All questions tagged McKinsey PEI - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

Hey there,

I have written a detailed article on the PEI and will share some quotes from it below:

1. Learn about the PEI dimensions

Below are the three dimensions plus some ideas on what to include:

a. Entrepreneurial Drive

• Set a goal for yourself and pursue it relentlessly against all odd
• The focus here should be on overcoming obstacles, showing ambition and dedication as well as ingenuity

b. Personal Impact

• Persuade a group or individual to adopt a certain idea or plan of yours
• The focus should really be on the influencing tactics you used to reach your desired outcome

c. Inclusive leadership

• Show that you can manage a diverse team, leading it to a successful outcome
• The focus here should be on all traits that make a great leader (e.g., inclusiveness, mentor, mediator, go-to person, people person,...)

2. Select the right stories with the right content

When it comes to the selection of your McKinsey PEI stories, you need to think about three dimensions in the following order:

a. Fit with the actual dimension that is asked. The stories need to fit the criteria set out by McKinsey to match with Entrepreneurial Drive, Leadership, and Personal Impact. For content ideas see above.

b. Diversity of experience. Your stories should be from different walks of life, e.g., jobs or careers, universities, extracurriculars, etc. Don’t take all stories from one experience.

c. Recency. In general, the more recent the better. Unless you interview for an experienced hire or more senior position, your stories should not date back more than 2-3 years.

Make sure that

• you draft two stories each to always have a backup story in case the interviewer rejects the first story
• you are aware that the interviewer might interrupt you a lot to ask detailed questions, which means your stories need to go very deep as you should be ready to answer very focused questions such as ''what did you say at that moment?'', ''How did he react'', etc.
• create catchy headlines for each story that already convey the main message
• you create content for each story to be able to talk freely for around 10 minutes

3. Learn how to communicate them most effectively

Communication is key in the interview. Speak like a consultant, follow a logical, top-down structure, and make sure to

• focus on yourself and your own role all the time
• keep the context brief and really focus on your own actions (context 2 minutes, your actions 8 minutes)

I have developed a framework specifically for the effective communication of McKinsey PEI, the SCORE framework. Reach out if you want to know more about it.

4. Shortcut get it right quickly: Book a session with a coach that knows these dimensions in and out to make sure that

• a. they contain the right content
• b. they are communicated in the most McKinsey-like way
• c. you can anticipate and prepare for the detailed drill-down questions the interviewers will ask

No story I worked on with my candidates has ever been rejected. Reach out if you need help!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

It would be very unusual to have 2-3 rounds of behavioral questions only. I would expect cases as well, but you can clarify with HR just in case.

Market sizing and estimation questions (I guess that's what you mean by guesstimates) are relatively rare at McKinsey but there are still present in some countries (eg Italy), in particular in final rounds.

The PEI at McKinsey is structured around three key dimensions: inclusive leadership, personal impact and entrepreneurial drive. Normally, you receive a question for each dimension in each interview. Since 2020, McKinsey started to use the wording “inclusive leadership” to specifically address the leadership question as related to a diverse team.

Below you can find a description of the three dimensions:

1) Inclusive leadership is about leading a diverse team in a challenging situation and showing team management skills. Example:

• Tell me about a time when you lead a diverse group of people in a challenging situation. 


Here you want to emphasize how you overcome a difficult situation by leading a diverse team.

2) Personal Impact is mainly based on persuading someone about doing/not doing something. Example:

• Tell me about a time when you persuaded your boss to go along with an idea you had.

Here you want to emphasize your influence on someone else, usually in disagreement with you.

3) Entrepreneurial Drive is about starting and implementing something overcoming major difficulties. Example:

• Tell me about a time when you set a major goal and been able to achieve it, overcoming major difficulties.

Here you want to emphasize the fact you started something and achieved it, with details on the process that led you there.

Besides asking questions on the previous PEI dimensions, they may also ask questions like the following:

• Tell me about yourself
• Why consulting
• Why McKinsey
• Why should we hire you

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Here's my list of topics and # of stories per topic I send to my clients specifically for MBBs:

2 for influence

2 for team

2 for adversity

2 for problem solving

2 for initiative

Hi there,

1-2 minutes is what you should aim for. However, ultimately quality not quantity matters! So, If you can tell the same story in 60 seconds (i.e. demonstrate your skills / thinking, do the story justice, etc.), aim for the faster time! If it takes you 3 minutes, that's fine.

In terms of interviewer-adjustments, read the room! If they're getting fidgety, speed things up (i.e. cut) or adjust the pace!

Personal Stories

Step 1 - Categorize the main stories

There are 5-10 "themes" you need to prepare for. i.e. Leadership, teamwork, challenge, etc. (note: These all fit into the 3 McKinsey PEI themes) Figure out this list and make sure your stories cover this range (PM me and I can provide you with a template for this list)

Step 2 - Create FLEXIBLE stories that cover a range of categories

You need to create 4-6 stories that each cover a range of topics. They need to be powerful stories that can be adjusted and adapted based on the question asked.

One of my "core" or "killer" stories was usable for Initiative, Achievement, Leadership, Challenge, Change of direction, AND Persuasion.

Write down these stories along STAR or similar format...use bullet points

Step 3 - Organize these stories so you know which ones can be used for what and PRACTICE

Make sure you cover the whole gambit. Then, practice getting asked a question and thinking of which stories apply. I can assure you, no-one is coming up with full stories in a few seconds. Rather, they have practiced how to adapt an existing story to the question asked.

Sorry - could you clarify? What's do you mean by "final year at school" considering that you're still in university?

Either way, any story can be good for PEI since it's not really about the ultimate impact but about the skills you had that made a difference. Just describe the challenge and what skills you used to overcome it, as long as the skills are the right skills, I believe you're in good shape.

Undergrads often use stories from school. If you are further in your career (university?), you can acknowledge that it's a while ago, but you are telling it because you think it's important.

Hope this help!

Allen

Hi there,

"All the setbacks" is something I'd be wary of saying yes to. You need a major setback or 2 summarized, but no, this should not be the Odessy!

In general, I advize the following:

Step 1 - Categorize the main stories

There are 5-10 "themes" you need to prepare for. i.e. Leadership, teamwork, challenge, etc. (by the way, these all fit under the McKinsey 3). Figure out this list and make sure your stories cover this range (PM me and I can provide you with a template for this list)

Step 2 - Create FLEXIBLE stories that cover a range of categories

You need to create 4-6 stories that each cover a range of topics. They need to be powerful stories that can be adjusted and adapted based on the question asked.

One of my "core" or "killer" stories was usable for Initiative, Achievement, Leadership, Challenge, Change of direction, AND Persuasion.

Write down these stories along STAR or similar format...use bullet points

Step 3 - Organize these stories so you know which ones can be used for what and PRACTICE

Make sure you cover the whole gambit. Then, practice getting asked a question and thinking of which stories apply. I can assure you, no-one is coming up with full stories in a few seconds. Rather, they have practiced how to adapt an existing story to the question asked.

Hello!

This is precisely where you need to start, the definition of what each of the "dimensions" are.

Leadership is not only official leadership roles, also unnoficial ones, in which you lead yourself or others towards a complex goal overcoming adversities and issues.

Hence, both work, pick whichever story is stronger, richer and more detailed in your case.

If you are looking for prep materials, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

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.

Furthermore, you can find 3 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:

• Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200
• Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201
• Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!

Hello!

It is not the best practice. Interviews are a way to help consultants know you better, hence, the more angles you give from you, the better

However, it´s not a dealbreaker, if you repeat a story in different interview rounds

This is precisely one of the question in the "FAQs" of the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34).

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.

Furthermore, you can find 3 free cases in the PrepL case regarding FIT preparation:

Intro and CV questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/introduction-and-cv-questions-fit-interview-preparation-200

Motivational questions > https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/motivational-questions-fit-interview-preparation-201

Behavioural questions (ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE) >https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/fit-interview/intermediate/behavioral-questions-entrepreneurial-drive-fit-interview-preparation-211

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the Integrated FIT Guide, since we still have some left from the launch!

Hi there,

For consultant roles, the process is the same but with a higher likelihood of cases related to digital. If you are not interviewing for a consultant role, the process may be different.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

1) I have done 1000+ interviews and I can remember probably 50 or so PEI stories. Every single one that I remember are personal stories. I can't remember a single one about a work situation. So, absolutely feel free to tell personal stories. In final round decision meetings (not usually in first round decision meetings, which is what most, if not everyone on PrepLounge have been exposed to) Partners love to recount the personal stories. However, your going to work in a business environment helping business clients. So, a majority of your stories should be business based. Sprinkle in 1 or 2 personal stories if the opportunity arises.

2) The short answer is YES, as long as it is a great one.

Hi Anonymous,

30 minutes is indeed unusual for a final round at McKinsey. As mentioned by Ian, I would prepare on all the areas; it could also be that the case timeline will be longer and you will go for the traditional 45 min with fit and case (I know cases where HR said the interview had no case – and the candidate got a case in it! Partners, in particular, don’t have major obligations to follow defined rules).

The structure of the final round is the same as the first one (fit + case+ your questions); however, there is far more emphasis on communication and fit.

Specifically, the main difference you will find in a final round with partners is that at that stage they:

1. spend more time on fit questions and your alignment with the company
2. check more closely your communication (eg how you react to challenging questions)
3. may not have a “proper” structured case to present – during my final at BCG I had one interview which was made by two market sizing questions and a brainteaser, without any business case. That's because at the final they know you can structure and crack a case (you passed 1 or 2 rounds already) and are more interested in your logic, personality and fit with the company

So in order to prepare I would concentrate on:

• Review in details your fit stories – they will matter more than in the first round. In some finals I had almost exclusively behavioral questions
• Work on your communication (reaction under pressure, how to gain time when you do not have a structure ready, connect with the interviewer, etc). This is something you can test almost exclusively in p2p mocks with peers/experts.
• Prepare on cases as you did for the first round. More market sizing practice could be useful to think outside the box if you get unusual questions.

In terms of the PEI would be great if you could indicate the specific questions you find challenging to answer and your hypotheses on the possible stories, this will help to provide some tips in a more structured way.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Sandra,

great question, that’s actually something many candidates confuse. I have provided a description of the different areas below, together with what to focus on:

1) Personal Impact is mainly based on persuading someone about doing/not doing something. Questions include:

1. Tell me about a time that you persuaded your boss to go along with an idea you had.
2. Tell me about a difficult situation where you had to rely on your communication skills. 


Here you want to emphasize your influence on someone else, usually in disagreement with you.

2) Entrepreneurial Drive is about starting and implementing something overcoming major difficulties. Examples include:

1. What was a situation where you set a major goal and been able to achieve it?
2. What has been your major accomplishment so far?

Here you want to emphasize the achievement you reached and the process that led you there.

3) Just to complete the analysis: Leadership is about leading a whole team in challenging situation and team management skills. Questions include:

1. Give me an example of a time when you lead a group. 

2. What are some key lessons you have learned about motivating people? 


Here you want to emphasize how you overcome a difficult situation leading a team (not necessarily as the official leader).

Many candidates tend actually to confuse leadership and personal impact. In both you deal with people, but while in the first you are leading a team, in the second you are actually influencing someone else (not necessarily a team). In the first case you then end with a team result, in the second with your own specific result.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi!

It should have all the things that you've mentions:

1. 1 sentence summary what's the story is about
2. 2-3 sentences of context
3. What was exactly the problem
4. HOW you solved it - 3-5 actions that you've taken
5. IMPACT - should be ideally measurable and impressive

Best

The golden rule when you talk about yourself is to be sincere and follow your gut. You would not be at that stage if you were not a smart person with the right CV, so don’t be afraid to pick “the wrong” story. There is not “right” or “wrong”. Talk about something that made you feel proud because you really think you changed the course of the events that mattered to YOU at that point in time, Nobody will ask you why you did not change the course of human history... When I asked these types of questions during recruiting what I wanted to understand was the real character, the intensity of the feelings, the passion, regardless of how truly impactful the story was.

I hope it helps...

Hi Anonymous,

this question is very similar to “Why should I hire you”. I would structure the answer as follows:

• Step 1: Be ready for an immediate reply. You cannot show you have to think for this question. If you don’t know immediately why they should hire you / what you can bring, you cannot expect they will consider you positively. This not only means you should prepare in advance, but also that you should break the ice immediately. Something like the following would work “That’s a great question. I think you should hire me/have me in the program for a couple of reasons, related to [MENTION THREE SKILLS]”
• Step 2: Start presenting the first skill. “A first element I believe I can bring is the ability not only to work in a team, but also to bring a team to reach its goal”
• Step 3: Provide a clear example of the skill. “As you can see from my CV, I have played in competitive football in the last years; more specifically [EXAMPLE SHOWING LEADERSHIP]. “
• Step 4: Remark why that could be useful for the company. “I know consultants work constantly in teams and the team performance is what matters to achieve the final result. If you hire me/have me in the program, I believe I can contribute in the team to that, as I showed in my past sport experience”
• Step 5: Repeat Step 2-4 for other two skills

As examples of good skills, everything related to leadership, drive, impact would work well for McKinsey. At the link below you can find an explanation of the meaning and differences for each of them:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-pei-difference-drive-and-personal-impact-918#a1780

Best,
Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

• Choosing a "random" line of your CV: This is not unusual for experienced hires, and interviewers usually have a good gut feeling about which line of your CV could have carried which challenges for one specific PEI dimension (leadership, personal impact, entrepreneurial drive) - so the choice of lines is not really that random, but based on the interviewer's assumption about which PEI dimension you could talk about. However, if there was no challenge e.g. in terms of leadership in a "random" line of your CV, just state this and offer the interviewer an alternative. There is no point from interviewer's perspective trying to squeeze out something from a candidate which simply isn't there.
• Demonstrating 2-3 of the PEI qualities: Is it possible that this was a misunderstanding, and was more referring to demonstrating 2-3 challenges in that one story and explaining how you overcame those?

Hope this helps - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the upvote button below!

Robert

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.

I know this is the new twist to the leadership question for McKinsey this year around diversity and inclusion which is causing some uncertainty. I've discussed this with many candidates where I don't think you need to seek for special examples but focus on trying and pull out the inclusive elements from your existing leadership examples. For example, encouraging less active members in your team to contribute, picking up on how taking a 'conventional' approach to doing something would marginalise specific groups of people (e.g., gender, socioeconomic, racial), standing up against the non-inclusive status quo, etc.

Hi Anonymous,

I am afraid that specific examples won't help you that much, since you need to base your own examples on your own background obviously.

Therefore I will rather focus on key elements to cover in a leadership story (leadership is the one focusing on interpersonal conficts in a team..):

• Proactively taking on a leadership role in a given situation
• Building an effective team with a common goal/vision
• Focusing on interpersonal conflicts, not subject-matter related challenges

Examples of conflicting team situations:

• Conflicts affecting the whole team (e.g. after a setback within a project how you find again a common way to proceed and motivate the team, leading a voluntary team and effectively distributing tasks which can potentially lead to conflicts in the team, ...)
• Bilateral conflicts between 2 specific persons within the team (e.g. between you and a team member, or between two other team members which you needed to resolve)

Specifically for the McKinsey PEI, PrepLounge recently published a guide which is basically an excerpt of my "Ultimate McKinsey PEI Prep" ebook: https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/guides-8/the-secret-mckinsey-pei-cheat-sheet-42. If required we can also try to find a slot for a coaching session to discuss your specific examples and how to set up your examples in such a way that they are perfectly fitting to McKinsey's PEI requirements.

Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Your framework is a good one but I would add a few things.

1. Make sure you are conversational: Don’t be rote in your response. Make sure that when telling your story, you are really “telling a story” that makes the interviewer feel like they can visualize what was really going on.
2. Use unique stories: Remember that the interviewer is likely interviewing 7-8 candidates that day and maybe 14-16 candidates over 2 days. You need to make your story memorable. Many candidates may have a leadership story about how they led a team to achieve a goal at a previous job or how they led a volunteer effort. However, a more memorable leadership story could be starting a Horse Riding Club at a University or organizing a day-long ventriloquist festival.
3. Try to add humor where possible: Interviewers love candidates that break the monotony of interviewing with entertaining stories and humor can go a long way. A senior partner once came into a decision meeting and said he barely got to the case interview because he asked the candidate about his hobby of being a stand-up comedian. For a large portion of the 45 minutes, the candidate shared some of his stand-up material. He got an offer.

It’s also important to know what the interviewer assessing during the McKinsey PEI portion of the interview. There are 3 components:

• Confidence / presence: Asserts self-confidence outside areas of expertise in the face of change; would be comfortable putting the candidate in front of senior-level clients
• Listening: Accurately understands meaning of what is said or implied and responds by adapting own content and style to reflect understanding
• Influencing: Accurately anticipates or reacts to the need for various influencing tactics and deploys them appropriately