I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at McKinsey & Company (Milan) in Jan 2014
Interview
The selection process was composed of 3 stages: PST, a 1-to-2 interview with HR & Consultant and finally 3 interviews with partners.
1) PST: in Italy it is slightly different from everywhere else: it is in Italian and you have 70 minutes but questions are far more "qualitative" and ambiguous (i.e. 3 answers on 4 could be right in most of questions, you have to find the "most right" one). Selected 15-17 out of 20.
2) 1-to-2 interview: very stressful interview with a Principal and the HR manager. They tried to put you in a stressful situation, before the case (i.e. competency questions at an incredible speed and on very precise situations, going deeper and deeper) and during the case (i.e. every assumption I made was criticized and/or challenged). Selected 3 out of the remaining.
3) Partners round: the stressing pace was kept in this stage but the partners were alone, so there was time for some chitchat and generally it was a more pleasant experience. In addition to standard case I was given two "situation cases", in which I had to imagine how to react to an unexpected event and to manage an issue with the client
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
You're in the final presentation with your Engagement Manager and the client and you see that a figure in the presentation is incorrect: what do you do?
The CEO of a retail bank agreed to start a mission about reorganizing the back office process of its institution. You have to meet the branch directors: how do you approach them?
Cases: Globally easy, need for open mind (many "what else?") and some basics of microeconomics (i.e. price elasticity).
1. An IMCO wants to propose its funds online instead that going through a bank as it usually does: should it?
2. The Rome Zoo wants to loan some Pandas to show as attractions: is it ok to revamp their profits?
3. An insurance wants to lower its prices by 15%: is that a good idea?
4. A supermarket chain has seen revenues going down by 10%: are profits going down too?
Ofrece muchos recursos a tu disponibilidad para preparar las entrevistas como reuniones online para explicar el proceso, y grupos de ayuda. El proceso es largo, pero lo merece para pertenecer a esta empresa.
Gave assessment. Waiting 1st round. But, here the assessment and resume are scored together to reach next round. Might take 1-3 weeks for invite. Assessment has only 20% - 30% weightage.
The recruiter was great! 2 rounds of 5 interviews, first was 2 associates, second was 3 partners. My first round, the interviewers spoke absolutely broken English and made it extremely difficult to understand what they are trying to say. My second interviewer was extremely rude as well. Honestly comes down to who interviews you and the case selection that will determine your fate