When will candidates hear back after a McKinsey final round?

McKinsey Final Round
New answer on Sep 01, 2023
9 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Sep 20, 2020

I finished my McK final round interview on a Friday afternoon (which is the day before yesterday - today is Sunday). I applied to the NYC office, and my final round interviewers were one senior partner from the San Francisco office and two junior partners/partners from NYC office.

I thought I did extremely well with the SF senior partner, well with one of the NYC junior partners and not so sure about my performance with the other NYC partner (we did not chitchat at all at the beginning - he dived right into PEI; he also didn't ask any follow-up questions during my PEI and I had to go on with my monologue for about 2 -3 minutes, and then he quickly decided to move on to case... during the last calculation question in the case, I initially did not understand his question and he had to guide me through... but when I eventually understood and told him where my previous misunderstanding was, he said that he potentially phrased the question wrong at the beginning (he's not a native English speaker). So that was roughly the situation of my final round.

I haven't heard anything back since the interview and am wondering how long it normally takes for candidates to hear back after the final round? I am also wondering if there are disagreements between partners about whether to hire a person (which I think is highly likely in my case, given that my performance was at different levels during the three interviews), what would happen?

Thanks!
Thanks!

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Mehdi
Expert
replied on Sep 20, 2020
BCG | Received offers from all MBB & Tier 1Firms | Supporting you secure your top tier consulting offer

Hi there,

You normally hear back from them on the following 2 business days, so in your case if would probably be Monday or Tuesday. There are some exeptions from time to time when of the interviewer is super busy and they have to delay your debrief session by one or two days, but in general they are very quick in giving feedback. I case you do not hear from HR for 1 week after your interview, then you can email him/her asking about updates.

As for your last question, when there is a profound disagreement between Partners (2 have positive feedback and 1 is not sure about it), they might invite you for a final interview with another Partner to make a final decision. This happens from time to time but it is not super common. In general, the decision is made after your final round with 3 Partners/Associate Partners!

I hope you get some good news soon!

Mehdi

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Sep 21, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

No need to worry at all, is super soon!

Usually, you will hear from them in the next week.

Think that they need to get a suitable spot for all partners with HR, which is not always easy, and this can puh back the decision.

Hope it helps!

Best,

Clara

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Anonymous replied on Sep 21, 2020

Dear A,

I'm sure, you will hear soon, on this week.

As for the possible disagreement between 2 partners. If it takes place, than you might be invited for one more final interview.

Wish you best of luck.

André

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Sep 20, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

You'll hear back next week. No need to worry. Keep calm and concentrate on something meaningful meanwhile

Best

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Sofia
Expert
replied on Sep 01, 2023
Top-Ranked Coach on PrepLounge for 3 years| McKinsey San Francisco | Harvard graduate | 6+ years of coaching

Hello,

Don't worry about it, delays can sometimes happen. Some people hear the day of, but for others it can take a week or more!

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Sep 21, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Woah! Calm down there :)

Honestly, you interviewed just before the weekend and it's the first day of the workweek!

You should be prepared to wait even 2 weeks. It may not take that long, but just assume it will.

I highly recommend you stop thinking about things you can't control and move on with more productive/enjoyable parts of your life.

It sounds like you have a 50/50 shot, but none of us here can really properly evaluate. In reality, you'll find out when you find out!

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Robert
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Sep 21, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

Based on your description nothing to worry about - most likely it's just a logistical issue to get all relevant people to the table.

If disagreements occur it might delay the process in addition, but usually even this disagreement is resolved on the spot once the relevant persons come together.

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

Robert

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Gaurav
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 27, 2020
Ex-Mckinsey|Certified Career Coach |Placed 500+ candidates at MBB & other consultancies

No worries!
I'm sure, you will hear from them in a next week.

Wish you good luck,

GB

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Henning
Expert
replied on Oct 27, 2020
Bain | passed >15 MBB interviews as a candidate

They typically get back within a few business days. If they didn't after a week you should ask about the status.

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