Business Analyst Intern

Exceptionally difficult to get an interview without OCR from McKinsey. In my case, it requires the backing of high-level people at the firm (Principal/Partner/Director). For non-core applicants, you usually have a phone screen, consisting solely of a case interview, then first-round interviews (2-3) with Associates/EMs, which are about 30-40 minutes long, consisting of both a case and a Personal Experience Interview. Then 3 final-round interviews with Principals/Partners/Directors, consisting of both case and PEI. Both of these are very formulaic, and time-consuming but linear to prepare for:

- Case: very directed breaks down to about 4-6 specific questions. 1st is always "what factors would you consider when looking at this case?" i.e. use a framework to break the problem down. The next will be directing you to specific sub-problems in the case, and are either a) math questions, b) graph/data analysis, or c) brainstorming. For (c) in particular, structuring your answer is absolutely crucial. Generally, they look for structure and creative insights - you're compared to your peers, and if your answers are boring and mundane, you don't get the job.

- Behavioral interview: I never received a "Why McKinsey" or "why..." anything question. They will ask you only one question: At McKinsey we value [x] skill/trait, can you describe a time where you showed [x] trait?" The traits are Leadership (leading teams, especially if you're not the designated leader), Influence (how did you persuade people to follow your idea?), and Achievement (a time where you set a goal and achieved it). You will then tell one story in extreme detail for 10-15 minutes, and they will ask you follow-up questions like "and then what did he say to you?" or "what were you thinking when you said that?" So you absolutely need to prepare for this in advance, by writing out the bullet-points of major stories that you want to share, and jogging your memory beforehand - you don't want to be stuck trying to remember an important conversation while you're in the middle of the interview, you want to be spending that time creating a smooth story and tailoring it to the traits that they're looking for.