Graduate Careers at McKinsey & Company

Being a top player, McKinsey attracts the top candidates from the very best undergrad and post grad programmes around the world. The firm can therefore be very selective in recruiting its future consultants (2:1 is the absolute minimum), and the interview process is correspondingly rigorous. The majority of graduates applying to McKinsey will be vying for a position as a business analyst; but regardless of the role, the firm only hires those with leadership potential. And if you’re considering applying for a position at one of McKinsey’s foreign offices, think again if you’re not fluent in the local tongue. While the company’s strong global presence is often a major selling point, McKinsey’s reputation for diversity also draws graduates to the firm – the consulting giant was notably voted as one of the ‘Times Top 50 Employers for Women’.

McKinsey makes it very clear what kind of people would be a perfect fit. Those natural leaders with strong problem-solving skills, a high sense of achievement, and a desire to make a personal impact are the ones on the company’s most wanted list. So before you apply, make sure you match the specific qualities the company looks for.   

The Hiring Process

The recruitment process consists of an online application followed by problem solving tests, which will challenge your data interpretation and basic maths skills. Comprising 26 multiple choice questions and lasting an hour, expect to be tested on ratios, percentages, fractions, and your ability to extract pertinent data from tables and graphs.

>> Practice Numerical and Verbal Tests used by employers

>> Practice In-tray / e-tray simulation tests

>> Improve your performance at Assessment Centres and Group Exercises

The test is typically followed by two rounds of interviews with consultants, managers and partners, during which you may be asked to discuss a case study. The interviewer will take you through a project before engaging you in a discussion about the problems and issues involved.  This will require you to do some market sizing and perhaps some more maths.

Make the next round, and you’ll be faced with two more competency and case study based interviews.  After these, you’ll take part in a role play, where you will be given a scenario and be asked to assume the role of a hypothetical client’s business adviser. Make sure your hypotheses and solutions are clear and well structured. The process is transparent; expect detailed feedback after each round, whether you have passed or not.

It is important to keep in mind that McKinsey usually carries out either an experience or case interview during the hiring process. The former requires you to discuss challenges you have faced, and examples of when you have demonstrated relevant skills – so get prepared for some grilling on your competencies. Case interviews, on the other hand, give you an opportunity to show off your logical thinking and problem solving skills when dealing with a stack of info in very short time.

Upon joining the firm, entry level business analysts can expect to spend plenty of time learning the basics such as data gathering, modelling, analysing and preparing reports etc.; but after two years of toil, opportunities for advancement will present themselves. However, McKinsey is notorious for an aggressive ‘up-or-out policy’, where those that don’t progress leave. This policy leads to intense competition and as a consequence the average tenure is only two and a half years. The draw for some is simply to get McKinsey on their CV, before leaving for a role at one of the firm’s loyal clients.

McKinsey & Company Graduate Recruitment Info

How to apply: www.mckinsey.com/careers/

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McKinsey & Company Profile & Stats

To put McKinsey & Company’s size and prominence into perspective, you need look no further than its clients: the firm works with more than 90% of the 100 leading global corporations, more than 80 of the top 120 financial services firms, and two-thirds of the Fortune 1000 list. McKinsey has 96 offices across more than 50 countries and has been a key player in the development of the consulting industry since being founded in 1926.

McKinsey was established by former accounting professor James McKinsey, an academic and forerunner in management theory. His aim: to build a firm that wouldn’t just rescue ailing businesses, but one that would help strong companies maintain their strength, by identifying and adjusting to changes in the marketplace. At the time, the idea of hiring an outsider to improve efficiency in a healthy company was unheard of; but after receiving advice from McKinsey on finances and budgets, clients began seeking counsel on management issues too.

James McKinsey passed away in 1937, leaving the path clear for his protégé Marvin Bower to eventually take the company’s reigns in 1950. His impact on the firm, and the consulting industry as a whole, was a fitting tribute to his mentor. During his tenure, revenue increased from £1m in 1950, to over £10m in 1967, cementing McKinsey & Company’s reputation as one of the best consulting firms around. He developed a ‘5 point code of conduct’, a doctrine to hold consultants to the same high professional standards as doctors and lawyers. This primarily involved placing the client’s interest ahead of the firm’s, and only accepting work if the value to the client was greater than the firm’s fees. This brought McKinsey a lasting reputation for serving its clients in a superior ethical manner. It is in part due to these revolutionary codes of practice, that Bower is considered by many to be one of the fathers of modern consulting; indeed, it was under Bower’s leadership that the term ‘management engineering’ was replaced by ‘management consulting’.

McKinsey opened its first international office in London, in 1959, and throughout the 1990s, 20 new outposts opened across the globe. In fact, 60% of the firm’s revenue now comes from overseas. McKinsey has made advances in China – opening four offices and conducting 500 engagements over the last decade – and established a ‘knowledge centre’ in New Delhi, where its own researchers work on reports, analyse numbers, and create presentations on behalf of McKinsey consultants across the world. This centre has allowed McKinsey to model a successful outsourcing operation to clients.

Although McKinsey has a strong international presence, it operates a ‘one-firm concept’ and claims to have no headquarter office. The firm is led by a group of around 1000 directors and principals who share ownership and management responsibilities. They elect a managing director every three years. McKinsey acts as a single decentralised partnership that encompasses all employees in all locations. So while McKinsey consultants work in standard two to ten person teams, the firm’s commitment to its global office allows clients to draw on the firm’s entire bank of brainpower and experience.

Assignments at McKinsey aren’t called projects, they are called engagements – a genteel term heralding from the firm’s early days. And although McKinsey operates a strict ‘don’t tell’ policy in regards to discussing clients, over the years some of its biggest have become known. These include: Pepsi, IBM, GM, the Bank of England, the Roman Catholic Church, and the German Government – to which it advised on privatisation after reunification. The firm offers such clients services in business technology, corporate finance, marketing and sales, operations, organisation and strategy.

In addition to its roster of large corporate firms, McKinsey has also built a strong practice of consulting with non-profit organisations around the globe – operating at times pro bono. Employees can be assigned to the large non-profit practice and become involved in development projects all over the world, with opportunities for consultants to pursue a one year non-profit fellowship. McKinsey estimates that it has contributed £60 million worth of pro bono work to non-profits and community organisations, and has taken on paid work for global initiatives run by the UN, the Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to fight AIDS.