YSR: My McKinsey Interview (iii)
“My articles are basically targeted towards young people who have access to so much information especially as a result of information overload from the internet and this in turn makes them restless a s a result of the many options available. My articles would mainly be on providing clarity based primarily on my personal experiences and a mix of other content.”
With
David Apaflo, ACA
David, a chartered accountant, is one of the founding partners of Shelze Consulting. He also shares his thoughts on his personal blog
(Continued from part 1 and part 2)
After 2 weeks, Mckinsey hadn’t contacted me and somewhere in my head I still had hope. After a month, I became apprehensive and sent emails to them and was told if I was successful they would contact me for the next round.
Several months passed and I gave up hope and moved on with my life as I didn’t get any response howbeit of my success or failure. From that point on, any interview by a Nigerian company was very easy. I was over prepared. I ended up working with Vetiva Capital Management, (another great place to work in Nigeria), joining the 2012 ARM Young talent program (AYTP) and another investment bank shortly afterwards.
So why didn’t I make it – My analysis
- My responses perhaps weren’t well structured
- The second interview was responsible
- Maybe they had already filled the vacancy they had
- Maybe I just wasn’t up to the Mckinsey standard
- And of course, maybe it just was never meant to happen
I didn’t make it in, but what I learnt has opened my eyes to a lot! Prior to that time I never knew if a business was failing, you could get specialists to tell you what to do. I started thinking globally. In fact, let’s just say my entire mental processes were overhauled.
I was still determined to join Mckinsey and applied once again but this time I didn’t get past the PST stage. At this point I started giving out all the materials I had so others can do what I couldn’t do.
I still have dreams of following through the process and getting and offer and turn it down just for sport. Just to prove to myself that I could actually do it. Anyway right now I’m too busy chasing money. Maybe immediately after grad school I would seeke vengeance with Mckinsey (lol).
Questions people have asked
Q: Concerning the problem solving questions, how were they? Were you expecting those questions before d interview?
A: Of course, I was expecting those kind of questions. I had researched the company and knew that was their interview style.
Q: Guy, you dey mad gan oh, how you take answer all those questions?
A: Once you know what is required, just practice and practice. I didn’t know anything about interview like this before Mckinsey came recruiting.
Q: How did you prepare for the interview?
A: I had mentors who pointed me in the right direction to good resources. Shout out to Abiodun Sanusi, CFA. He personally handed me a copy of Case in point by Marc Consentino and linked me up with an MBA student at the Wharton Business School to get more information. Victor Cheng was also useful (google him). Mckinsey also had a coaching session for interviewees even though that alone is insufficient. I actually prepared for this interview for about 3 months! Mckinsey also organized a 2 day case coaching session for all shortlisted interviewees.
Q: Where can I find resources for preparation?
| A: Vault Case Interview Practice Guide (Paperback) |
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vault-Guide-Case-Interview/dp/1581313055
The Vault Guide to the Case Interview (Paperback) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vault-Case-Interview-Practice-Guide/dp/1581311680 Case in Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation, Fourth Edition (Paperback) http://www.amazon.com/Case-Point-Complete-Interview-Preparation/dp/0971015821
Additional resources for further case practice. www.acethecase.com www.caseinterview.com http://blog.seattleinterviewcoach.com/2009/12/160-consulting-case-interview-questions.html http://www.quintcareers.com/case_interviews.html http://www.tomspencer.com.au/2010/06/12/online-case-interview-practice-questions/ www.simplythecase.com http://www.job-interview-site.com/management-consulting-interview-questions-case-consulting-interview-questions.html http://www.casequestions.com/caseprep.cfm
I hope that one day, someone who has read this thread of articles would actually nick an offer with Mckinsey and more importantly, put information like this to use for SMEs in Africa.
I have enjoyed every moment of writing this article and I hope it was worth your time.
Cheers!
DA
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“Guy, you dey mad gan oh…”
That practically got me reeling with laughter.
What is worth doing at all, is worth doing well – that’s what you demonstrated in the level of your preparation for that interview which you obviously missed by a whisker.
All my questions for you hitherto, have all been treated in this final piece.
Thank you for this enlightening article.
[…] PART 3 […]
I think you weren’t contacted because you got the answer wrong to the question in the second interview. The revenue/ profit from selling 250 (500 capacity jumbo jets) planes produced to replace 250, would be $6.25 billion in the first year. Which implies that if they were producing 250 per annum, it’d take 2 years for them to re coupe their investment.
There is an element of ambiguity in the question though.
Well, its two things;
1. If Airbus were to manufacture 250 jets in a year, it wouldn’t be able to re-coup its investment until the 2nd year.
2. If it were manufacturing 500, it would recoup its investment in the same year.
The mistake our fellow made was that, he didn’t subtract the $12bn spent on the research and development of the 500 seater Airbus from the Net Revenue.
I’m not here to tell you why you didn’t advance in the interview process but to tell you that I sincerely respect you. I just need someone like you to rub minds with is what I was thinking while reading.
I know Mckinsey, they were in my school sometime in 2012 or 2013 (I really can’t remember now) to recruit but I didn’t even bother to take them seriously because I was on the verge of dropping from the first class gpa I had then to a 2:1 gpa and my thought was why would I be serious with a company that may not take me and then lose my first class dream, meaning I’ll lose on both sides, but by the grace of God, I made it.
I did the test just for fun but I knew the amount of thinking I did that day without any form of prior preparation that was when I knew that this coy is gonna be tough. I know they eventually shortlisted 20 students from over a thousand that sat for the test and out of that 20, I think only 1 or 2 got in. My friends and coursemates were among, and they told me their experience. Some even said they regret doing it because it distracted them from project, some said it was a challenge to them and really enlightening; that possibly, they would love to try the company again.
So permit me to call you ‘Oga’ because Mckinsey is not for anyone that would just take things with levity, it’s for the serious minded! Thanks for the post 🙂
amazing. Thank you so much for the narrative
Wow. I read through your article and must say I share the sentiments of the person who asked if you were mad lol. This is incredibly admirable even if you didn’t get in.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m considering dabbling into management consulting and decided this website will satisfy some of my curiosity. It hasn’t disappointed.
Enabling this level of business meticulousness especially for SME’s is one of the reasons want to join Mckinksey. I pray I get in.