What is the likelihood of getting a McKinsey offer after an unusual interview with senior level partner
I am at a non-target (for MBB )school in the US but have prior strategy consulting experience. I have been granted interviews by all three - MBB, through a mix of cold emails to partners, alumni (at MBB) outreach and by directly writing to the recruiter. Interview process at M appears to be pretty much complete, and BB interviews are to occur over the next 3 weeks. The M interview went well but was not according to any plan that I have heard of earlier. Here's what happened - I ended up being interviewed directly by a senior level partner, who among other things, explained to me why management consulting was better than investment banking. There is a finance certification and a tilt towards finance in my profile plus I am at a non-target MBB school but a target school for investment banks.
The interview itself was all about my education and personal experiences - there was no case question.
Right after the interview, the partner introduced me (out of turn) to another partner in the office and offered genuinely high praise for me ("great guy", "outstanding credentials" etc) in my presence.
So, I met the second partner out of turn, who, then, also did a personal experiences and education/projects based interview.
In between, I got a small office tour, was introduced to some of the people in the office and was also introduced to a person in the recruiting team, who would be getting back to me in a few days.
I was treated with respect, courtesy and graciousness all through the process - the respect the folks at M gave me was overwhelming and impressive, to be honest.
More info: I don't come from a famous /politically well-connected/ super rich family. I don't come from a minority group. Hiring me will not aid any internal workforce diversity initiative.
Academics are good but not superlative, though there is that rare outstanding spike in just a few subjects. GMAT is good, but not superlative and yet, not worth re-taking. Co-curricular, volunteer and extra-curricular activities are a small handful, but chosen in line with my interests and I can show some significant accomplishments there, which most people would not normally achieve.
Question: Is the situation as described above, normal - is this something they do with a lot of interviewees? Based on what I have read at this forum, my interview experience seems to be a bit different from the normal process. So, the big question is - what is the likelihood of actually getting an M offer in a week's time?
Was this the only interview you had? I would say this is a way above average interview experience and you should trust your gut in understanding your performance. It sounds like you have this on lock.
I was expecting one case interview and one HR/recruiter interview at most, but ended up having two "personal experience" interviews. At this point, my best, uninformed guess is that I will probably be called back for another interview or two of which at least one would have a case.
did you not have the other 2 (or 3) final round interviews scheduled for that day? what happened to those?
I had only 1 interview scheduled, but ended up having 2 interviews (ie, one unscheduled interview) plus a short discussion with the recruiter. I was not told about any other interviews in advance, and so, I went in, expecting only 1 interview to occur. Not sure of what to make of this. On the one hand it looks quite promising, on the other hand, it looks quite unusual. Great experience though - and full marks to McKinsey for delivering a flawless candidate experience.
okay then you should have 2 more scheduled. they're not going to let you in with just 1 interview.
Yes, that would make sense. Thank you for helping me figure this out.
Did the recruiter say that that was the final interview? I'm just curious as to why you are thinking that your first interview 'set' was the entire process? If you haven't done a case interview yet, I wouldn't assume that you're finished interviewing... Unless you're at a small office where their process could be a lot less routine and the partner is a gunslinger.
Good point sevenforone . I will know in a few days and you're right - I should expect more interviews to occur. The partner was balanced and reasonable - certainly not a gunslinger
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