Mckinsey - invitation to problem solving test

Yeah I got that today too, well chuffed!

I'm probably going on Monday 23rd, going to ring them up now about it, what about you?

hey guys!
congrats on getting the invites! i got rejected by Mckinsey this morning so it seems they hit both buttons and some
people were extremely lucky :)

may i ask you what's your background? any leadership experience? what uni?

thanks!

good luck!

Sure, I graduated from Durham Uni with a 2:1 in Naural sciences in 2008 and spent the following year doing a sabbatical post there.

Leadership experience wise - lots! Just not in a professional sphere which is why I'm quite surprised at getting through even the first round!

Yeh I got invited too! Has anyone found any other good practice tests to do?

I got rejected. Lots of leadership positions. Didn't write a cover letter though. I study actuarial science though....

I am taking my test on the 24th; as they have added one more day! I didn't write a cover letter either. If anyone has more links to the PST; please post it here; thank you.

Aj

I am taking the test next tuesday 17th. Do you guys know what the dress code is? The OW on-site psychometric test one is just business casual, do u think this one is also (i mean this doesnt involve an interview either)?
And are there any other resources of practicing problem solving tests that you guys know of?

Thanks very much

PB

I seem to remember them saying casual dress but Im not entirely sure and I'd probably feel more comfortable going in a suit anyway!

The invitation email's first paragraph last line states:
"Please note you may attend this test in casual dress."

Hope this helps......

I've got a different email though because I'm being recruited for the Budapest office (with the tests and interviews being held in London though)
Thanks for the info in any case.
Have you guys tried the practice problem solving test? It's very hard, in a lot of cases you have to choose the best answer out of the 2-3 good answers, which is very though.
I actually only got 6 out of 13 right the first time I attampted it. This will not be enough on tuesday, I have to get myself together :S

hi guys just came across this thread. I received an invite for the problem solving test too next week, looks quite daunting. I've practiced a lot of numerical and verbal reasoning tests not sure if that will be enough. any feedback form people who are taking it tomoro would be much appreciated? I had a look on the web and people are saying the real test is MUCH harder than the practice ones send out. any idea what people think the pass mark might be and how many people get cut at this stage of the recruitment?

I took it last year and I'm taking it again this year. It's indeed real tough and it's nothing like the usual PSL etc. The logical part is hard to practice cause it's the way you think.. For the maths part, it's more about extracting the information you need and know what they want.

Hi Prada/Harmony

I just took the test today, and can only agree with Harmony in that there is no real way of practicing for it.
In fact I thought that it was actually very similar to the Kosher Frank case, not that much more difficult... I would advise you to practice that one, get a good night's sleep and be ready to read fast (the actual test involves quite a bit of reading so make sure you put your "fast reading" shoes on). There were 3 cases on the test we took....
BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!

hey thanks for the advice petibu and harmony. how were you for time pressure? one thing im not sure about is the advice on the guidleines which says to read the questions first I was worried I wouldnt have enough time to read the questions and read the text and then the questions again? any thoughts on that point?

Also any idea on when we receive the results, or what a pass mark would be out of 26?

Thanks again

Thanks for the advice,
Was the maths of it tricky, or is it like the practice one in that you just need to be quick on your feet for percentages/basic arithmetic and not much more

What do you mean by 3 cases, as in like 3 sections each with its own reading part and associated questions or..?

Hey guys

Prada: Reading the text first and then the Qs worked better for me, I dont think you need to pre-read questions (it seems quite odd for me), it doesnt really help with time either (you can just about finish the 26 questions in 1h, so reading questions 2 times might be problematic)

The result I received next day, and I passed. I answered all 26 questions, and I think I got most of it right. But you would need around 20 right for sure.

fkwon: Yes the math part is very straight forward just basic percentage/market share computation.
3 cases I mean that there are 3 topics, one about turning around a seafood restaurant, one about getting public funding for a museum, and the 3rd one is about a pharmaceutical company expanding in emerging markets. All of them include many different parts/graphs etc.

Hope that helps

petibu

Petitbu, you recieved your result the following day? when did u take it
Anyone else heard back?

Given Petitbu is based in the UK and the successful candidates are contacted immediately; I am assuming that I did not get through. I had my PST on Tuesday 24th and no news since than! To be honest I could only answer the numerical questions and struggled with the rest/verbal ones as more than one answer seemed appropriate hah. Good luck to rest of you; I will let you know when I receive my rejection.

Aj

Rejection received this morning. Best of luck to the rest.

would anybody with interviews in mgmnt consultancy like to practice cases together?

yes, where are you based?

hey man in edinburgh but will be in london a lot this month. do you wanna give me an e-mail? s0568590@sms.ed.ac.uk guess we could do it on the phone?

How will practice the cases?
Phone, skype... Could I join you?

sure thing man i mean more the practice the better - e-mail me on s0568590@sms.ed.ac.uk and we can arrange something convenient

hi guys im depserate to practice case interviews for interviews with Bain and McKinsey. Please get in touch if you are interested?

s0568590@sms.ed.ac.uk

does anyone know if McKinsey have got round to reviewing their internship applications? (summer associate programmes)

Hi all, I am writing the PST next week thursday and only got the invite last thursday, pls can anyone who has taken this test advice me on what areas to focus on? I attempted the test practice and only got 6 out of 13 and I know 50% will not be good enough on the day.
Thanks in advance for any help rendered.

Hi everyone,

I received my invitation for the test this morning.
I was asked to choose a time on Wednesday so I sent them an email saying what time I am available. But they haven't gotten back to me yet.
I thought it might be a bit inappropriate to call them.
Any advice?

Cheers.

Hi everyone,

I received my invitation for the test this morning.
I was asked to choose a time on Wednesday so I sent them an email saying what time I am available. But they haven't gotten back to me yet.
I thought it might be a bit inappropriate to call them.
Any advice?

Cheers.

Hey I was invited last year in London for the Mckinsey graduate position in San Francisco. The practice test you get is a good indication of how you will do, but I think the real test itself was much more harder. You should 100% call them, and they are extremely friendly people!

Hello, how did you get on with the test? I have mine this Wednesday, and the practise test seems very tricky, given the time constraint. Do you have any tips on how to prepare? Thanks!

Hi ucbcsdy,

Did you get a confirmation for what time on Wednesday you are gone be doing the test??

Hi Milky,
I spoke to them on the phone, but didn't get any confirmation. I was told to arrive 10 minutes before the test starts though. How about you?

in terms of any tips its not like any test previously just go over the practice test carefully and read the question carefully :)

ya,
The thing is I sent them an email but didn't hear back so I don't still know what time I have to get there.

Were you contacted by Jo Randall?
I called around 5:30 and she was not in!

I got an email from someone called Sophie. Call them tomorrow to confirm.

will do cheers!!!

hiya. I have the test as well. I was given 3 dates to choose from so i chose the last...07 dec! for max time to prepare. has anyone got any other tips apart from the attached practise questions please?

@milky, have you heard from them yet? I received my first invite on monday but requested to reschedule it the same day. I got another email on tuesday giving me options to choose from which i did and i later got a confirmation the same tuesday.

Is there anyone who has given test and can name the EXACT company names given in their problem solving test. I think they make tests from their case resources which I want to confirm. If many of you could provide company names and a little about case in your tests and also country where you gave your test.

Hello all,
I have applied to McKinsey and think I might be sent an invitation to sit the Problem solving test. apart from the resource available online on McKinsey's website can you suggest other resources to me. Thank you.

I have real samples of pst tests. If interested, PM me with:

1) your supposed position (i.e. BA, Senior BA, Consultant, etc)

2) location (current and where you are applying)

3) current status (i.e. student, 2 years of work experience, etc)

hi pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeasssssssssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeee i need some sample for the test. i just got an invite for monday.
i applied for a BA, location africa, i am a student

Thank you on behalf of all of us worried about the PST! :)

Hello!!
I have I have the test with McKinsey next week and would really appreciate if you could send me some sample tests.
I'm applying for BA in London and Amsterdam and I just graduated from LSE.
Hope you read this on time. Thanks in advance.

hi! how was the test and have you heard back from them?
i took the test last tuesday and they said it would take one to two weeks before we hear back... it's been a week now.

good luck

Hey all, I found some sample test on www.caseinterviewhq.com, right here:

http://www.caseinterviewhq.com/2011/12/10/mckinsey-pst-problem-solving-task/

It gives a walkthrough and below are some sample PST tests to practice. Good luck!