Hello to everybody once again!I need another piece of advice. I applied last week for McKinsey as an Advanced Professional degree candidate (Business analyst position), and today they gave me a ring just to tell me that they'd like to speak to me next week in Rome (I'm Italian), this is my very first interview for a strategic consultant position, any advice? They told me the first interview will be about my CV, the second one will be a case study...What kind of questions should I expect, what kind of question they will expect from me? Do you know any place on the web where I could get important material to get prepared. This is the first interview in 6 months, I cannot miss it!I managed to get hold of "Vault Career Guide to Case interview 2005", "McKinsey.Case.Interview.Workshop" and "Wetfeet - Mckinsey Company Insider Guide"...it's a lot of stuff to study in just 6 days...any short cut...anything.You've been very kind and helpful to me lately, I hope you can give me another tip now.Kind regards,Dennis

Dennis - as luck would have it, the next of my monthly online workshops on how to sail through a case study interview is actually taking place tomorrow. There are 2 places left on the call, you can find details at:<a href=http://www.top-consultant.com/UK/events/Article_display.asp?ID=140 target=_blank>http://www.top-consultant.com/UK/events/Article_display.asp?ID=140</a>Hope you&apos;re able to join us. Tony

Adding up on Dennis thread..: what&apos;s the expected salary at McKinsey in the Italian offices in Euros? I suspect they&apos;ll be lower than the ones in Us and UK, but how much lower for somebody who enter as a BA?Thanks a lot.Giovanni

Dennis, first of all congratulations for getting interview invitation from McK.Since there&apos;s only 6 days to prepare for your first interview, my personal suggestion would be use the time wisely with clear focus. If they told you the first round would be about your CV, you should expect a friendly behaviour interview discussion rather than case interviews. So keep those brilliant case books on the side (I mean let&apos;s be realistic that no one can become a sharp consultant in 6 days by reading those books), prepare with the below questions:1. Why you want to join McK?2. What value you can add to the Firm?3. Why you?You need to be really convincing in answering all those key questions. Keep in mind that McK looks for Personal Impact, Leadership, Extraordinary Achievement, So if you can find few good examples for each of these key values, you would have a better "sexy appeal". Good luck for your interview.JNY

Thanks JNY for your tips, very useful.On the other hand I was told on the phone that I will also have a second (case study) interview, right after the first one, based on my CV. Here&apos;s the real problem!...Thanks a lotDennis

It&apos;s interesting how applicants often focus so much on the Case that they trip all over themselves on the Fit. Don&apos;t let your guard down thinking it&apos;s just a friendly chat. We treat the Fit portion of the interview just as important as the "Case". For example, most interviewees are prepared (I hope) to answer the question, "Tell me about yourself and why you think we should hire you." Hence, we will also focus on obscure and seemingly trivial aspects of your resume and ask you to expound on them with great detail. So here are 2 bits of advice:- Have a clear and concise 30-60 second answer as to "who you are, and why the Firm should hire you"- Make sure you know your resume inside/out (not as obvious as it sounds), and can talk about every little thing that&apos;s on your resume, no matter how far back in your past it has happened or how trivial it may seemGood luck.

Beng&apos;s comments are correct. Having interviewed with Mck in the past, I would add that in your case, you may have to explain why you are &apos;shifting your focus&apos; (since you have an advanced degree) and why you want to be a consultant. Its useful to show great enthusiasm.On the case question, spend a day looking through Marc Cosentino&apos;s book "Case in point" or if it&apos;s hard to get, look at the vault guide to case interviews. Since you have little time, I&apos;d concentrate on the methodologies in the 1st chapter of each book and maybe 1-2 examples, no more. McK cases are very quantitative so prepare for a lot of fast mental calculations with plenty of % and 0&apos;s. Try to ask many questions, but after a few mins, stop and concentrate on explaining your proposed analysis of the question and your rationale for arriving at an answer. Be very clear about setting out a structure at the beginning (write the steps down) and disciplined about following it through. When working it through, take your time but don&apos;t show confusion (even if you feel it) - it is supposed to simulate a client assignement and you don&apos;t want your client to lose confidence in you.Spend a few minutes at the end summarising your conclusisons.Since you were invited to McK, you may want to consider also applying to other strat houses (don&apos;t have all your eggs in one basket), e.g. BCG, Bain, BAH, etc (those that have offices in Italy). Also consider the quality boutiques like LEK/OCC etc. Good luck.

If I had to spot and choose the 5 features that make McKinsey different from its major competitors, which ones should I pick, without any doubt? Thanks in advance.Dennis

First of all I&apos;d show your management consultant credentials and say that you have asked a number of people in the industry about their views. If pushed say Barrie Dennett at ADD ex Booz Allen, me at Top-Consultant ex Mercer and others. MCs would always ask experts and aggregate opinions they wouldn&apos;t guess. As to the answer, I&apos;d say that they have high fee rates which shows that they are working on business critical issues for the top team. Secondly I&apos;d say that they are renowned for their bespoke approach, they aren&apos;t pushing a standard solutions to standard problems. Thirdly they have world class intellectual capital and show their commitment to this through their instititute and community newsletters. Fourthly they have the best alumni support and network in the world. Finally I&apos;d say that they are a true focussed partnership which is increasingly hard to come by given that most other firms have sold out to corporate owners or merged with venture capital arms.

Paul, would it be possible for you to write down similar thoughts why Bain is unique?

Paul,WADR, I think only your 4th reason is arguably unique to McK. Your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th reasons are shared by McK and the 3 B&apos;s.

The question was not what made them unique but what made them different in terms of approach and results to most of their competitors. So in comparison with BCG / Bain they would argue that they get higher fees which makes them clearly different. They would argue also that they are more bespoke - most of the others have a clear product such as Shareholder Value or Post Merger Integration. They also have better connections into the boards of the major companies. In comparison with nearly all the firms, with perhaps the exception of BCG, they are a true partnership in that the profits and losses are shared amongst the partners. In most other companies there is some form of equity or the firm is owned outright by another entity. This was clearly demonstrated in the case of Bain by the fact that in the early 90s, Bain was put into receivership whereas the McKinsey partners rode out the losses. I&apos;d also say that their instititue and IP development is well ahead of the others and so clearly different in both approach and results.

McK just phoned me. I did not make it throught the third and final round. Now I am applying for BCG and Bain. Any suggestion for small boutique firms?Dennis

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