should I give up a promising lead to wait for Mckinsey interviews outcome?

Question

Updated 11/10

I passed Mckinsey round 1 :) i've got very good feedbacks basically i just need to calm down when math is cracking nerves and do not hesitate to ask for more time to think…

They came back to me after my email explaining my situation…

The game is back on

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Dear Community

I'm in sort of a predicament and would love to hear your opinions.

I had my first round of interviews with Mckinsey for an associate role in PEPI practice last Friday (Paris office), the first case was a disaster but the second case + both of the PEI were quite good. I spent the weekend feeling may this is it, my journey with Mckinsey ended here, especially after reading many comments saying one imperfect case kills your chances here on preplounge. (but deep down not totally gave up hope you know)

The thing is, my other lead progressed very well, it's also in the Private Equity space, but it's an Investor Relations manager role, the work itself is not exciting at all, and they say once in IR you can never go back to Investment. But the fund is growing exponentially in the past two years & will continue so in foreseeable future,so this role is expected to evolve quickly into the fundraising/business dev space, with more client facing kind of work. Money is very good, much better than Mckinsey. The shop enjoys high prestige in Paris as well.

They pressed me to go to the last interview with the person I'm going to replace- (this Friday!!), and I know that they will rush me to make a decision.

But I have no news about my Mckinsey interviews… I tried to call the recruiter but she is not available.

In a scenario where I have passed the 3rd interview with the PE this Friday and they want me to make a decision next week, but on Mckinsey side it's either still radio silence or a 2nd round scheduled in 2 weeks, I will have to make a very tough decision…

In the event that Mckinsey rejects me, all my problems can be solved though. Not a scenario I'd prefer but very likely lol

Now sincerely do not know what to do or to think, any comments are welcome.

Thank you for bearing with me..

Answer 1

Hi there,

I can imagine that this is a pretty stressful situation to be in.

It sounds like right now, you have no confirmed offer from either company yet. So in the worst case scenario, both opportunities might fall through. I would therefore not get too distracted about “Step 3” if you have not yet completed “Step 1” (metaphorically speaking).

Stay focused on the upcoming PE interview and do everything you can to make sure you get that offer
When you do, there are a few interactions that will naturally buy you some time:
- Waiting for the verbal offer after the interview
- Receiving the written offer in the mail
- Reading the offer and clarifying open questions with HR (potentially amending the contract somewhat)
- Signing the offer (if you so choose)
In the meantime, McK should give you some feedback so you have better clarity
In case you don't have an offer from McK before your other offer is in jeopardy of expiry, I would personally not take the gamble of potentially ending up empty-handed

Ultimately it depends on what your key priorities are. If consulting really was the pathway you wanted to pursue, I'd assume you would have applied to all of MBB and potentially also tier 2 consulting firms by now so that you wouldn't solely hinge on McK. But if a McK rejection were to put you back to square one, I'd say going with the PE option is a no-brainer.

I hope this was helpful

Answer 2

Congratulations on things going well with the PE side! McKinsey will hurry along when they know that you're under a time pressure. Message the recruiter and tell them that you have an offer that's about to expire (give the date). Tell them that you've done all that you can to push the due date back but that you can't go any further. McKinsey is your first choice and you'd love it if you could know an outcome by the date the offer expires.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Hi there,

1 bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush…

Why give up a final round with a firm when you don't even have an offer from the other?

It's a really clear decision here! Process with those interviews.

The worst case scenario is that you have an offer from them and decide to reject it…2 weeks from now.

But, you should absolutely proceed with the interview and see where it goes. You can always:

1) Ask them for more time in deciding and

2) Ask McKinsey to accelerate the process

What you're doing is the definition of counting your chickens before they hatch!

Answer 4

Hi there,

My recommendation would be to reach out to McKinsey and present to them the conflicting timelines. They will most likely rush the process to accommodate you.

Best,

Cristian

Answer 5

Hi there,

Q: Should I give up a promising lead to wait for the Mckinsey interview outcome?

It seems you have no offers right now. Definitely don’t reject any interview or offer while waiting for a possible next step from McKinsey – there is no reason to do so.

In your current situation, you could:

Ask the PE to postpone the interview, or
Act once you get the PE offer, if needed

If you get the PE offer, you have 2 options:

Ask for more time to think and reach out to McKinsey then. At that stage, you will have leverage to accelerate things as you got another offer
Sign with the PE firm and withdraw if you get the McKinsey offer. Not ideal, but could be the only alternative if you don’t manage to postpone the deadline

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 6

If you get the job, it's great. You don't have to decide until you have the results of all recruiting processes. So just ask Mckinsey to speed up the process to make sure the timelines are as much aligned as possible.