Practise your McKinsey interview
Know your experience well enough to discuss it in depth. Practise the decisions, conversations and personal actions behind your result. Use the questions below, then rehearse your answers out loud with Bossed.
Free quiz and plan · no card required
Personal impact, detailed experience stories and structured problem solving.
5 questions to practise out loud
Understand what each question explores, then build an answer from your own experience.
- 01
Tell me about persuading someone when your first approach did not work.
Tell me about persuading someone when your first approach did not work.
What this explores · Practises a detailed personal experience discussion.
What to includeTheir position, your first approach, what you changed and the outcome.
- 02
A service business wants to expand to a new city. What would you investigate?
A service business wants to expand to a new city. What would you investigate?
What this explores · Practises a structured problem-solving conversation.
What to includeDemand, economics, operating capacity and a clear sequence of analysis.
- 03
Describe a demanding goal you pursued despite a setback.
Describe a demanding goal you pursued despite a setback.
What this explores · Practises resilience with specific decisions.
What to includeThe setback, the adjustment and the part you personally drove.
- 04
Describe a time your first hypothesis was wrong.
Describe a time your first hypothesis was wrong.
What this explores · Tests intellectual flexibility.
What to includeThe contradictory evidence and how you changed the analysis.
- 05
How would you present a recommendation with incomplete information?
How would you present a recommendation with incomplete information?
What this explores · Explores decision making under uncertainty.
What to includeA clear recommendation, assumptions, key risk and next validation step.
See how an answer can take shape
See how specific feedback sharpens an interview answer. Then put your own experience to the test.
Tell me about persuading someone when your first approach did not work.
A project partner rejected my proposal because it increased their team’s workload. I had focused on the benefit to our team and missed that cost. I asked them to walk me through the extra work, then changed the rollout so we handled the first stage. That made a small joint trial possible.
Skill scores
What to strengthen
The change in your approach is clear. Add the dialogue that shifted the decision and the trial’s result.
Personal experience and problem solving
McKinsey says most client-facing roles include a personal experience interview followed by a problem-solving interview. Its official page also provides practice resources. Other role types may use different assessments.
- Know your personal example well enough to discuss it in depth.
- Explain your own actions rather than only the team’s outcome.
- Practise cases alongside behavioural stories.
McKinsey: interviewing tips and resources · Checked 5 September 2026. Bossed is an independent practice tool.
How Bossed helps you prepare
Find your strongest example
Practise both a detailed personal story and a business case. In your story, be ready for follow-ups about the people, decisions and actions behind the result.
Say it out loud
Explain the situation, your decision and the result in one short story. Say it without reading, then practise a follow-up about why you chose that approach.
Make the next answer clearer
Rehearse in a Bossed spoken session and use the feedback to improve one thing: your opening, your explanation or the evidence behind your result.
See what to work on next
See where your answers need work across four skills and focus your next session. Build stronger examples, clearer explanations and more convincing answers.
Demo · progress tracking
Give your experience a stronger voice
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Your next interview, backed by practice
Questions built around you
Bring your CV and target job. Rehearse questions tailored to the experience you need to prove.
Feedback you can act on
Find the missing detail or unclear explanation in your answer. Know exactly what to strengthen next.
Unlimited chances to sharpen up
Every paid plan includes unlimited spoken sessions. Practise your answers and follow-ups as often as you need.
Before you start
How to prepare your examples and get the most from your practice.
How should I prepare for this interview?
Are these actual McKinsey interview questions?
Can I use examples from study or volunteering?
Should I memorise the example answer?
How does spoken practice help?
How do I get started?
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