How to Get a Job at McKinsey & Company

Your first step to getting a job at McKinsey is to find the perfect one—or two—for you. Luckily, you don’t even have to leave Glassdoor to find your dream job: McKinsey posts its current job openings on Glassdoor. There, you can filter by job title, city or state, function, and more to find a job that fits your needs. Then, you’ll click the “Apply Now” button on the job listing page to be taken to McKinsey’s website—and there, you will see specific instructions for how to apply. 

If you’re having trouble narrowing down a job for which to apply, McKinsey offers this advice on its website: “Your background and experience will determine which role makes sense for you—consulting, research, design, digital, analytics, implementation, internal services,” it says.

When it comes to your resume and cover letter, McKinsey wants to see your personality and skill set shine. According to its website, McKinsey is looking for someone with a driven personality, and hard skills and soft skills, from an entrepreneurial spirit to the ability to work well in a team. 

For example, the website says, “We look for people with an entrepreneurial spirit: innovative by nature, always creating new approaches, products, services, and technologies.” And McKinsey wants problem solvers and natural leaders, too: “We seek people who strive to lead themselves, their teams, and their communities, and who can foster effective teamwork to drive results.” 

How can you show off these personality traits and skills on your resume and cover letter? Use quantifiable results to back up your claims of being a good communicator, leader, or teammate. For example, instead of writing that you “coordinated with teammates,” give a few details that show the impact your work had, such as, “coordinated across five teams to finish a six-month project in just three months’ time.” That shows exactly what your teamwork can accomplish! 

The company has some simple advice for your first interview: “Relax, be yourself, take your time, and don’t forget to interview us,” McKinsey writes on its website. And that last part is crucial: It’s important you ask questions of a recruiter to show your interest in the company. 

Here are some questions you might want to ask the recruiter: 

1. What do the day-to-day responsibilities of the role look like?
   
2. What are the company’s values?
   
3. What’s your favorite part about working at the company?
   
4. What does success look like in this position, and how do you measure it?
   
5. Are there opportunities for professional development?
   

You’ll also want to come to the interview prepared with details about your accomplishments and challenges, McKinsey says. Recruiters will be interested in both good and bad experiences, and will want to hear the details of your past roles and the actions you took to achieve success. 

Lastly, McKinsey advises you to practice for your interview with a friend, which is great advice! “Then take a nice long run, meditate, or do anything that helps you feel calm, confident, and collected,” the company says. 

You can expect to be asked a variety of questions during an interview at McKinsey, but here are five questions Glassdoor users report receiving: 

1. Why do you want to work at McKinsey?
   
2. What was a time when you worked in a group to overcome a challenge?
   
3. What are your future goals?
   
4. Have you ever had a difficult client and how did you deal with him/her?
   
5. Describe one of your leadership experiences.
   

Here are additional resources to help you prepare:

The Ultimate Job Interview Preparation Guide

How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview

How to Succeed in a Case Interview

50 Most Common Interview Questions

McKinsey tests job candidates in a variety of ways. As McKinsey explains on its website, “Each role may require its own area of technical or domain expertise, and interviews are tailored to best evaluate your mastery of that domain.” That means that “your interview could include coding tests and project discussions with product engineers, portfolio reviews with other designers, or discussions about coaching and agile methodologies with our agile coaches” McKinsey explains.

However, most—if not all—applicants will play the “McKinsey Problem Solving Game,” which is a digital game “set in an abstracted, natural environment to help you demonstrate problem-solving skills in a more interesting way than a traditional question-and-answer format,” explains McKinsey on its website. “We developed the game with a team at Imbellus and candidates in more than 30 countries have played it. No prior business or gaming knowledge needed.” 

You may also be asked to discuss a real client scenario as a way to assess your problem-solving skills. “This helps us understand how you structure tough, ambiguous business challenges, identify important issues, deal with all the implications of facts and data, formulate conclusions and recommendations, and articulate your thoughts in a fast-moving discussion,” McKinsey says.

Glassdoor reviewers list several financial benefits—including retirement plans and contributions, performance bonuses, and charitable gift matching—as perks to working at McKinsey. Still, you may want to negotiate your salary—or other benefits, such as vacation time and remote work. 

In order to negotiate your salary, you’ll need to know what others are paid in that same position and location, both in McKinsey and at its competitors. To find out your competitive salary, you can use Glassdoor’s Know Your Worth tool, which gives you a custom salary estimate based on your title, company, location, and experience. (Bonus: It’s totally private!) Use that estimate, along with salaries reported by Glassdoor users who’ve worked at McKinsey and its competitors, to determine what you’re worth—and then, negotiate your salary around that number. If you find the hiring manager is inflexible money wise, then move on to negotiating some other benefits.

Here are helpful resources to help you negotiate your total compensation at McKinsey:

Salary Negotiation Scripts For Any Job

How to Eliminate Salary Negotiation Anxiety

11 Words and Phrases to Use in Salary Negotiations

Whether you’re an experienced professional or a recent graduate, working with McKinsey could be a challenging and rewarding next step in your career. Get prepared for success!

10 Things You Should Never Do When Starting A New Job

How to Settle in at a New Job

Important Skills to Develop for Success in 2020 & Beyond

Three Ways Job Seekers Can Take Advantage of the Global Skills Gap

Promotion to Manager: The Biggest Obstacle for Women in the Workplace