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McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company I have my first rounds (2 cases) for a position at the risk practice. Will I be interviewed by consultants in the risk practice? I wonder if I can ask some risk practice specific questions at the end of the interviews. (Didn’t get the names of the interviewers yet so I cannot google)
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Depends on what you mean by harder, but generally no. My experience has been that the first round tests if you can do the job, the second tests if you can do it consistently
Agree with McK1. They test if you can nail them all consistently. I did find one case of my second round more difficult but it was probably due to how the interviewer guided , vs the case itself. Thought I bombed it but got the offer. Just stay calm and do your best! Good luck!
Agree with M1 but will add that it’s a little more nuanced. From my experience, it differs from firm-to-firm. McKinsey’s interviews were all pretty consistent in terms of case difficulty - both structuring and quant. But Bain’s interviews weren’t. The first round cases were pretty easy and straightforward. The second round ones seemed to be a lot more vague and open-ended - probably by design to judge how well you work through ambiguity, which when compounded with the fact that you’re speaking with a Partner, I found to be more difficult.
I also think it’s partly the structure of the case that allows for such a difference. McKinsey’s cases are generally well-explained and packed with lots of context right out of the gate, sometimes designed to inundate you with useless information to test your focus and attention span. Bain’s and prolly BCG’s on the other hand, are more fluid. They run the gamut from a 2-liner (as was one of my Bain interviews) to as long as 2-paragraphs. So this gives the interviewer more wiggle room to design and communicate the case as they see fit, which might it more difficult to solve.
Hope this helps!
Very helpful. Thank you
Just went through the process with all three and my experience was that the cases themselves don’t get harder.
Main difference is that partners int eh 2nd round are more likely to mix things up or go off script, would just be more open minded, less framework focused, and roll with the punches