Nairaland Forum

Hello, I have been invited for Mckinsey Lagos's First round interview in about 4days time.
Any information / tips would be helpful.
Thank you

new here. pls, wen did u do ur problem solving test? cos i also did it, waiting for them to call for the first round of interview. tnx

Dat was abt 3-4 months ago. I hear their recruiting process is quite slow.

oh ok. had my own test in june. anyways, hw did the interview go? wat was it like? wldnt mind if u give my an update dat cud help mi for mine. tnx

pls help! I was asked to submit my university transcript, but i don't i will be able to get it before the deadline that was given. Pls friends, what do u suggest i do? Its urgent. Thanks.

oneblacboi:

Hello, I have been invited for Mckinsey Lagos's First round interview in about 4days time.
Any information / tips would be helpful.
Thank you

From what I know, via a couple of friends that have done the interview before, you'd be asked caracter questions and questions based on your test assessment performance. Question like: Have you ever lead a team before, what motivates you, what were your thought process when you were answering question "one"? how did you derive the answer to question 3? e.t.c. So basically, they wanna assess how you think and all. I guess your test was a case study assessment.
All the best!

Oh well I did the interview on the 27th of August and it was quite tasking. Would share with you the structure and a transcript of my interview soon. Quite busy now.

Can anyone pls tell how soon after you submitted ur additional info u were invited for the PST? Also, what was the test format like?

Pls how much is the salary of a foreign trained fresh graduate in Mckinsey

emyluv:

Pls how much is the salary of a foreign trained fresh graduate in Mckinsey

hahaha. It depends on where you are coming from. A University of Togo graduate is also a foreign trained, no? Foreign get levels, you know. So you may want to be explicit on that.

Meanwhile, they pay a certain amount (33k) if they employ you from the UK to go work in their Nigeria office. Someone just told me he failed their case study test. Another one told me he failed the test last year in London. These people were meant to be sent to MCK naija if they had passed the assessment.

Thank you,

Tnks 4 d reply.By 'foreign trained' I mean completed Bsc in d US with 2yrs experience also there but now based in Nigeria, I need 2 know how much a graduate,to be recruited 4rm Nigeria would earn with the above level of experience in mckinsey

^^^

Okay, nice one. Kay (one very strange dude like that) has not been picking his Skpe calls. I will ask him and get back to you.


T22

@ Tani.tnks I'll appreciate

emyluv:

@ Tani.tnks I'll appreciate

^^^

He says 3-400k naira/month, UK grad. But I imagine no difference.

Okay.tnks a bunch 4 ur assistance

So i had my first round interview some time in August 2011 and i am just posting details (been too busy to type a lengthy post) . Hmnn anyway, lets get to the issue.

I was scheduled for 2 interviews 8am and 9am and i arrived and took my seat in the neat but tiny reception on the 6th Floor Mulliner Towers Ikoyi.
I was interviewed by a guy named Fred.
INTERVIEW PROPER:
Fred: So tell me of a time you managed upwards. Where you had to convince a superior to accept your point of view and what was the process like?
CASE:
Fred: XYZ is airline operator and is currently having problems with their costs. Tell me items that drive the cost for an airline operator
Me: Well broadly, costs can be of two types: Variable and Fixed. For Variable we have - Fuelling Costs for Fixed, we have - maintenance, Staff overhead, licencing & regulatory fees.

Fred: One of our consultants took up research into the cost lines and discovered that fuelling expenditure was excessive. Tell me the factors that drive fuelling cost
Me: Size of engine, Distance travelled, No of trips

Fred: Well, our consultant's analysis showed that none of these factors you mentioned was actually responsible for the excessive fuelling cost. Infact, he concluded that it was the weight of the plane. So tell me the factors that affect the weight of a plane.

Me: These can be categorized into 2: Internal elements and external elements. For the internal, we have the fittings, furniture, luggage, fuel level for the external factors, we have the metal used in constructing the airplane, the engine, the tires, the blades etc

Fred: Our consultant in his analysis, found out that none of these factors you mentioned was responsible for the excessive fuelling cost. it was infact, the PAINT ON THE PLANE!!!
Me: oh, interesting
Fred: So tell me what weight is added on by the paint on the plane?
Me: Do i have any figures?
Fred: Nope!
Me: wow!
Me: Ok, lets assume this room in which we are seated in 10m long and 5m wide and so lets assume the length of the plane is 10times that of this room that gives us 10 X 10 = 100m and since the width is constant, we still have 5m
Fred: Ok, gud. Assuming the plane is cylindrical and Using 2π〖rh〗^ as surface area assume pie to be 3 wht weight is added on?
Me: Dat shd be 2 X 3 X 5 X 100 that should give 300msq
Fred: So what weight is added on?
Me: Lets also assume that 2 sq metre wud need 1bucket of paint weighing 1kg that should be 1kg X 300sq metre divided by 2 dt shd give 150kg
Fred: Have you considered that there might be more than one coat of paint required?
Me: ok, let me modify my assumptions to say there are 3 coats of paint required:
Light paint adds 0.1kg per sqm
Medium coat adds 0.5kg per sqm
Quality finish adds 1kg per sqm
So a total of 1.6kg per sqm
Fred: Round that up to 1.5kg and tell me what you have
Me: Ok, 1.5kg X 150 sqm = 225 kg of weight added on by the paint
Fred: Ok, cool! The company spent $250m last year on fuelling and after the analysis, the COO has asked that all the airplane be striped of paint. First tell me why planes are painted.
Me: For branding, to prevent the metal from corrosion at such high altitudes, to comply with regulations
Fred: So would you advise the company to go ahead as the COO has advised?
Me: We would need to speak with the paint manufacturers to see if some light weight paint can be produced since the company currently spends about $1m per kg of pain ($250m divided by 225kg) and maybe if the weight can be slashed by say 50% we would see significant drop in fuelling costs.
Fred: Ok, that’s the end of the case. Thank you for your time.

Too long abi? So much for a 30minute interview!!

That is scary.....I have absolutely no idea what you've been talking about!!!! If I happen to be called what are my setting myself up for?!

This is basically more than an interview. They taking you back to class, scary! Only for the uber smart

Kaffs: That is scary.....I have absolutely no idea what you've been talking about!!!! If I happen to be called what are my setting myself up for?!

Just read topics on general finance and business. Their interview questions are somewhat designed to favor those who had US education or something close to that. Many people who have had offers from them (MCkinsey) had their undergraduate or graduate training at a US school.

Just do your best, but don't be too emotionally attached to it.

This is how competitive the world has become.

T22

Kaffs: That is scary.....I have absolutely no idea what you've been talking about!!!! If I happen to be called what are my setting myself up for?!

if you are business/finance student you will understand and if you are business grad, applying to consultanat company and you have no idea what that interview is about then you're on the wrong lane

tanimola22:

Just read topics on general finance and business. Their interview questions are somewhat designed to favor those who had US education or something close to that. Many people who have had offers from them (MCkinsey) had their undergraduate or graduate training at a US school.

Just do your best, but don't be too emotionally attached to it.

This is how competitive the world has become.

T22

^^^ Wondering how this interview is meant to favour US graduate.Could you give me a hint. Thanks in anticipation.

Otuabaroku:
^^^ Wondering how this interview is meant to favour US graduate.Could you give me a hint. Thanks in anticipation.

Please do note that the above claim is my personal view; others may see things differently.

To answer your question, if one studied business or finance or management etc at an above average US school, one is likely to have been trained on how to attack Mckinsey style interview questions. Again, my view.

I know Mckinsey likes case study assessment questions, so you will do very well to adequately prepare for them. Mckinsey naija gives 30-60 minutes additional time to complete the assessment, but Mckinsey UK does not. Use this additional time to your advantage.

On the whole, do your best but don't be too expectant.

T22

tanimola22:

Just read topics on general finance and business. Their interview questions are somewhat designed to favor those who had US education or something close to that. Many people who have had offers from them (MCkinsey) had their undergraduate or graduate training at a US school.

Just do your best, but don't be too emotionally attached to it.

This is how competitive the world has become.

T22

But something gets my attention. How does a person from finance/business generally know that paint used on that plane will add more weight? and gleaning from the interview it shows more of maths/eng.

tanimola22:

Please do note that the above claim is my personal view; others may see things differently.

To answer your question, if one studied business or finance or management etc at an above average US school, one is likely to have been trained on how to attack Mckinsey style interview questions. Again, my view.

I know Mckinsey likes case study assessment questions, so you will do very well to adequately prepare for them. Mckinsey naija gives 30-60 minutes additional time to complete the assessment, but Mckinsey UK does not. Use this additional time to your advantage.

On the whole, do your best but don't be too expectant.

T22

Good to know that it is your personal opinion. Because your initial generalization was a little disturbing to me as i did not see anything too difficult in the interview oneblacboi posted. Even when I'm not going from business background, I think i can scale through when faced with those questions. Thanks for your clarification.

The interviews are not necessarily advantageous towards US graduates. They are just more proactive in preparation, neither does the interview require a math/engineering/business etc background. I have gone through the whole process and can say the most frustrating/hardest part about getting in is successfully getting through the application process.

Nonetheless, if you are called for the test or interview, they will provide you with unlimited resources to prepare. Reading the book "Case in Point" and practicing case interviews is sufficient enough to scale through. Lastly, after reading case in point, you will notice tackling the cases has nothing to do with ones background but following a step by step approach (it is very formulaic) and a bit of creative/out of the box thinking (eg guessing more paint is needed on certain parts of the plane).

Good luck to anyone interviewing or applying

cityofsin: The interviews are not necessarily advantageous towards US graduates. They are just more proactive in preparation, neither does the interview require a math/engineering/business etc background. I have gone through the whole process and can say the most frustrating/hardest part about getting in is successfully getting through the application process.

Nonetheless, if you are called for the test or interview, they will provide you with unlimited resources to prepare. Reading the book "Case in Point" and practicing case interviews is sufficient enough to scale through. Lastly, after reading case in point, you will notice tackling the cases has nothing to do with ones background but following a step by step approach (it is <a class="inlineAdmedialink" href="#"><a class="inlineAdmedialink" href="#">very</a></a> formulaic) and a bit of creative/out of the box thinking (eg guessing more paint is needed on certain parts of the plane).

Good luck to anyone interviewing or applying

It is good to see someone with first hand knowledge of the interview process. This advice makes it more easier for applicants from whatever background.

@cityofsin did you get a final offer?

The interview is basically about STRUCTURE and thinking out of the box. The knowledge i gained in the few weeks of preparing for this interview has remained with me and i find it very useful in my daily life. Case in point by Marc Consentino is also a very good resource. Also holla @ victor cheng - nice guy

@cityofsin, oneblacboi, & others, pls how long does it take to be called for a mckinsey test after application? I applied since like two months ago and still expecting their call. Will be expecting to hear from you guys. Thanks!

oneblacboi: Oh well I did the interview on the 27th of August and it was quite tasking. Would share with you the structure and a transcript of my interview soon. Quite busy now.

Hello,

I have been invited for the PST. How best can one study for it and be assured of success? any particular sites to visit other than the Mckinsey site?