McKinsey & Company Process Associate Interview Questions and Answers

Round: resume shortlisitng
Tips: Resume format:  30 seconds, 1-2 page, formatting, alignment,clear, crisp, precise, use power words, state highest achievement,bullet points not exceeding a line,2-3 bullets under each main heading,get reviewed by seniors.For an Outstanding resume: Well written, aesthetic and impressive,2-3 peaks,weave story about achievements, leadership skills,dynamic, all rounder,ability to work under pressure,multi-task, handle challenges, perseverance and determination.

Round: Case Study Interview
Tips: Break down complex problem, structure the problem, approach more important than conclusion, multiple solutions possible, think out of the box, do not force fit frameworks, don’t over prepare!

Skill Tips: ""
Skills: Confidence, Interpersonal skills, Connect with the interviewer, Ability to think on your feet, Stress management, Problem-solving skill, Analytical ability, Logical thinking, Strategy making skill
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: CASE 1:
No numbers were expected, neither knowledge of broadband technology. The key here was increase in the number of uses along with the users. None of the established frameworks really helped. The interviewer was very helpful and gave me cues when I was not making progress.

CASE 2:
Again no numbers no data was expected. On asked about the missed out aspects, the interviewer discussed the key aspects with me and also told me where I had gone wrong.
Tips: 1.When they ask questions about academic projects try to pick something with practical applications.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: 1. The interviewer told me exactly what he wanted.
2. It was a two way discussion and a very comfortable conversation3.He told me the four departments he wanted me to look at.
4. I was to check for 'synergies' or potential benefits of the acquisition of these departments.
Tips: 1.Sleep well.
2.Wear comfortable footwear.
3.Don't starve yourself.
4.Sit down a minute between interviews and take deep breaths.

General Tips: 1.Attend PPTs of all companies you are interested in.
2.Don't try and squeeze too much in your resume.
3.Case studies are must for consultancies so be careful in that.
4.Don't prepare answers to the last word, but think about some common questions.
Skills: No as such particular skills tested.
College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: CV Submission
Experience: This is an elimination phase, so it's important that your CV puts you in a good light. BCG would most likely conduct a CV building workshop. If they don't, McKinsey would. 
Tips: Keep in touch with seniors and get their advice and opinions too. Make sure you're happy with your final CV, and that it has been okay-ed by enough people before you ship it out.Don't make your CV on the last day. Put in sufficient effort - it will pay off.

Round: case workshop
Experience: BCG conducts a case workshop a couple of weeks before the interview process starts.Since the interview is entirely case based, make sure you pay attention in the case workshop. 
Tips: Also, it is advisable to form groups of 3-6 members with whom to practice business cases. I would suggest that you start with your case preparation in advance of the workshop, so you have things in perspective by then. Case books to practice cases from would most likely be circulated in advance. It also helps to make up your own cases, and have cases administered to you by people in Consulting.Do ask good questions in the case workshop. Although it's non-evaluative, it pays to make a good impression straight off the cuff.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Four interviews (2 rounds with 2 interviews each). Out of the 21 shortlisted candidates, 12 made it to round 2. Out of the four interviews, one was with a Senior Partner, two with Team Leads, and one with a Principal.My first case was about optimizing the transportation logistics of a cement manufacturer. The second case was about figuring out the issue with the business model of a hotel franchise experiencing falling revenues. The third case was about figuring out the reason for falling revenues of a retail outlet in Sri Lanka. The fourth case was about troubleshooting a new house-loan sales strategy, which was not performing up to expectation.Same set of skills as mentioned above. Make sure you're clear in what you say. 
Tips: There will be some minimal HR, which you must prepare for. The discussion will be a lot more informal than you would expect, but make sure your answers are crisp, sharp and to the point. Feel free to be exploratory and creative, making sure you're telling the interviewer exactly what you're thinking. They'll be at least as smart as you are (trust me on this), and it won't take much effort on your part to explain what you're thinking. Work with him/her. This is important. Don't be too slow or too fast. Develop a style based on your practice sessions, and play your strengths.

College Name: IIT Kharagpur

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: With the help of my good resume, i was being shortlisted.
Tips: Your resume is the first impression you make for yourself on the company or the interviewing panel. Most companies have a resume shortlist for their interviews where they reduce the field from roughly 600 applicants to 20-30. So, your resume is of utmost importance. 
Different companies look for different things in the resumes of their applicants. For example, the consulting firms look for people who are all-rounders and have spikes or achievements across the board. Other firms like people who are strong in the Positions of Responsibility department specially.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I had four interviews with the Boston Consulting Group. 
Each interviewer made me solve a small case. 
There wasn’t any personal interview. 
Cases that I solved here were also largely similar. 
Some examples include how to price a new cab service, how to improve market share for companies like flipkart etc.

General Tips: Build your resume stronger as much as you can, and solve case studies.
The main format of interviewing for consult companies is the case interview format. Here they give you a small business problem in the form of a case and ask you to solve it on the spot. There are a lot of prep books for this on the internet. The one I found most useful was Case in Point. I formed a case group of 2-3 people and practiced cases from this book. Mock interviews with people from the consulting companies also helps a lot.
College Name: IIT MADRAS

Round: Test
Experience: Syllabus for written test is CMA Syllabus, general knowledge in Computer.

Round: Manager + Lead round (not sure what kind of round is this)
Experience: details about the work profile, most of which never happened post joining.

General Tips: If you come from technical background, please do not join PwC SDC and jeopardize our career. There is no technical setup, neither any infrastructure, technical work wont just happen except for few bits n pieces UI work here n there. This is not a company for technical people.
Skills: Communication
Duration: 1-4 weeks

Round: Behavioural Interview
Experience: The behavioral interview for PwC UK is usually conducted by telephone and then the final interview which includes a behavioral component happens in the last stage. The interview was a great experience and I enjoyed speaking to the interviews on both occasions. I spent sometime getting familiar with PwC's core competencies and prepared examples from my life that reflected these competencies. It was also useful to practice these questions in front of the mirror as it helped me to restructure my answers well. All in all, it was a friendly experience and the interviewers are looking to know you better. Just be confident, smile and be yourself. A "rattofied-textbook" answer will surely get you rejected, instead speak what you really believe in and let it be authentic!
Tips: Use the STAR technique to answer behavioral interview questions :-
S (Situation) - What was the situation? Give the context in approx 1-2 lines for the interviewer to understand the situation.
T (Task) - What was the task that you were required to do? Eg. Group project, team task etc.
A (Action) - What did YOU do? Focus on your actions NOT that of the team. Eg. I managed my time by prioritizing my responsibilities. Or, I spoke to my team leader about the problem. Or, I researched the current market trends in XYZ.
R (Result) - What was the end result? Eg: I completed the task in time. Or, The group increased the productivity by x%.




Round: Assessment day
Experience: After being successful in the telephone interview I was invited to attend an Assessment Day at the PwC office in London. We had a series of tasks throughout the day which included a case study, group task and client interview. It is quite rigorous and the day was quite exhausting.
Tips: Complete all the tasks in the given time. You will be marked down if you fail to finish.
Try to be inclusive in the group discussions. Use names of participants while talking to them.

General Tips: The recruitment process is designed if you are a right fit in the company, It's equally important for you to judge if the company is the right fit for you. Talk to people in the company, explore company resources, search news articles about the company, and most important - follow your instinct!
Skills:
College Name: London School of Economics

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I first created a master resume and got it reviewed by others.
Tips: Spend enough time in preparing your master resume. Have a resume ready for all the sectors you are targeting. Start as early as possible and get your one page resume ready well in time before the deadline.

Round: Test
Tips: Practice a lot. Prefer practicing in a group and attempt timed tests. Also try out puzzles.

Round: Interview
Experience: There were two rounds, each with a single member panel.
They asked a few HR questions initially followed by a case study. The HR questions were diverse, like how would you handle different scenarios in work and about books I read. I was grilled with these questions.
The case was easy but I presented it in an unstructured manner, but I was able to give a decent solution in the end.

Round: Interview
Experience: The second round started off with a case in which I performed relatively better. The interviewer then asked me if I had any questions for him, and that's when I started talking about the analytics industry. This went on for 15 minutes, and I think this sealed the deal for me.

General Tips: Identify the companies you want to target. Be pragmatic in your choice and prepare accordingly. n
Prepare in a group.
Remember that Resume is one important aspect.
College Name: IIT KANPUR