Question:
I have just subscribed to your website and I find your videos and notes very helpful. I have my first round interview with McKinsey this week (I was notified less than a week before) and I have already taken the PST and looked at other companies’ tests as well. In the email I received, I was told that I would have to take a 30-minute numeracy test first and then a 70-minute PST. I guess the PST would be similar to the one McKinsey offers on their website. Do you know whether the numeracy test would be like the GMAT? I took the GMAT almost two years ago and I need a lot of time to review all the topics. Do you have any recommendations on more specific areas I should focus on for this part?
I have already started to prepare for the case interview, in case I get to the next round. I have watched your case interview videos and I find them very insightful and helpful.
I would greatly appreciate any help on the first round I have coming up!
My Reply:
This is the first time I’ve heard of a numeracy test separate from the PST.
Here are two resources that might help:
www.caseinterview.com/mckinsey-problem-solving-test
I don’t know what the numeracy test will include, but I can tell you what kind of numerical skills are necessary on the job.
Your math needs to be relative quick… and 100% accurate. This is generally around basic arithmetic.
You also need to be effective in working with data. The two biggest skills here are 1) data interpretation and 2) data sufficiency.
#1 involves looking at a chart or data table and being able to describe in words what the chart is definitively telling you (as opposed to merely suggesting).
#2 involves determining what conclusions are firmly proven by the data, versus only implied. (The former is a conclusion, the latter is only a hypothesis worthy of further analysis.)
GRE and GMAT test prep books have examples of these types of questions. The GRE books on my PST page have an unusually high number of these types of questions. You do not need to review the entire GMAT/GRE math section… only those sections most commonly used in consulting.
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