Summer Associate applicants have rated the interview process at McKinsey & Company with 3.9 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 73% positive. To compare, the company-average is 64.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Summer Associate roles take an average of 33 days to get hired, when considering 85 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at McKinsey & Company overall takes an average of 40 days.
Common stages of the interview process at McKinsey & Company as a Summer Associate according to 85 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 41%
Skills test: 19%
IQ intelligence test: 12%
Presentation: 6%
Group panel interview: 6%
Personality test: 6%
Other: 3%
Phone interview: 3%
Background check: 3%
Drug test: 1%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at McKinsey & Company (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2015
Interview
Very professional and formalized interview process. Three rounds in total: 1) Written multiple choice exam based on reading comprehension coupled with quantitative analysis. 2) Two back to back interviews with Engagement Managers or Associate Consultants, each of which will perform a case and fit interview. 3) Repeat round 2, but with three interviews with partners.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe how you once convinced someone or changed their mind about something
On campus, met with three different partners/associate partners. Behavioral question followed with case. Behavioral interview they were fishing for something very specific in the story and more often than not I didn't even get to the end of what I prepared.
Case was much shorter than Case Book examples. They take your scrap work so make sure it's clean.
1)Framework (MECE is very important to them)
2)Insights from Graph (Important to hit 3rd level insights)
3) Math Calculation (Math wasn't complicated but had many coponents, organization is key)
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time where you handled a conflict with a coworker
Long and hard. Overall, the people were really nice, but one of the partners in my very last interview gave me a very difficult time with one specific chart. The cases were much harder than I had actually prepared for.
I applied online. I interviewed at McKinsey & Company in Jan 2026
Interview
It consisted of three case interviews and a personal experience interview question. Mine were in one day back to back. The PEI was pretty standard. the case interviews were difficult.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe a challenging situation you encountered when working with someone of an opposing opinion