Interviewing McKinsey, need your insights.

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naivejoe

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I am interviewing McKinsey in a few days. I have passed paper test and I am sure I will be doing case interview, which makes me a little bit nervous.
It might be away from what you guys are talking here. But since you are all elites either from top schools or simply doing great, I need input from your guys in term of questions to prepare or experience to share.
Any advice and suggetion will be highly appreciated!~
 
What position are you interviewing for?
Intern, BA, Junior associate, associate? Pretty different requirements for each role
 
Besides, I am a MBA and level 2 candiate in CFA program.
How should I impress the interviewer with my CFA experience?
Thank you!~
 
Besides, I am a MBA and level 2 candiate in CFA program.
How should I impress the interviewer with my CFA experience?
Thank you!~
 
Besides, I am a MBA and level 2 candiate in CFA program.
How should I impress the interviewer with my CFA experience?
Thank you!~
 
Besides, I am a MBA and level 2 candiate in CFA program.
How should I impress the interviewer with my CFA experience?
Thank you!~
 
I had no intention to post the same message many times. It was my internet problem. sorry.
 
naivejoe Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I am interviewing McKinsey in a few days. I have
> passed paper test and I am sure I will be doing
> case interview, which makes me a little bit
> nervous.
what country are you from? just wondering, because the McK offices in the US finished their BA recruiting in the fall. also, are you interviewing for the generalist role, corp fin, or other?
> It might be away from what you guys are talking
> here. But since you are all elites either from top
> schools or simply doing great, I need input from
> your guys in term of questions to prepare or
> experience to share.
haha…you are giving the board too much credit here
> Any advice and suggetion will be highly
> appreciated!~
suggestions:
(1) do mock interviews
(2) read case in point or the vault guide to case interviews
(3) do mock interviews
(4) do mock interviews
you should expect 1-2 cases during your first rnd interview, maybe some fit, but mostly case. good luck
 
I would strictly advise AGAINST applying to a BA position if you have an MBA. MBA means associate roles, period. If they want to low-ball you, just forget about this potion, its not worth it.
And CFA level 2 candidacy won’t impress anyone in the slightest, that’s for sure, because level 1 is fully about the basics from the university. Don’t emphasize tha fact that you passed level 1 during the interviews.
 
Go to the other consulting firms sites (BCG, Bain, Kearney, LEK, etc) and look for any case studies there. I would do multiple case studies and strategize how to tackle these cases.
You do have to get the right answer in these cases!
Good luck
 
Take a look at the book “Case in Point” by Marc Consentino, very good review of case questions and answer examples.
 
Naive,
I interviewed at McKinsey a few months ago in their investment office (it handled the investments of all the employees, mostly hedge fund of fund stuff), but I had a few rounds in their NYC office. So, for the first round I interviewed with HR who, I believe, interviewed people for all types of roles.
Are you interviewing in NYC? I can run down what the experience was if you would like.
 
Neud,
I have a question for you…
Could you elaborate on your point of why passing level 1 is not impressive? I believe you but would like to get some input as to your experience of why this is the case, do you interview with any candidates who passed any part? I am really just curious because I passed L1 in December and am looking for an entry level job; I typically do not throw out that I passed L1 as if it was a big accomplishment, but I do at least mention it in some context.
I interviewed at UBS for a prime brokerage position (i wasn’t really interested and neither were they, so it didn’t work out), but when I told them i was enrolled in L1 they thought that was pretty impressive, which I thought was pretty strange on their part because I hadn’t even passed it at the time.
 
mto1985 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Neud,
>
> I have a question for you…
>
> Could you elaborate on your point of why passing
> level 1 is not impressive? I believe you but would
> like to get some input as to your experience of
> why this is the case, do you interview with any
> candidates who passed any part? I am really just
> curious because I passed L1 in December and am
> looking for an entry level job; I typically do not
> throw out that I passed L1 as if it was a big
> accomplishment, but I do at least mention it in
> some context.
>
> I interviewed at UBS for a prime brokerage
> position (i wasn’t really interested and neither
> were they, so it didn’t work out), but when I told
> them i was enrolled in L1 they thought that was
> pretty impressive, which I thought was pretty
> strange on their part because I hadn’t even passed
> it at the time.
If you have an MBA and you represent yourself as a finance guy, you should have all of the LI material down pretty well, whether or not you actually passed the exam. Furthermore, the CFA isn’t exactly a skillset relevent to McKinsey. I’d imagine they’d want you to know a lot more about corp fin and could care less what you know about derivatives…
 
mto1985,
i think the answer to your question about L1 is simple - brokerage ppl are salespeople, passing series 7 and 63 seem like hurdles to them so CFA seems like a big accomplishment. compare that to the other groups in an i-bank and major consulting firms and they won’t bat an eyelid unless you pass L2.
just my 2 cents.
 
mto1985, being a charterholder myself, I may judge from my own experience: level one is laughable difficulty-wise, when compared to level 2 and level 3.
I think 70% of material included in l1 curriculum was well taught to me during my university studies.
Besides, you are right, I do interview candidates at my firm (though as an associate myself I only interview intern, analyst and associate level candidates, not higher up), and I may say that very many guys now have “passed level 1” under their belts. Still at least half of them doesn’t know how to come to EV starting from market cap, or something of the same “difficulty” level. So from my point of view, level 1 completion doesn’t worth much credit. Level 2 completion, on the contrary, would be a significant positive factor - as it is many times harder and really serves as a proxy of one’s abilities and dedication.
 
Thanks Neud.
Its funny, I have a master of accounting and i’ve covered more material on L2 as a student than L1 which makes L2 seem much easier compared to L1 for myself personally.
(i havent taken L2 yet so who knows if i’ll pass, and im not working so maybe it seems easier because there is no stress as compared to when i was studying L1), so I guess it can also be a case of what classes some people have taken in undergrad.
But the impression I’m getting from all of you is that passing L2 is impressive.
I appreciate that insight and it does fill in some blanks in terms of the feedback im getting from peope.
Sometimes I also think people who pass L1 who just relied on study notes don’t have as strong of a grasp on the material as those who read through the CFAI notes. Its unfair to say that and im not trying to criticize anyone (especially since most people who use study notes may have a full job to balance as well), but I personally found I retained the material much better when I read through the CFA material.
 
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