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Hey guys. I have been applying to Amex for the past 1 year. Tried applying on the portal, through referrals and even hr consultants reached me regarding the roles since I have a relevant profile. But not once have I been shortlisted or called for an interview. What could be the problem?
PS: I have gotten calls from every other company for the same profile but not amex. Can't be a problem with the profile. Seems something dicey which I'm not aware of.American Express
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McKinsey uses interviewer lead cases. After the initial prompt. They are essentially a number of questions, typically 1) how would a framework look to address this 2) now lets look at… 3) ok, so how would you… 4) based on the discussion what would you recommend. They kind of break down the case in chunks that can be assessed seperately. BCG prep will set you up well, we look for the same things. Good luck!
The cases aren't that different, but you might want to spend some time thinking about your PEI
Your practice for BCG should hold you in good stead for McK’s cases. The only minor difference I’d point to would be the initial structure. From my experience, McK gives you slightly more time for it and expects a more comprehensive structure than BCG - think of it as a bit of a compensation for the fact that McK guides most of the case going forward but BCG doesn’t.
I can’t stress enough on the PEI portion. It truly accounts for 50% of your final score - so make sure you give the attention it is due. Make sure you have at least 1 primary story for each of the 3 traits (on their website) and then multiple other stories that you can re-purpose in case the same trait is asked twice. The unique thing about McK’s PEI is that they’re very particular about the details of your story, which can sometime lead to stress-tests- so make sure they are as airtight as can be.
2 weeks is a lotta time, especially since you’re good on the casing front. I’d spend 70% of my time on PEI from here on.
Hope this helps!
Thank you! One of the key differences I am reading about is the interviewer lead style at McKinsey vs the candidate lead interview style at BCG. Definitely a bit of a perspective shift.
Regarding the PEI, thankfully this interview style is more natural for me, but I will definitely refocus my prep to cover the 3 traits.
Mentor
Idk, but isn’t the normal interview timeline 1 week? Like you have a 1st round Monday, final round that same Friday?
Originally when HR called me they talked about a process over the next month or even longer so I could have time to prepare, but after I told them I already had something at BCG she asked if I could schedule for the first case study on Monday.
Was in the same boat and got an offer!
I focused on two things:
1. practicing McKinsey cases from their website (the cases are a lot more non conventional eg public sector)
2. preparing my PEI (heard a lot of people failed on PEI despite excellent cases)
Thanks!