My MM was something of a doozy!

I applied to McKinsey and received a PST invitation. I took the PST and did so badly that I was told I would need to wait 2 years to reapply! I was truly devastated. I planned on joining McKinsey through my whole career and pursued my MBA for an interview.

Michael helped me place everything in perspective. He told me I had not prepared, had not read up on the PST and had no prior experience of the test. He felt the outcome was expected and I should not see it as a sign that I was not good enough for McKinsey. It was more a “sign of your laziness” – yes, he used those words!

He told me the failure rate for the PST was highest among PhD candidates (I had a PhD before pursuing my MBA) because many assumed they could handle the test without preparation and simply failed. The happy ending is not that I managed to get into McKinsey. I tried reapplying but the office said no. I however did get into Bain, but this time was prepared better.

With Michael’s help I hope to make another push for McKinsey Moscow in the next 3 months!

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