McKinsey Interview Preparation Guidelines for Sloan Candidates :McKinsey Interview Preparation Guidelines for Sloan Candidates


WHAT IS McKINSEY’S APPROACH TO INTERVIEWING? :1 WHAT IS McKINSEY’S APPROACH TO INTERVIEWING? McKinsey has developed a comprehensive approach to assessing candidate abilities and fit with a career at our firm. This approach is being used in all North American offices, as well as in a number of other offices around the world*. During your interview day you will participate in a number of different exercises designed to enable you to get a better understanding of McKinsey people, values, and work, and also to provide us with an opportunity to further understand the set of skills, capabilities, and experiences you could bring to our firm. We hope that the program will better enable you to make an informed decision regarding your career choices. * Select offices outside of North America are currently using McKinsey’s traditional approach to assessment rather than the approach described in this document


WHAT McKINSEY DOES DRIVES WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN CANDIDATES :2 WHAT McKINSEY DOES DRIVES WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN CANDIDATES


WHO IS MCKINSEY LOOKING FOR? :3 We are looking for people who demonstrate capabilities in four different areas. Through a number of different exercises we will assess your capabilities in Problem solving, Achieving, Impacting others, and Building relationships. Problem solving: Reasons logically, can think conceptually, demonstrates curiosity, creativity, good business judgment, tolerance for ambiguity, and an intuitive feel for numbers. Achieving: Sets high aspirations for self, expects and achieves outstanding results, handles obstacles well, shows signs of entrepreneurship and a willingness to take personal risks. Impacting others: Positively influences others, shows an interest in other people, self-confidence without arrogance, listens, understands and responds well to others. Building relationships: Takes on leadership roles, seizes opportunities and takes action, helps to build highly effective teams with a shared vision, and is sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of other team members. WHO IS MCKINSEY LOOKING FOR?


McKINSEY PROBLEM INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES :4 McKINSEY PROBLEM INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES Case One-on-one verbal case Focuses on real-time problem solving Personal Experience Interview Background interview In-depth exploration of candidate’s experience, focused on the individual’s contributions in specific situations


WHAT IS A CASE INTERVIEW? :Why give a case? What is a case interview? An interview that presents you with a problem to be solved in the context of a real-world business situation You are asked to arrive at a reasonable solution, using logical reasoning and creativity Allow you to display your solving skills The interviewer uses the case to Evaluate your skill in deconstructing a problem and communicating your thought process with others Observe your ability to think on your feet (real-time) Gain insight into how you handle ambiguity Assess your comfort with numbers WHAT IS A CASE INTERVIEW?


WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR IN CASE ANSWERS? :Ability to ask good questions Strength in structuring unclear problems Clear, logical reasoning Curious, probing mind Creativity in generating options Basic numerical agility/comfort with numbers Practical business sense, common sense Ability to synthesize Ability to see the big picture WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR IN CASE ANSWERS? Effective communicator Capacity to manage ambiguity Self-confidence Open and tolerant mind Ability to think through problems Ability to build working relationships


A GOOD APPROACH TO CASE INTERVIEWS :7 A GOOD APPROACH TO CASE INTERVIEWS Ensure understanding of the context / problem Listen closely to problem definition Ask questions to improve understanding Paraphrase to confirm problem statement Ensure complete understanding of the question Listen closely to question Ask questions to improve understanding Paraphrase to confirm question Develop a plan to solve the problem Describe your overall approach Break the problem into discrete pieces/issues State crisp hypothesis if applicable Use framework when and only if appropriate Request information and develop answer Walk the interviewer through your thinking Ask for additional relevant facts if needed Synthesize answer Synthesize case State findings of your analysis Summarize the discussion Develop overall recommendations Discuss trade-offs Relate back to problem statement Suggest next steps if applicable Context Approach for each Question End of Case


EXAMPLE- STRUCTURING A “PROFIT” QUESTION :Profits Price Volume Etc. EXAMPLE- STRUCTURING A “PROFIT” QUESTION


OTHER EXAMPLE ISSUES TO THINK ABOUT IN UPFRONT STRUCTURE :OTHER EXAMPLE ISSUES TO THINK ABOUT IN UPFRONT STRUCTURE


CASE INTERVIEW HINTS :CASE INTERVIEW HINTS What not to do What to do Relax! Remember – this is not a test of industry knowledge Listen (take notes if you wish) Organize your thoughts, structure your ideas Explain your thought process Work from hypotheses (guess a little; be creative) Gather and analyze key facts Push for a conclusion Ask 20 questions Force a framework that doesn’t fit Jump to a conclusion without explaining your thought process Insist you have “the answer” and ignore signals/hints from the interviewer Ignore important facts Hide from the details (or the numbers) Get frustrated Defend impractical solutions Do a postmortem (in or after interview)


WHAT IS A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW (PEI)? :Why give a PEI? What is a PEI? An interview that asks you to reflect on your involvement in a recent experience Interviewer will ask probing questions about what you did, thought and said in particular situations Allow you an opportunity to describe significant past experiences and accomplishments To gain insight into how you Achieve Lead/work in teams Impact others WHAT IS A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW (PEI)?


HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR THE PEI? :12 HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR THE PEI? During the ‘Personal Experience Interview’ you will be asked to describe examples from your past that illustrate your skills in one or more of the following broad areas: Leadership Ability to provide leadership and direction to others Does not necessarily mean you were the “official” leader Good Example: You were a team member that was able to guide the group to overcome significant challenges Bad Example: You were elected into a position but never faced any obstacles Good Example: It was a challenge to successfully influence one or more people to adopt a particular agenda Bad Example: People already essentially agreed with your point of view Impact on others Having an impact on others through influencing them Good Example: You set a goal and had to overcome obstacles to achieve it Bad Example: You achieved a goal set by others or set and achieved a goal that was an expected part of your job Achieving Set and achieve a challenging goal


PERSONAL EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW TIPS :13 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW TIPS Prepare, prepare, prepare... (have more than one experience that you could talk about for each of the three attributes) ...but avoid reciting “canned” examples—answer the specific question asked Focus on what you did, not what your team as a whole did Speak in the first person singular (“I”, not “we”) Structure! Be thoughtful and self-reflective Be prepared for the interviewer to interrupt and redirect you through the discussion