McKinsey interview guide

How McKinsey interviews client-facing candidates: the Solve assessment, the Personal Experience Interview and the case interview.

The interview process

For client-facing roles, as McKinsey describes it.¹

1. Solve

   A gamified assessment of your natural problem-solving. McKinsey says there's no need to prepare: approach it with curiosity and creativity.

2. Personal Experience Interview

   Questions about your accomplishments and challenges. McKinsey asks you to prepare two personal examples for each of four themes, which it previews on its interviewing page.

3. Problem-solving interview

   Also called the case interview. You're given a realistic client business case, and assessed on your analytical thinking and how you approach complex problems.

4. Expertise interviewSome roles

   Depending on the role, this may include a coding challenge or technical assessment.

Between rounds, expect constructive feedback you can act on.²

What McKinsey looks for

• Structured thinking. How you break a problem down and show your working.
• Real experiences. Specific accomplishments and challenges, told in your own words.
• Clear communication. The interview should feel like a conversation, not a recital.^{1, 2}

Questions to expect

Based on what McKinsey says each interview assesses.

How to prepare

1. Work through the official cases. McKinsey publishes four: Beautify, Diconsa, Electro-Light and Talbot Trucks.¹
2. Build eight stories. Two for each of the four themes on McKinsey's interviewing page.
3. Learn to break problems down, not to recite frameworks. Show your thinking as you go.
4. Don't over-script. Rehearse, but keep it natural, and don't panic over a small mistake.²
5. Set up for virtual interviews. A quiet space, camera on, and any AI software disabled.¹

Quick answers

Sources

1. InterviewingMcKinsey Careers
2. Making the most of your McKinsey interviewMcKinsey careers blog · 11 May 2020

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