MBA Aspirants positively think & dream to join some company but it is good to have understanding of specific industry and company.
Are you planning to set foot in McKinsey?
McKinsey is one of the biggest consulting firms in the world and many MBA graduates prepare hard for McKinsey’s interviews to secure a job at this reputed firm. Consulting is a challenging profession, which is why the interview and selection process at McKinsey is competitive and stringent.
McKinsey is a global management consulting firm that specifically addresses the issues faced by the senior management. McKinsey has close to 17,000 employees around the world, out of which 9,000 are consultants.
MBA graduates hoping to secure a job at McKinsey should prepare well for the case study section of the selection process. Interviewers will test you on a number of elements, including your knowledge on a subject matter, your approach to the cases, your decision making skills, and your communication skills.
McKinsey provides advisory services to a number of sectors, including healthcare, aerospace and defence, media and entertainment, telecommunications, and financial services. Also, consultants at McKinsey provide client services across a number of departments, including sales and marketing, operations, human resources, and finance.
Since fresh MBA graduates do not have sufficient experience in consulting, McKinsey provides in-house training to new employees and gets them accustomed to McKinsey’s practices, corporate values, and strategies.
Providing the right advice to clients requires industry and functional expertise and McKinsey invests time and effort in developing knowledge base that is insightful for clients.
McKinsey’s corporate mission is to make distinctive, long-lasting and substantial changes and improvements in the operations of clients to enhance their performance and increase their revenue.
Consultants are required to understand clients’ needs and work with them to achieve certain results. While doing so, McKinsey takes into consideration the corporate culture of the client.
McKinsey does not believe in providing standard solutions to all its clients. Since clients’ requirements and needs are different, McKinsey’s consultants take time to understand these needs and goals of clients.
Consultants are required to do ample reading, and carry out thorough investigation to identify loopholes and problems in a firm before putting forth suggestions for improvement. The suggestions have to be in line with the clients’ budget, goals, and objectives.
After suggesting ways for improvement, consultants are required to analyse the impact of their suggestions. Many a times, suggestions may seem logical on paper, but they may not be practical. So, it is the onus of consultants to understand the impact of their suggestions and come up with alternative options if the first suggestion fails.
Since McKinsey addresses problems faced by senior management, consultants are required to have face to face meetings with C-level executives, managers and directors to understand their concerns. Since the senior management is busy and strapped for time, McKinsey’s consultants are trained to get maximum information from clients in the shortest possible time.
For the senior management, time is equivalent to money. So, they frown upon long meetings that have a negative impact on their productivity. As such, consultants’ interpersonal and communication skills are honed at McKinsey to ensure that service delivered by the consultants is at the optimum level.
It is this intensive training and stringent selection of candidates during interviews that have placed McKinsey among the top consulting firms in the world. So, if you wish to be a part of this reputed firm, you should practise case studies and hone your communication skills to impress your potential employer.
Stay informed, Stay ahead and stay inspired with MBA Rendezvous