Non-Target School

About 2 months ago we were contacted by a very pleasant young man who had obtained an interview with one of McKinsey’s toughest offices. He had previously been dinged at Bain and BCG without an interview and saw this as his last chance to get in. The first time we speak to someone, we can tell with 75% accuracy if they will place or not. How can we do that, when our screening calls contain no case questions? Surely case questions are the main decider? No, they are not. That is a myth people need to get over. When I spoke to this young man, I will call him Gary; he was very polite, professional and struck me as someone who had merely being given bad advice. He graduated near the top of his class but had worked at no major companies at all. He had not networked at all and here he was! On this point, contrary to popular belief, networking has ZERO effect on your getting the offer. We encourage people to network to learn more about the industry and secure an interview. But it will not help you get through the interviews. Surely case questions are the…