McKinsey & Company interview questions

Almost all graduates applying to McKinsey will be applying for a Business Analyst position. Those with PhDs apply for a Junior Associate position.

McKinsey refer to their graduate trainees as Business Analysts, and provide set training to all. Business Analysts join the firm for an initial two years and work on a variety of different studies involving many different industries/functions.

There is continuous training both formal and informal.

The application process:

• Online application form
• Problem Solving Test
• First round interviews
• Final round interviews

Problem Solving Test

The problem-solving test is an hour long and has 26 multiple-choice questions.

It is a test of problem-solving ability, data interpretation and basic maths. Candidates will be provided with some information in the form of charts/tables/graphs and asked questions based upon this data.

You will be tested on:

• Ratios
• Percentages
• Fractions
• Extracting information from tables and graphs

First Interview

The first round typically involve two interviews at around an hour each. They are one on one with a consultant and involve a mixture of personal experience questions and a case study.

Typical questions you can reasonably expect at the first interview include:

• Give me an example of a time when you a demonstrated leadership?
• Give me an example of a time when you have succeeded.
• Give me an example of when you have failed, and explain how you dealt with it.
• Give me an example of something you've worked on in the past 12 months that had turned out well.
• As above but 'with more than one person' tagged on.

You can expect the interviewer to interrupt you every few sentences and ask how you settled on the various decisions and conclusions that you reached.

Case Study

The case study is different from most other firms. The interviewer will explain a project with which he/she is involved, and you will be required to reason and engage in general discussion about the problem. You may end up discussing several small problems. There are no brainteaser style questions, but each case study will have a market-sizing problem and you may also be required to perform simple math, such as:

• Basic arithmetic
• Percentages
• Simple algebra

Questions may include:

• What is 50,000 x 500?
• What is 23% of 456?

If you have already passed the first numerical test and reached this stage you should not have any problems here.

Final Round Interview

If you have passed the first round assessment, you will be invited back for the second round of interviews

This consists of:

• Two competency-based and case study interviews, in a similar style to the first
• A role play - which is like a more in-depth case study

The second round interviews are similar to the first round interviews but you will meet with more senior consultants such as partners.

Role Plays

You will be given a scenario relating to a hypothetical client (played by your interviewer/assessor) and asked to assume the role of a business adviser. You will be assessed on the quality of your proposed actions and discussion with 'the client', who may be obstinate or difficult to reason with. The role play tests how candidates might approach difficult situations that frequently occur in consulting.

Specifically, you may be asked to assume the role of a business adviser on a team at a tyre factory currently conducting a customer loyalty/retention study. You may need to manage the expectations of the client and discuss how they might better organise their survey.