honestly, your best bet is to literally ask your coach!

First session should be a deep-dive assessment (mock case). They will tell you if you're ready, and, if not, how close you are. Problem solved!

Hi Anonymous A, 

It does seem like quite a conundrum, and I certainly empathize having been in a similar situation applying to MBB several years ago; timing the interview rounds to get a yes/no offer from all 3 at the same time is certainly not for the faint of heart!

Short answer I would try to defer the scheduled McK interview until you get the feedback from the BCG 2nd round interview. Feedback usually should be given within a month of the interview outcome (I got mine either on the spot or within 2 weeks from all 3 firms), so moving the McK interview shouldn’t be a problem here. Getting feedback from an actual MBB interview is almost always better than any other forms of feedback so I suggest rescheduling to get and work on the BCG interview feedback. 

Having said that, all is not lost if you go ahead and get rejected by McK. I have several ex-colleagues and friends who applied as working professionals and got thru only on the 2nd or 3rd try, and are equally successful within and outside the Firm. It requires perseverance and resilience, which you will need plenty of when you join any of the MBB firms. As they say, a top tier consulting job is “more than a job but less than a life :)”.

I’m suggesting the above based on my understanding that you are probably in the final year of an UG/MBA/Masters/PHD program. DM me if you have further questions or clarifications.