Interviewing with

McKinsey & Company

Realize your full potential
McKinsey Asia
Thank you for your
interest in McKinsey
& Company – we are
delighted to invite you
to interview with our
firm. We are excited
about meeting with you
and getting to know
you better.

When you interview with us, you will meet

some of our consultants, and these meetings
will have two aims:

1. To enable us to learn more about your

skills and experience so that we can
determine your suitability for a career 
at our firm.

2. To allow you to learn more about what

we do and who we are so you can have
more clarity and confidence in your
career choices.

We want you to realize your full potential in

your interviews. This simple guide is intended
to help you prepare and give you some tips on
what to do when the day arrives…

01
What are we looking for?
There are four key areas where we look for you to demonstrate your skills. Each of these
areas is critical to success in the day-to-day work we do. We hire distinctive people, so we
will look for outstanding potential in each of these areas when we interview you.

Problem Solving Entrepreneurial Drive

Helping clients solve tough problem and
implement solutions requires strong
intellectual abilities and rigor, as well as
practical sense of what works and what
does not.
Overcoming obstacles and achieving goals
requires an innovative mindset, an openness
to new approaches, and a continuous quest
for learning and growth.

Personal Impact Inclusive Leadership

Working with clients on challenging
issues requires the involvement and
support of many individuals. Interacting
effectively with people is key to creating
positive, enduring change.
Harnessing the power of diverse thinking
to drive results requires the ability to lead
people with different backgrounds and
create belonging where everyone can be at
their best.

02
McKinsey Problem Solving Assessment
As part of your recruiting process, you may be asked to take a test, depending on the role
for which you apply. Our tests focus on job-related knowledge or abilities, such as problem-
solving or coding skills.

To test intrinsic problem-solving skills, you may be asked to complete the McKinsey
Problem Solving Game, which is a gamified assessment. The McKinsey Problem Solving
Game does not require previous business knowledge or gaming experience. You will be
provided with a tutorial at the start of each task to help you become familiar with what you
are required to do and how to navigate around the McKinsey Problem Solving Game. The
McKinsey Problem Solving Game is valid for 70 minutes. We suggest finding a time slot
where you will not be disturbed and can complete the Problem Solving Game without any
interruptions.

For certain technical roles, you will be asked to complete a test focusing on your coding
abilities. These tests include programming challenges to determine your fluency in your
preferred coding language. You will receive detailed information from your recruiter if the
assessment process for your role requires a test.

Further detailed information on the Problem solving game is available at our FAQ

03
Personal Experience Interviews
While there’s no template for success at McKinsey, our people share some qualities that
help make us successful–and that make working here rewarding.

During your interview, we'll ask you to share examples from your personal experiences.
Some interviewers will use the exact language below, while some will use their own words.
Your responses to these questions allow us to understand your accomplishments and
challenges beyond your CV and discover skills that will help you thrive at McKinsey.

We suggest that you prepare two personal examples to demonstrate your skills in these
areas. During your interview, you should speak in a conversational style about your
examples and share details about the challenges, goals, and actions you took to create
change. To prepare for this part of the interview you should:

• Review the key skills we look for (as described in the previous section).
Personal impact – Explain a challenging situation you encountered when working
with someone with an opposing opinion to yours.
Entrepreneurial drive – Talk about a time when you worked to achieve something that
was outside of your comfort zone.
Inclusive leadership – Share an example where you effectively worked together with
people with different background.

• Think back and remember some key challenging times in your past where you needed
to exhibit those skills. Remember, you should discuss experiences that were truly
challenging for you. It is unlikely that we will see your full potential if you discuss
accomplishments where your skills were not stretched.

• Preparing for these parts of your interview will help you to realize your full potential on
the day. If there are other important parts to your interview day, you will be made aware
of these by a McKinsey recruiter.

04
How do I prepare?
We try to ensure we are as accurate and fair as we can possibly be when we interview you.
To do this, we employ a wide range of assessment methods. In particular, you should be
prepared for the following:

Case Studies
We believe the best way we can assess your problem solving skills is to discuss a typical
McKinsey business problem with you – we call this a case study.
Our interviewers are trained to use case studies which are fair to you and reflect the typical
problem solving challenges faced by our consultants.
You will be required to have a discussion with your interviewer around a case study. During
this discussion the interviewer will assess many things, including:
• How you go about structuring a tough, often ambiguous, business problem.
• How you think about which issues are important in the problem.
• How you deal with and process data (numerical and otherwise).
• How you think about making conclusions and recommending actions required to
solvethe problem.
• How you articulate your thoughts during an interactive problem solving discussion.
Case studies are broad, two-way discussions, rather than one-way tests. There is no
perfect answer. You will be assessed more on how you go about dealing with the problem,
rather than on the specific answers you come up with.
Some practice at case study discussions is recommended, especially if you are
inexperienced at interactive problem solving discussions. There are many ways you can
practice. For example:
• Try out the example case study on our website at www.mckinsey.com/careers
• Discuss some current business issues with friends/colleagues. The financial press
willoften contain articles that can prompt such discussion. Try to think about what might
bewrong and what you would do to fix it.
• Practice your numerical agility through performing some basic calculations in your
head,especially if you have not done this in a while.

05
 Preparing for the case study interview
Typical sections of a case
Define the problem
• Listen carefully
• Understand the facts
• Paraphrase to confirm your understanding
• Determine your overall approach (don’t dive
into the detail at this stage)
• Use a framework, if appropriate
• Keep your details organised
Analyse the information
• Agree on priority issues
• Make estimations, explain your assumptions
• Work with the interviewer
(ask questions, watch for hints)
Develop a conclusion
• Synthesise your answers
• Discuss tradeoffs
• Relate back to original question
For further guidance on interviews, please watch
an interview coaching session from one of our
recruiting leaders:
https://solutions.mckinsey.com/msd/videos/
mck-interview-coaching
Password: McK_Interviews!
Tips and tricks
• Expect it to be a challenge —
these problems are not easy
so don’t worry if you struggle
at times
• Always take notes, and ask
questions to be sure you have
understood the problem to
be solved
• Take time to think before
answer
• We are looking for organised
ideas—not just ideas
themselves
• Talk your interviewer through
your steps at all times, we
are as interested in your
thought process, as we are in
your final recommendations
• Expect maths, be
comfortable doing simple
arithmetic and use a pen and
paper if you need to
• Ask for help when you need it
06
On the day…
We want you to enjoy interviewing with us and we hope that you learn more about what we
do through spending time with our consultants. Here are some tips to ensure you get the
most out of the day…

Relax
Although it’s easier said than done, you should try your best to be relaxed and to enjoy
the day. Our interviewers are friendly, fair, and fun and they want you to succeed. You will
perform better if you are relaxed. Most of our candidates say that they enjoy the discussion
that they have with their interviewers, whatever the outcome.

Be yourself
There is no ‘typical’ McKinsey hire – we hire people from a very wide variety of
backgrounds. Be yourself in your interview. Do not try to behave differently from how you
would normally behave, and do not try to focus on what you think we want to hear. If you
behave as naturally as possible, you will allow our interviewers to get the most accurate
assessment of your skills.

Take your time

Do not feel rushed at any point in the day. In particular, take your time during the interview.
If you respond to questions before having time to think them through, you are less likely to
respond well. Ask your interviewer for a moment to think if you need it, and always ask them
to clarify anything you do not understand – this will not affect how we evaluate your skills.

Get something out of it for yourself

Ensure you take time to find out what you need. If you have burning questions about
McKinsey, or about consulting more broadly, ask your interviewers. Interviewers expect
questions from you in the interview.
Again, we hope that you enjoy the experience of interviewing with McKinsey. We pride
ourselves on our recruiting process and are constantly looking for feedback on how we can
improve it. We will ask you for feedback when your interviews are complete, and we would
appreciate your comments.

Good luck!

07