McKinsey Interview Guide

Interview Experiences

by

Abhishek Poddar

Prateek Singhal

V. Bhanu Chandra

IIT Kanpur - Class of 2007

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Interview Guide McKinsey & Company

Table of Contents

How to use this Guide ........................................................................................................... 3 History..................................................................................................................................... 4 Organization ........................................................................................................................... 6 Recruiting................................................................................................................................. 8 McKinsey Interview – an Insight .......................................................................................... 10 Basic Do’s and Don’ts ........................................................................................................ 13 Standard Resume Format ................................................................................................... 18 Sample Interview Questions ............................................................................................... 21 Chronicle of our Interviews .................................................................................................. 23 Endnote ................................................................................................................................ 43

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Acknowledgements

No words can express our gratitude to Pranjal Jain and Mukul Tuli from

McKinsey&Company who spent a ton of time getting our resumes right and

ensuring that we are well prepared for the case interviews, personal questions, job

related questions, etc. The Y3 batch truly appreciates your efforts. We would also

like to thank everyone at the Student Placement Office (SPO), especially Jayasree

Chatterjee Mam, for their constant efforts to get us started for a great career ahead.

Last but not least we would like to thank all our seniors who have helped us at

numerous points in time during the last four year addressing our concerns right

from the counselling to taking the right courses and closer to placements making

sure we put our best foot in the interview room.

This is the first edition of the guide and the Y3 batch students would like the

tradition to be carried forward by the future batches and make the coming editions

of this publication a rich source of information for all consulting aspirants.

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How to use this Guide

This guide is more about “What to Prepare?” rather than “How to Prepare?” The

latter question, we believe, is for an individual to decide. As this guide is being

written at the point of time when only one of the consulting company

(McKinsey&Company) come, you may feel that that this guide would be only

helpful for those aiming at McKinsey. But we would like to clear that all the top

management consulting companies like BCG and Bain have a similar pattern of

selection and have similar case studies in their interviews.

The purpose of this interview guide is to give you a head start for the consulting

interviews preparation. We have listed most of the cases that we were asked during

the interviews here. Some of the cases have suggested approaches. Please treat these

approaches as only representative. There are no right answers as far as cases are

concerned. It is very much possible that you might think of different, more

comprehensive or even better ways of solving the cases that we were asked.

There are also several case guides of other universities available in electronic form. It

is advisable to read those professional guides prior to going through what we have

written. The professional guides will help in getting started as they are very

structured.

That’s all the funda that we can give. Have fun with the preparation.

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History

McKinsey & Company is a privately owned management consulting firm that

focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management in large corporations and

organizations. McKinseyʹs top strategy consulting competitors include The Boston

Consulting Group, Bain & Co., and Booz Allen Hamilton. Other competitors include

A.T. Kearney, Monitor Group , Deloitte Consulting, Accenture and IBM.

Known internally as ʺThe Firmʺ, James O. McKinsey & Company was founded in

Chicago during 1926 by James O. (ʺMacʺ) McKinsey. McKinsey was a professor at

the University of Chicago who pioneered budgeting as a management tool. Marshall

Fieldʹs became a client in 1935, and soon convinced James McKinsey to leave the

firm and become its CEO; however, he died unexpectedly in 1937.

Marvin Bower, who joined the firm in 1933 and succeeded James McKinsey when he

left, oversaw the firmʹs rise to global prominence. When McKinsey died, the Chicago

and New York branches of the firm split up. In 1939, with the help of the New York

partners, Bower resurrected the New York office and named it McKinsey &

Company. While he always gave James McKinsey credit for the firmʹs success,

Bower established many of its guiding principles. Inspired by his experience at the

law firm of Jones Day, he believed that management consulting should subscribe to

the highest standards, emphasizing professionalism over any other consideration.

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For many years, McKinsey was the unchallenged leader in consulting, and many of

its alumni went on to head leading companies, often their former clients, generating

further business for the firm. It now maintains offices on all continents (except

Antarctica) and in most major cities; in the last few years, the majority of its work

has derived from non‐U.S. clients.

McKinsey claims its growth to date has been based less on an explicit growth

strategy than on meeting apparent client needs. It says that it will not take on client

work unless doing so will create value for the client.

In 2003, McKinsey made headlines when it hired Chelsea Clinton, daughter of

former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Former McKinsey consultants overwhelmingly speak of their experience at

McKinsey in favorable terms. International renowned publications acknowledge

McKinseyʹs qualities: Newsweek called McKinsey the “by far the most influential

consulting firm in the world”. The Financial Times stated McKinsey is “the world’s

leading management consultancy”. The Economist magazine, on the other hand,

always refers to McKinsey as ʺa management consultancyʺ.

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Organization

McKinsey is formally organized as a corporation, but functions as a partnership in

all important respects. (It dropped the ʺInc.ʺ from its company name in 2001.) Its

managing director is elected for a limited term of three years by the firmʹs senior

shareholders, titled directors. Each managing director can only serve for three terms.

Several committees develop policies and make critical decisions. Geographically

based offices act as the main organizing cells, but the Firm maintains cross‐

geographical practices around industry sectors and management areas. Associates

are invited to join the partnership through an evaluation and election process, and

shareholders who reach a certain age are obliged to sell back their shares according

to a set formula.

McKinsey operates under a practice of ʺup or out,ʺ in which consultants must

advance in their consulting careers within a time frame, or else are asked to leave

the company.

Today McKinsey has over 7,500 consultants in 84 offices across 45 countries. They

help solve strategic, organizational, operational and technological problems, for

some of the worldʹs largest organizations. Clients include three of the worldʹs five

largest companies, two‐thirds of the Fortune 1000, governments and other non‐

profit institutions. McKinsey also performs pro bono engagements for a number of

charitable organizations and government agencies worldwide.

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A controversial aspect of McKinseyʹs practice is that it is non‐exclusive, and thus a

conflict of interest could arise as different teams of consultants might work for direct

competitors in an industry. This works to the companyʹs advantage, as it does not

require it to rule out working for potential clients; furthermore, knowing that a

competitor has hired McKinsey has historically been a strong impetus for companies

to seek McKinseyʹs assistance themselves. The policy also means McKinsey can keep

its list of clients confidential. However, because of this there is great emphasis

placed on client confidentiality within the firm, and consultants are forbidden to

discuss details of their work with members of other teams.

Traditionally, McKinsey has only revealed involvement with a client either as a

result of legal action, or when the company itself has publicly stated it, which the

Firm discourages.

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Recruiting

Marvin Bower broke with industry practice in his time by focusing hiring efforts on

recent graduates from the best business schools, rather than among experienced

managers. The premise for this was that analytical rigor and fresh insights were of

greater value to clients than conventional wisdom. McKinsey has been known to

make rare exceptions to this policy by hiring senior staff from industry (John Sawhill

being a noted example).

McKinsey is one of the most sought‐after destinations for graduates of top MBA

programs, having been rated #1 in the Universum survey of most desirable

employers for the past nine years (refer to http://money.cnn.com/magazines/

fortune/mba100/index.html). The firm is the largest single recruiter at the worldʹs

top business schools. It is also the largest private non‐law recruiter at Harvard Law

School and employs more Rhodes Scholars than any organization outside of the

State Department.

Recently, McKinsey has diversified its recruiting base by soliciting candidates from

graduate programs in law, medicine, engineering, science, and the liberal arts as

well as by recruiting ʺexperienced hiresʺ from a variety of professional backgrounds

including the military, law and medicine. Today, roughly half of McKinsey

consultants with a graduate degree are not MBAs. These APDs (ʺAdvanced

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Professional Degree candidatesʺ) attend a ʺmini‐MBAʺ training program before

starting their careers at McKinsey.

McKinsey also recruits very selectively among undergraduates, hiring as ʺBusiness

Analystsʺ recent graduates from top universities to work as consultants alongside its

associates for about 18 to 24 months. The BA program is one of the most competitive

in industry and is coveted by many business‐oriented undergraduates. Some

business analysts choose to stay at McKinsey for an additional year as a BA, often to

join an office abroad or specialize in a given industry. Many business analysts are

sponsored by McKinsey to attend graduate schools, usually for a MBA but

sometimes for other masterʹs or Ph.D. degrees, after their initial two years at

McKinsey and rejoin the firm afterwards. Some are offered a coveted ʺDTAʺ ‐ direct

to Associate offer which means they effectively skip 2 years ahead of their peer

group, but must forgo any educational support from McKinsey.

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McKinsey Interview – an Insight

A typical McKinsey interview consists of two main parts: the Case Study and the

Experience Interview. The part that most people know about is the case study. It is

a common belief among applicants that the case study is the most important part of

the McKinsey interview, and indeed much time is spent preparing and getting ready

for the case. The case is important, because you need to show us that you have the

right problem solving skills to be a McKinsey consultant. However, it is equally

important for you to show us the right behavioural skills.

McKinsey consultants work in challenging situations involving stretch goals and

tight deadlines, and they interact with people of all types, from experienced CEOs to

front‐line staff. In hiring you, we will want to be sure that you can effectively

manage these situations, interact with these people, and represent our firm well.

We believe that the best way to understand your behavioural skills is to look in

detail at challenging situations you have experienced in the past – situations that

held challenges similar to those you may experience as a McKinsey consultant.

During your interview, you will be asked to spend a significant amount of time

describing one or more specific, challenging experiences that you have had. Your

interviewer will guide you in choosing the right experience to discuss. Some

preparation for this part of the interview is strongly advised. Remember, this is not

simply a polite chat with the interviewer before you do a case. The interviewer has

a specific job of assessing your behavioural skills. You need to help the interviewer

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by having specific things to talk about that illustrate these skills. Here are some tips

for you as you prepare for this part of the interview:

Prepare: Make sure you understand what they mean. Your interviewer will

be interested in looking at one or more of these three areas and will want to

discuss specific situations from your past where you have had to use these

skills. For each of these areas, have some examples in your mind of times

when you have had to use these skills to overcome significant challenges.

Choose examples that you remember well and can discuss in some detail.

Don’t choose situations that were easy for you, as these situations are

unlikely to demonstrate your true range of skills.

Be specific: When describing something to your interviewer, try not to

generalize. For example, when you make general statements like “I talked to

her and managed to get her to change her mind”, that does not tell your

interviewer a great deal about your skills. However, in this situation, if you

can describe to your interviewer, as best as you can remember, exactly what

you said and how you responded to arguments, it will be much easier for

your interviewer to see your skills.

Focus on your own role: We know that many of the things you have done in

the past have involved other people that you worked with. Of course, we

appreciate this – much of the work of a McKinsey consultant involves

working in teams. However, to help us understand your specific skills, try to

focus on your role and your actions in anything you describe. For example,

saying “We presented the work to the committee” does not help your

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interview understand what you did. Your interviewer wants to hear about

your specific role and the specific things you did during that presentation to

the committee.

Focus on the process: We use cases to assess problem solving, so when

describing something you are proud of, try not to focus too much on the

problem solving challenge or simply the end result. Your interviewer wants

to hear about the process. For example, telling your interviewer that you

won a prestigious academic award does not help them understand your

specific skills. Similarly, if you resolved challenges in a team by avoiding the

team and doing all the work yourself, this will not reassure your interviewer

about your leadership ability, even though it may have helped in getting the

work completed.

We hope these tips will help you prepare and show yourself in the best light when

you interview with us.

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Basic Do’s and Don’ts

Arrive a little early. If you arrive about fifteen minutes before the scheduled

interview time, you will have time to collect your thoughts, wipe the

perspiration from your hands, and scan the lobby for current company

information. You will also show your interviewer that you value his or her

time.

Do your homework. Know the interviewerʹs name and how to pronounce it

(including proper title: Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc.). Know the companyʹs major

products or services, the organization of the company (divisions, parent

company, etc.), current business news about the company and the companyʹs

major customers and competitors. You can learn most or all of this

information from the companyʹs website, annual report or company

literature.

Bring a Spare Copy of Your Resume in a Briefcase or Folder. This

demonstrates that you are prepared. It also gives the interviewer something

to take notes on.

Expect to Spend Some Time Developing Rapport. Personal chemistry is a

main ingredient in the hiring process. Try to relax and become comfortable

with the interviewer.

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Prepare for basic open‐ended questions. The interview is a process by which

the interviewer gets to know you and judge whether you match the

requirements both academically and as a person. Generally, the interviewer

will throw up some open‐ended question like “Tell me about you”. This is

meant to relax the applicant. This can be used as an opportunity to divert the

interview into your areas of strength. Open‐ended questions like those on

hobbies, achievements, etc reveal a great deal about you as a person. Treat

these questions very seriously.

Listen. Listen to the question before answering it. Understand what the

interviewer is looking for. If you need time to think about the answer,

request for the same. Most interviewers would comply with such a request.

But after you have taken time to think, better come up with a good answer.

Watch Your Non‐Verbal Communication. Maintain an open body posture.

Seat yourself at a reasonable distance from the other person. Smile. Always

maintain eye contact with the interviewer. It shows your confidence. Never

droop in the chair. Sit upright and keep track of your hand movements while

answering questions.

Donʹt Be Embarrassed by Nervousness. Interviewers are human, and they

often become nervous, too. In fact, nervousness is a good sign ‐ it shows that

you are taking the interview seriously. Avoid nervous mannerisms such as

tapping your fingers, feet, playing with pens, etc.

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Body language is powerful! Good eye contact, a warm, natural smile and a

firm handshake can help you overcome nervousness, develop a personal

rapport and present a confident image.

Donʹt Play Comedian or Try to Entertain the Interviewer. It is important to

be personable, but do not overdo it.

Donʹt Exaggerate or Lie. You might be tempted to embellish your

achievements in the interview, but it will come back to haunt you on the job!

Follow the Interviewerʹs Lead. Donʹt try to take over the interview. Stick to

the main subject at hand, but do not dwell too long on one point. It is better to

deal with many questions rather than just one or two in‐depth questions,

unless thatʹs where the interviewer leads you.

Be Prepared For Personal Questions, Even Some Inappropriate Ones.

Anticipate how you will handle personal questions without blowing your

cool. Some interviewers may not be aware of what they can and cannot

legally ask you. Be sure you understand the question. It is okay to ask for

clarification.

Emphasize the Positive. Be frank and honest, but never apologize for lack of

experience or weaknesses. You can be self‐confident without being

overconfident or flippant. If you are new to the job market, your lack of

experience has one very positive feature: you do not have to ʺunlearnʺ bad

habits or different practices learned from previous employers. Many

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employers like the idea that you can be taught their individual company

procedures without needing to get rid of other training first.

Donʹt be Afraid to Think before You Speak. Use silence and intentional

pause to your advantage. Time is occasionally needed to think and to reflect.

The interviewer will respect you for taking a question seriously enough to

give it a moment or two of consideration before answering.

Emphasize What You Can Do For The Organization. This means

emphasizing your transferable skills. However, be careful not to reveal trade

secrets from a previous employer. Employers are concerned most with what

you can do for them. Focus on your ability to tackle new situations, your

communication skills, interpersonal abilities, analytical thinking talents, and

other skills developed while in college or in previous positions.

Donʹt give ʺPrepared Answersʺ. Most employers know a these stock answers

when they hear them. This is a good reason to use interview question /

answer guide as just that ‐ guides. If your answers are not personalized to

your situation, they will sound forced and unnatural. You might be surprised

to learn how often interviewers hear the phrase, ʺI really like working with

people.ʺ The phrase is used so often that it has lost its meaning!

Watch Your Grammar and Your Manners. Employers are interested in

candidates who can express themselves properly. Even if you have to slow

down to correct yourself ‐‐ do it! Use slang expressions very sparingly. If

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your knowledge of rules of etiquette is rusty, take a ʺrefresher courseʺ from a

knowledgeable friend.

Be Prepared to Ask Questions. Almost all interviewers will ask if you have

any questions. You should have some ready and should have at least one that

is related to the conversation you have just completed. This demonstrates

that you are both prepared and interested. Your questions should be related

to details about the company and should be based on the information you

learned from the homework you have done. You should not ask questions

like ʺHow long to I have to wait before I can take a vacation?ʺ Save those

whatʹs‐in‐it‐for‐me questions for later. If you do not ask any questions at this

point, chances are that you may come across as a person who is not keen to

join the company.

Be Careful With the Closing. Do not linger. End quickly and courteously.

Thank your interviewer for the interview. Smile.

Be Yourself! You do not want to get hired on the basis of something you are

not. You want to be hired for who you are! Do not try to be someone you are

not during an interview. Be natural. An interview is a process by which the

candidate and the interviewer get to know each other and the candidate’s

role in the organization is established. Any mask that you may don for the

interview will wear down in no time.

Mock Interviews. It is always a good idea to attend mock interviews and use

the feedback to improve your interview skills.

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Standard Resume Format

This section gives you a typical resume format which you can use to start making your resume. However, feel free to add anything missing here. But try to restrict your resume to one to two pages. Be very specific and write only what you adds value to your resume and not space.

<Name> <Address> <E Mail> <Date of Birth>

Education

Year Degree/ Certificate Institute/ School, City CGPA/ % Rank

B.Tech. <Branch>

Class XII <Board>

Class X <Board> • Scholastic achievements, if any; year

• Exchange programs, if any; key achievements; period

• Key academic projects undertaken, if any; key achievements; period

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Summer training(s) Organization: _____________________ Department: ____________________,

City: _____________, Period: ________________

• What you did:

• What you achieved:

Organization: _____________________ Department: ____________________, City: _____________, Period: ________________

• What you did:


Work experience, if any Organization: _____________________ Department: ____________________,

City: _____________, Period: ________________

• What you did:


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Extra‐Curricular Activities

• Positions of responsibility

Position, Organisation Period Key achievements

• Key extra‐curricular activities/ interests (cultural activities/ sports/ others)

Please include your accomplishments / awards in these areas

Anything else you would like to mention

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Sample Interview Questions

This section will provide you a list of some sample interview questions which you should prepare for each and every company. There is no right or wrong answers – it’s just a matter of how you express yourself. When you are asked anything, the underlying question is “Why Should We Hire You?” and you should answer each question in that way. Your answers must be concise and compelling, and must relate to why you would be a great hire. Position your answers well, but do answer the question.

Tell me about yourself.

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

Which adjectives would you use to describe yourself?

What do you know about our company?

Why do you want to work for us?

Why should I hire you?

What past accomplishments gave you satisfaction?

What makes you want to work hard?

What type of work environment do you like best?

Why do you want this job?

How do you handle pressure and stress?

Explain how you overcame a major obstacle.

Where do you see yourself five (ten or fifteen) years from now?

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What qualifies you for this job?

As an entry‐level employee, a lot of the work you do will be very mundane.

How do you feel about that?

Are you more of a leader or a manager?

What is your philosophy toward leadership?

Do you enjoy working in groups?

What Motivates You?

Any questions I could answer for you?

What would you like to improve about yourself?

Also be prepared from some behavioral questions seeking your past experiences to judge

about your future.

Looking back, what would you do differently in your life?

An incident where your work was criticized?

An incident where your work you faced an ethical dilemma?

What have you done that demonstrates leadership?

What have you done that demonstrates teamwork?

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Chronicle of our Interviews

This section will provide you the narration of each and every interview we had. This

may not contain the exact question we were asked in the interviews, as this guide

has been written tow to three months after the interviews were actually held. But

these excerpts should provide you a brief picture of the actual interview one would

face.

The excerpts could be found below in the order:

1. Abhishek Poddar

2. Prateek Singhal

3. V. Bhanu Chandra

Name Abhishek Poddar

Name of Interviewer and Designation

Jatin Pant, Engagement Manager (EM)

Round (First/Second/Third)

Round 1, 1st Interview

Personal Interview Questions (With Indicative Answers if you choose to share them)

I was asked to highlight the two most important things from my resume. This is the best opportunity one gets to guide the interviewer to the topics you wish. So carefully think over such questions and decide atleast two to three topics which you are comfortable with and prepare them well. I took the interviewer through my resume, basically water polo and academics and about the inter‐IIT experience.

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Narration of the case interview (please be as descriptive as possible)

I was asked to calculate the total cigarette market in India. First I clarified whether he wants me to include the bidis also or not. He clarified that he only wants the cigarette market. Then I started from the demand side and structured the market dividing the Indian population according to age, income and lifestyle. Then estimated the average consumption in each sector (making some gross assumptions). I cleared it with Jatin whether he wants me to calculate the market in terms of number of units sold or the in terms of sales (he wanted the sales). So I had to consider the general habits of people in each sector (the price of the cigarettes they consume) and then add them up. I got a figure in crores of rupees which he asked me to covert into million dollars just to check how comfortable I am with numbers (he expected an instant response). Then he finally gave me the ITC’s sales figure and told me its market share and asked me to calculate the cigarette market from the supply side. I got a pretty nearby answers from both the approaches.

What do you think went right for you in this interview?

The first thing which I think went right was that I was clearly able to define myself and my strengths and was able to convince him about that. The second thing was that I was able to properly structure the case and made good assumptions about the general habits of people. I was able to get good figures.

What do you think went wrong in this interview?

Probably, I was not having an eye to eye contact all the time and also a bit nervous which was visible through my body language. At the end of the interview, Jatin asked me to improve on all these. Another small hassle was with the numbers, when Jatin asked me get the figures in millions.

Any tips for the future batches based on this interview experience?

It’s very important to introspect yourself before you appear for any interview. You need to know yourself very thoroughly. Then and only then, you will be able to convince the interviewer with your views. Another important aspect about these interviews is that you should know to properly structure your case. It’s not the numbers which are important, but the process. So try taking the interviewer through your thought process so that he can point out if you go wrong at any point of time.

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Rajat Dhawan, Partner

Round (First/Second/Third) Round 1, 2nd Interview


He was an IIT Kanpur alumni and so we had a pretty informal chat at the beginning of the interview about the general life style etc. In the process, he was also trying to judge my general awareness about the things which happen around me and about how social I am. Then he asked me several questions with regard to my resume (in short). Then he jumped to case study and at the end of interview, he tried to assess my future plans and about how serious I am about the consulting job.


The case was to estimate the market of the new 1 lakh car TATA is going to launch in a short period of time. I felt this was also a bit of stress interview as he told me not ask him any questions or for any data. Also, whenever I tried to involve him in the procedure, he asked me to give the final answer and said that he is not concerned about the procedure etc. I did felt a bit awkward at the beginning but soon I realized that he is trying to test me how I behave under stress conditions. So at the starting, I tired to get his inputs but then I started conveying him whatever I was doing without asking his opinion.


I think the best thing about this interview was that I was able to cope with the stress he was trying to put on me. I didn’t panic and kept my calm and he was quite impressed with that.


I made a lot of wrong assumptions (as I was not able to clarify my doubts) and went on to solve the case using them and finally got an a number which you can’t even imagine (market of 10crores ☺ ) but I guess he was not looking at the numbers but how I behave under stress.


DO NOT PANIC in stress interviews. Take it this way ‐ this is one of the easiest interviews you will be facing because in such interviews, their main aim is to see that you don’t behave awkwardly. So here its important not to perform badly rather than perform excellently which should be easier for you I guess.

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Prashant, Associate Partner

Round (First/Second/Third) Round 2, 1st Interview


He talked about my background and asked some questions related to the town where I spent my first eighteen years. Then we had quite a bit of discussion on Hindalco (where my Dad works), regarding the aluminium manufacturing process, its sales, its profit and its output etc. I didn’t have very clear picture about all these figures. So I made it very clear instead of just guessing around the numbers. Then he went through my resume and asked about my experiences focusing on the inter‐IIT and Antaragni. He asked me to explain whatever I did as a coordinator of the Mall and what I learned. I between the process, he asked me some involved questions about the event which I didn’t remember at all. He tried getting out that several times but at last I admitted that I have a weak memory and so I do not remember all these minute details.


He asked me to tell a topic on which I want him to make a case. I told him I am quite interested in cars and would like that to be the point of discussion. But then he knew that I already had a case on cars (Tata’s project) and so asked to suggest some other topic. I then chose metals (as I had a pretty decent knowledge about it, living in a Hindalco township for 18 years). He asked me advice whether he should open up an aluminium factory at a given place in India or not. He wanted me to first analyze the Indian market, whether the demand for aluminium is going up or down etc. After I said advised him to open up the factory, he asked the things he should be concerned about in choosing the right location for the factory. I pointed out several parameters on which this decision should be taken (mainly concerned with the raw materials supply, labor supply, power and demand). It was purely a descriptive case (rather than a problem solving type). After this we had a small estimation case basically to check my analytical aptitude (which I do not remember at all at this point of time. As I said, weak memory ☺ )


One of the best things was that I was very frank in accepting my weaknesses. I accepted that I didn’t have the slightest idea about the figures he was asking. Also, he was quite impressed with my knowledge about the manufacturing process and inputs in Hindalco.

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I was quite nervous when I was not able to recall about the Antaragni event which I coordinated. I was not able to thoroughly convince him that I played a major part in the coordination of the event and about the audacity of the event.


Brush up things you write in your resume and have a thorough knowledge about it and most importantly your learning through it.



Tilman Ehrbeck, Partner


Round 2, 2nd Interview


This was one of the best interviews we had. The interviewer was very friendly (in general, Germans are, believe me ☺). We talked about my experience in Germany (I did my intern there in summers of 2006 during the WC time ☺ ). Then I asked him about how he started his career and the path he followed and his experience with McKinsey till now and his future plans. He discussed with me everything very patiently and in the way, kept on advising me what I should do (which I kept asking in between). I was a nice session overall and I gained a lot of in‐depth knowledge about McKinsey. He tried to find out what all career options I have in mind right now and he pretty convinced with my desire to join a consulting company.


The case study was more of a descriptive one and a typical business case. I was given a business model in which a credit providing bank ties up with a retail company (selling washing machines for example) so as to provide the potential customers of the retail company with credit options (like that of EMI). He asked me to explain the benefits of all the three parties involved in this case (the bank, the retail company and the customers). I started highlighting the actual process and went to talk about the benefits of each of them one by one in detail.

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Tilman was quite impressed with my clarity of goal which is very important to have. He was also impressed with the queries I had which showed that I am very serious about joining McKinsey. Regarding the case, he was very satisfied with the way I described the case and the benefits of all the parties involved.


I can’t remember any (good for the last interview of the day ☺).


It’s very important to know what you want to pursue. Be very clear about it. Because to convince the person in front you about your decision to join McKinsey, its necessary that you are convinced. I frankly told them that I had given CAT and the made them clear about the reasons behind that. Its also important to be very frank. DO NOT LIE. Because if at all you do that, you might have to make ten more lies to convince the interview about that and in the end you WILL be caught after which you can safely assume that you are out of contention. They all have passed through our stage and they are well aware of the confusion we have, so its better to tell them about the options you have and ask them to advice you.

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Shailesh Kekre, Partner and Jatin Pant, Engagement Manager

Round (First/Second/Third) Round 3, 1st Interview (Telephonic Interview)


What if not McKinsey Why consulting Why not MBA right now Several other such questions about career plans.


No case study this time.


As this interview was on 2nd of December and till then we knew the names of our interviewer, I did a bit of research about my interviewer and found out a good article he had written. I read the complete article on the net and then went on to ask some specific questions related to that. This creates a very good impression on the interviewer about you because he too will get excited to answer your queries if you asking him a question in a field in which he has an expertise. You won’t believe but we had spent more that 80% of our interview time discussing this question.


I wasn’t prepared for the answer to the question “What if not McKinsey.” They asked about which other companies I will be sitting for and why those companies etc. etc. You should be prepared for such type of questions; you should always say that you have some back‐up. You have to be realistic, so you can’t just say that McKinsey is the only company I want to work for and I won’t work at all I don’t get into it.


Do not take any interview lightly. The interview may sound very friendly and casual but they may intend to check how professionally you behave in such situations. It might happen that its an informal interview but its quite possible that if you screw up badly, the interviewers might be rethinking over their decision and you may then find yourself in a big trouble.

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Name Prateek Singhal






•What did I like about my internships and if given a chance to redo it, what will I do to improve it, as a team player. oI could inform him about my success as a team player by telling him of the B. Tech. project offer from Max Planck Institute. •Details of .NET Club activities. •Details of business aspects covered in a business plan submitted by me. oI could explain in a way to showcase my familiarity with the business world •One weakness and one quality as a leader which I think has instrumental in my experience. •Why consulting


Your client wants to begin a big cardiac hospital in a small town, say your city Gwalior. Estimate the market for it, and list some factors that would affect the revenues of the hospital. The case was asked in such a way that made it clear that the interviewer did not want a complete solution to the problem but wanted to see the thinking process and how I broke the problem into parts and identify which are the working factors and which are not. I divided the whole population into age groups (<25, 25‐50, >50) and calculated the population of each group. Group 1 can be ignored for it has negligible number of heart patients. I assumed that 20% people in group 2 have heart problems of some sort, and that 30% people in group 3 have heart problems of some sort, and confirmed with the interviewer. This gave the local market size. Next, I asked if the hospital aims to attract people from outside. The interviewer didn’t want me to calculate the market size of non‐locals but wanted me to list some factors that would affect it. I listed out two most important factors •financial condition of the customer to traveling to another city •brand image of the hospital The interviewer next asked me to think of factors that will affect the hospital revenues and that need to be taken into account by management. I recalled the list various factors which I usually used to solve a business case and made notes. Now, I excluded factors like location etc. which would not be a major issue and came up with three major factors •Brand name or reputation ‐ the common man would not, in general, come to an expensive hospital unless he has heard of testimonials. The rich section is not very big in a small town. •Publicity of the hospital, especially in other

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cities, because towns like this are not expected to have a huge number of heart patients. •Competitive rates, as health care facilities are really cheap in small town as compared to the rates of a typical big hospital. •Other factors ‐ ease of the customer, amount of formalities required, good hospitality etc. The Interviewer wanted something more and asked me to consider two big hospitals of the same kind in the same town and think of factors driving the customer to choose one. I thought would be the reputation, the facilities etc. He was looking for something else and asked me one factor which would decide the choice, given everything else is the same. I again missed it, and finally he told me it would be the popularity and fame of the doctors.


•The interview went in a manner in which I could put forward my leadership experiences in the best possible manner. •I could showcase familiarity with business world. •I was clear in identifying my strengths, weaknesses and vision. •I think I could convince him that I was hardworking •In the end I asked him a follow up question on the relevance of the case in real life, which showcased my interest in the case. He was happy and explained in detail about the practical relevance in Indian context.


•I think I could have structured the case better, in both the parts. •Probably my body language wasn’t very good in the first half.


Know yourself well, do a lot of homework thinking about your achievements, each of your listed experiences, strengths, weaknesses etc. Have a clear vision about yourself, who you are, your life, your plans, why are you a fit for the job etc; try to convey it through your answers. Be interactive in the cases; try to make it a dialogue. Take your time to think and structure the case. Mind your body language, be energetic.

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Personal Interview Questions

•My departmental rank, and why my CPI was low when compared to my JEE rank. •My career plans. •Why consulting.


Estimate the monthly electricity bill for this hotel (Taj Palace, Delhi). This was a typical estimation case, and I solved it using the usual MECE approach. I identified that the hotel’s electricity expenditure is in three major places •The rooms •The services (background and foreground) •The lobby and reception Let us take each of these one by one. For the rooms, I was asked to assume 500 simple rooms. For each room, I accounted for lights, AC, miscellaneous supplies like ironing/laptops etc. In this the interviewer helped me in assigning AC power consumption to each room, as I was unsure of how to do that. For all the rooms, the power consumption came out to be 30MWh. I divided the services into 3 restaurants, 1 bar, 1 coffee‐shop, 5 shops, 5 office complexes, 3 conference halls. Services like swimming pool and parking etc. could be ignored as they don’t take up much electricity. Next, I calculated the power consumption of all of these one‐by‐one making appropriate assumptions, by estimating the size of each of these in terms of the size of the room. All of this was after confirming with the interviewer. Finally, this came out to be another 500 rooms, hence another 30MWh for the services. A lobby was taken to be roughly the size of 50 rooms. And I assumed 5 such lobbies in the hotel. This gave another 15MWh. Hence, the hotel spends a total of 75MWh in one day. This means 75000 units of electricity. Assuming a price of Rs. 10 per unit, this gives us Rs. 7.5 lacs per day, or about Rs. 2.5 crore per month. The interviewer said it was good answer and that the actual expenditure is close to this. Next, I was asked to estimate the revenues earned from hotel rooms, per month, to see if the hotel at all recovers this cost. I dashed into the solution at once with 500 rooms, Rs. 15000 per room per night, 30 nights ‐around Rs. 25 crore. But one factor that might change the rate would be that hotels usually reserve rooms for businesses, at a cheaper rate. The interviewer pointed out that I missed the point that all the rooms would not be occupied all the time. I then assumed 70% occupancy rates, and the revenue came out to be around 17 crores.

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•I could justify my unsure future plans, and at the same time sound concrete, practical and original. •I could drive the case to the very end and come up with realistic numbers. •I asked him a question on the experiences of past business analysts which made me sound serious. The interviewer explained in great detail, citing particular examples.


•The interviewer did not think my way of solving the case was the simplest one, and he suggested a much simpler way. •I missed out on one crucial point in the second part of the case.


Be realistic and original in your plans, and be able to justify it strongly. This works better than cramming up a state‐of‐the‐art career plan and trying to defend it. Think for the case solution method from various perspectives, and decide upon the most suitable method depending upon the type/accuracy of answer desired.

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Raj Kamal




•Asked details about things in my resume. •Questions on personal qualities and how they matched with what the firm needed. •Why consulting.


A bank is worried because the number of ATM users among its customers is not growing. What could be the possible reasons for this? Also, the bank wants to open a new ATM. How many customers should serve so that it is justified by cost concerns? I went to my usual list of possible factors that could be affecting this case and came up with 3 possible broad reasons for this: •Product – What is the ATM service design? How the interface is and what are the facilities provided? How do these compare with the competitor ATMs? Is the ATM service given at a fee? Is the fee too much? How does the fee compare with the competitors? •Supply/Sales – Are the ATM locations in general strategic? Are the competitor ATMs better located? Is the ATM facility well publicized? •Customers – Who are the customers? Does a major fraction of them fall in classes which don’t usually use ATMs? I also thought upon other reasons like the bank’s internal logistics, cost to the bank etc. but they were either irrelevant here or covered under the above three heads. The interviewer agreed with most of these. He also suggested one more important reason ‐ do the bank customers have ATM cards at all? Why? It could so happen that the ATM card procurement process is expensive/complicated/lengthy and the costumers do not have ATM cards in the first place. The next part of the question was a quantitative case. Opening a new ATM will be justified if the cost to the bank is less than the cost to the bank if all the customers expected to use the ATM go to the bank and are served by operators. Cost of ATM = Cost of premises + Salary of Guard + Cost of electricity + Other Small Costs = Rs. 15000pm + Rs. 10000pm + Rs. 5000 pm = Rs. 30000pm .

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Similarly, find the cost, if all the people using ATMs have to be served manually. I was asked to assume the same fixed costs of the bank in both cases. Hence, the cost in this case was the sum of salaries paid to employees for the time they serve customers plus some other costs. The employee salaries could be calculated by finding out the average time taken to serve a customer, and dividing the monthly salary into this proportion. Also, don’t forget that all the bank customers would not come to the bank daily; assume say once a week. Finally by equating these two costs, the number of ATM users came out to be around 20 each day.


•I could clearly spell out my qualities and strengths and how they fit well to the firm’s requirements. •I did my homework to build some knowledge about the firm and showcased it, in my answers and by asking questions in the end.


• I think I assumed some important points in the case myself, without even letting the interviewer know, which eventually turned out to be opposite to the interviewer’s expectations.


Don’t be in a haste to solve the case. Rather try to do correctly and comprehensively whatever you do; the rest of the case will be probably a follow up on your current performance. Try to understand the interviewer’s intent during the interview.

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•Asked about my other interview experiences oI could bring out a few good points about myself and few things I enjoyed; in general convey that I enjoyed the process. •One important thing I observed about McKinsey that day. •Why my academics at school were not as good as that at IIT. •Why I wanted to do management consulting despite having done good at academics. oI explained how I had developed an interest other than technical, and what I was doing to pursue it. oI could discuss my plans with him and steer the interview, while at the same time emphasizing that I believed I was suited for consulting and technically good, the same time.


No Case!!


•I could clearly spell out my plans and my thoughts on my career and involve the interviewer in it. •I could justify and give reasons for all my performances in my career. •I could prove that I was serious about consulting, and not just experimenting.


• I was confused and a bit uncomfortable.


Don’t be in a haste to solve the case. Rather try to do correctly and comprehensively whatever you do; the rest of the case will be probably a follow up on your current performance. Try to understand the interviewer’s intent during the interview.

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Round 3, 1st Interview (Telephonic Interview)


Whole of the interview was focused around – Why did I want to do consulting, why was I so sure about it, why don’t I want to continue technically/academically.


No Case


•I could clearly spell out my plans and my thoughts on my career and involve the interviewer in it. •I could prove that I was serious about joining McKinsey and doing consulting.


• Stuck a couple of times trying to explain and justify that I love my field, as well as confident and enthusiastic about consulting.


Try to be more interactive in a telephonic interview by using appropriate phrases and pauses.

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Name V Bhanu Chandra






The interview started with “Tell me about you” and then continued along the various points that I had mentioned in the above question. In answer to the above question I had mentioned what I had done in the last few years. What all I had learned not only being in the positions of responsibility but also as an individual how I have bettered than what I was before.


The case that I was given was to estimate the size of the cigarette market in India. At the outset I had asked for clarification as to whether by size they meant the number of cigarettes sold or the overall cost of the cigarettes. At this point I was told that they needed the cost of the cigarettes sold. I had started by saying that this can be obtained by getting the details from the companies which sell most of the cigarettes, but also mentioned that another way would be to look at the demand of the cigarettes. At this point the interviewer said that he wants me to calculate from the demand side. At this I started breaking down the society into classes and then based on age, sex calculated the size of the market.


The informal nature of the interview and the way I could break up the case into first classes and then also coming up with reasonably good estimates of the numbers involved.


I had started on a bad note in the case when I said a billion is 100 million. At this point I got a little nervous and beads of sweat started appearing on the forehead. But then the interviewer was kind enough not to follow it up. He let things cool down.


Do the cases well and be natural when the questions in personal interview come up. Chalk out a plan for what you would be the content of the answer which you would give but avoid by‐hearting the exact answer. You might just fumble. But, this is my personal opinion, others need to assess it independently.

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The interview started on a very informal note with the interviewer asking me how was the stay. I just took him through what we did the whole night and the people we met, also the issues we discussed. After this there was some silence for sometime. The interviewer was not asking any questions and I had answered the previous question to its completion. Silence was broken down by the interviewer by starting with the same kind of interview as the first one. The only thing that differed was that this time around, I had tried to cover the parts of the resume which I could not touch upon during the first interview.


Estimate the market of the new 1 lac car TATA is going to launch in a short period of time. I started with a classification of the population into classes based on economic status and then went on to solve the case. This interview was special since the interviewer kept the pressure going saying that time is running out for me. He struck to 30 min slot that was scheduled. I was expected to give a final number for the given estimation case.


The way the interview started and also some good estimates from my side made the interview really good. The body language was paid a lot of attention to. Stands on certain issues were also appreciated and finally the way in which the interview started and my initial responses did good.


This could be an overkill but in my opinion nothing.


Do not cave in for stress interviews. Be cheerful, energetic and be sure of what you are saying. When the interviewer explicitly asks you to come to a number while estimating, not just the process, be careful with the numbers at each stage of the breakup so that you do not end up spending more than the allotted time just trying to figure out what you had just estimated.

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Prashant, Associate Partner




This interview also started with “Tell me about you” style question and then went very similar to what the previous two interviews went. But, the only new and I guess important personal question that was asked was “What if not McKinsey”. I had simply mentioned another company, joining which I can accomplish my long term goals. I stressed more on the long term career goals I want to achieve; starting with McKinsey was one of the good ways of starting the same.


In the career path I had mentioned the idea of a startup. The interviewer asked me to come up with a product and then estimate the market size for the same. Later I was to ask him for investment in the said startup in a stipulated time of 2 minutes. I had to make a small presentation to him of the case.


Showing them the career path that I want to take by joining their company and also sticking to the same even in the case in which they do not take me might have worked for me.


I did not present my case well. I was more involved in giving the numbers to the investor rather than just the idea of the product and a mention of the size of the market.


Be sure you have thought of a career path and also stick to it in the eventuality of the current company turning you down.

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This was a very short interview and the only personal question asked in this case was to mention a situation where I had worked in a team of peers. What is needed to make such a team successful?


This was more of a strategy case in which a TV dealer, bank and the customer are involved. I was asked to predict who gains what and who has to pay whom and why.


The fact that I started by saying “Let me start with the customer since I can identify myself with him more easily” worked well. Reason: see tips.


I started mentioning the work that we did in a team of peers rather than concentrating on the nature of the team itself. The interviewer had to bring me back to the topic a couple of times.


I am of the opinion that the interviewer is looking for how well one empathizes with the situation. So my first statement should have been spot on.

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Round 3, 1st Interview (Telephonic Interview)


What if not McKinsey? Why consulting? Why startup?


No case study this time.


Again my stand on the career path that I have, worked well for me.


Being telephonic in nature the interview was less interactive and I did not have a chance to gauge the reaction of the interviewers.


Telephonic interviews are weird. Practice for yourself thinking you are going to talk to a wall.

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Endnote

You can use a lot of resources available freely on the net. Some of the good

casebooks and interview guides are listed below:

WHU Koblenz – Das Consulting Casebook

Wharton Casebook

Tuck University Consulting Club Guide

Kellog University Consulting Club Guide

There are several other case guides of universities like HBS, Columbia etc which you

can refer to. In addition to this, you can refer to the interview guides by some Indian

institutes like ISB and IITB.

Also there are a lot of internet sites which provides sample interview questions,

advices for dressing attires, how to write winning resumes, etc. It is, thus, advisable

to start googling for all such stuffs. Infact, all of the above stuffs written in this

handbook can be found on one or the other site. We have just tried to compile

everything available with us along with our experiences. All we hope is that this

effort of ours be worth your time.

Best of luck!!!

McKinsey Interview Guide

Documents

Transcript of McKinsey Interview Guide