MBTI - How your McKinsey colleague thinks of you in 4 letters (an introduction)

McKinsey consultants change teams frequently and must quickly understand new colleagues' and clients' personalities, working styles, and preferences.  MBTI is a 4-letter shortcut that the McKinsey consultant in your life uses to do just that.

In this post I'll give you a brief overview of how to figure out your own MBTI type and understand what they're talking about

McKinsey case interviews - 6 common math mistakes and how to prevent them

Everyone applying to McKinsey knows case prep, but I’m always surprised to see how poorly some of them prepare to do math during their interviews.  In this post, I’ll go over the six most common quant errors I’ve seen and some tips on how to avoid them

3 questions your McKinsey interviewers are asking themselves

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If you're being interviewed by someone from McKinsey - even if they've an ex-consultant who has already left the Firm - it's likely that they're asking themselves 3 questions about you.  In this post I'll explain what those questions are, whey they're important, and what you can do to address them

McKinsey interviews: PEI and 5 tips for doing well - it matters as much as the case interview!

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McKinsey interviews consist of two components, and most people focus on preparing for the case interview.  In this post I'll provide tips on how to do well on the personal experience interview (PEI) and explain why it's risky to neglect preparing for it.  This will be useful to candidates applying for jobs with McKinsey and potentially helpful if you're interviewing for a job with a former McKinsey consultant

McKinsey's culture of negative feedback - you're probably not performing as badly as you think

Are you getting a lot of negative feedback and constructive criticism from your McKinsey boss?  Is it making you feel like you're underperforming and disappointing your supervisor?

In this post I'll explain the culture of frequent and often negative feedback at McKinsey and why you're probably not performing as poorly as you think

Common coffee chat mistakes - 7 ways candidates screw up pre-interview networking

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During my time at McKinsey I participated in dozens of coffee chats and other pre-interview networking events.  Of the hundreds of conversations I had with candidates, the ones that stand out are the bad ones.

In this post I'll discuss the 7 most common pre-interview networking errors I've seen so you can avoid making them yourself...

Recruiting coffee chats - 4 tips for McKinsey pre-interview networking events

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If you're applying for management consulting jobs, firms will provide you with opportunities to meet their consultants prior to interviews.  For McKinsey recruits, networking events usually take the form of coffee chats, office hours, cocktail events, and company presentations.

In this post, I'll go over some tips for making the most of these opportunities

5 Tips for McKinsey Resume (CV) Screens and Cover Letters

It's recruiting season so many first-year business school students are gearing up for their first consulting recruiting cycle.  So, I'll use the next few posts to discuss some pre-interview elements of the recruiting process.  In this post, I'll go over some 5 simple tips for improving your resume and increasing the likelihood that you'll pass the resume review process and be offered a first-round interview.

If you're not in business school but are applying to a job that requires an interview with and resume screen by a former McKinsey consultant, these tips should still be helpful.

Typical day in the life of a McKinsey consultant - why your McKinsey boss expects so much from you

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In this post, I'll share the schedule of a typical day in the life of a McKinsey consultant.  One of the great things about being at McKinsey is that no two days are the same, but I've tried to capture what a management consultant's day-to-day lifestyle is like.  It's a composite of many days I've had at the Firm, but directionally accurate and representative of how we work.  I'll start with what this might mean for you, depending on your relationship with the McKinsey consultant.

Leaving McKinsey - 5 approaches to using search time

There countless ways a consultant can choose to leave the McKinsey.  In this post, I'll describe five common strategies I've seen people apply to using their search time and separation from the Firm, and list some pros and cons of each.  I hope these examples will help you decide how to optimize your departure from consulting.