Why consulting case interviews are only half the battle

“I want to join McKinsey because I admire the incredible success of the firm and the opportunities it provides. I also feel that I have a track record of success and will naturally fit into McKinsey. I have furthermore always liked solving complex problems and will be a perfect addition to the firm.”

When we screen resumes for our case training service the above statement paraphrases the responses of 90% of those who write in and answer the questions “Why McKinsey and/or Management Consulting?”

This is a terrible answer. Besides being totally vague, lacking in specifics and showing no understanding of the industry and firm, it also does not promote the applicant. Using the logic presented in this answer, if anyone even admires McKinsey, they should be hired. That’s plain ridiculous. Second, having a track record of success is so clichéd and says nothing about the success you have had. Third, solving complex problems is again clichéd. The interviewer wants to know what types of problems you solved and why you think this is applicable to the type of work you will do at McKinsey. Fourth, if I deleted McKinsey above and replaced this with BCG/Bain or Roland Berger, this statement would still work. That’s the problem; it’s not specific to a firm.

The majority of interviewers admit that they are more than a little shocked when candidates spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on MBA’s or advanced degrees, case training and books, but did not even bother learning about the firm. They want to see that candidates truly understand the firm and can clearly articulate the reasons why they want to join.

Here are some interesting horror stories from McKinsey/Bain/BCG interviewers:

• The candidate spent a good 10 minutes explaining why he wanted to join McKinsey and learn under a firm led by Rajat Gupta. He clearly had good reasons. However Rajat Gupta no longer led the firm and it showed he had not even bothered to check this fact.
• Arriving for an interview straight from a vacation in jeans and a t-shirt.
• Arriving for an interview with orange hair! Apparently the candidate had just graduated and lost a bet. It was a sign of his integrity that he adhered to the terms of the bet even when attending the interview.
• Arriving at BCG with a copy of a BCG article and explaining to the interviewer why you disagree with the findings!
• Another candidate offered to take a young female interviewer out to dinner to learn about the firm!
• One enterprising candidate called back after a rejection and complained that she wanted a management case but was given an economics case!

The bottom line is that you need to do the research and have great answers for why you want to join a top firm. Second, do not become an example of how not to conduct yourself in an interview. Basic research will show you what not to do.