McKinsey

1. Application and resume screen

Candidates apply through campus recruiting, the McKinsey careers site or referrals. The resume screen is selective and looks for academic performance, leadership positions, internships and evidence of impact. Non-consulting roles are screened by the relevant function, such as Knowledge Center research or QuantumBlack engineering.

2. Solve assessment

Consulting applicants complete McKinsey's game-based online assessment, commonly called Solve. It presents ecosystem and problem-solving scenarios that measure how you gather information, test hypotheses and adapt, rather than business knowledge. It is untimed in parts and cannot be crammed for, though practising structured decision-making helps.

3. First-round interviews

Two interviews, each around 45 to 60 minutes, with engagement managers or associate partners. Each interview combines a personal experience interview (PEI), where you describe one specific story in depth, and a case interview, typically interviewer-led with a mix of structuring, numerical and creative questions.

4. Final-round interviews

Two or three further interviews with partners and senior partners, again pairing PEI and case. The cases may be less structured and more like a real client discussion. Decisions are made after a consensus discussion among all interviewers.

5. Offer and onboarding

Successful candidates receive an offer with compensation, office and start date, followed by background checks and pre-joining training. For non-consulting roles the process is shorter, usually a technical or domain assessment followed by two to three interviews with the team.

McKinsey's consulting process in India has one online assessment followed by two interview rounds. Every interview has a PEI component and a case component. Non-consulting roles follow a lighter version described in the last round.

Round 1: Solve game-based assessment

A roughly 60 to 70 minute online assessment with scenario-based games. It measures critical reasoning, decision-making and adaptability rather than domain knowledge.

• Ecosystem-building tasks that require balancing several constraints
• Root-cause and pattern-recognition scenarios
• Making decisions with incomplete information

Round 2: First-round PEI and case interviews

Two back-to-back 45 to 60 minute interviews with engagement managers. The PEI asks for one story explored in detail; the case is interviewer-led and mixes structuring, arithmetic and brainstorming.

• PEI: a time you led a team through a difficult change, or persuaded someone who disagreed with you
• Case: how a consumer goods company should respond to a new low-cost entrant
• Quick maths on market size, break-even or margin impact

Round 3: Final-round PEI and case interviews

Two or three 45 to 60 minute interviews with partners. Cases are more open and conversational, and interviewers test whether you can synthesise and present a recommendation under pressure.

• PEI: entrepreneurial drive, such as starting an initiative from scratch
• Case: whether an Indian bank should build or buy a digital lending platform
• Summarise your recommendation for the client CEO in one minute

Round 4: Non-consulting role interviews

Knowledge Center, data science and engineering roles use a domain or technical assessment followed by two to three interviews with the hiring team and a fit conversation.

• Research synthesis and Excel or Alteryx exercises for knowledge roles
• SQL, Python, machine learning or system design for QuantumBlack and tech roles
• Behavioural questions aligned with McKinsey values