The McKinsey TEI (Technical Expertise Interview): How to Prepare and Ace It

Last Updated on January 31, 2024

Master the McKinsey Technical Expertise Interview (TEI) – your gateway to a diverse range of technical roles at McKinsey, from analytics to programming. As McKinsey expands its portfolio, the TEI has evolved, offering unique challenges across various domains like product engineering, design, agile coaching, and more. The TEI aims to evaluate the blend of your technical abilities and narrative skills through the lens of your past projects and experiences. Its purpose is to demonstrate to McKinsey how your skillset aligns with the demands of their technical roles, showcasing your practical application in real-world scenarios.

This guide delves into what to expect and how to prepare effectively for the TEI, ensuring you’re equipped to showcase your technical prowess and problem-solving skills in this dynamic interview landscape.

What Sets the McKinsey TEI Interview Apart?

The TEI interview at McKinsey, similar to the PEI (Personal Experience Interview), focuses intensively on a single technical experience from your resume. However, unlike the PEI’s broader scope, the TEI zeroes in on this experience through a method resembling legal interrogation. It starts with one primary question, followed by 15-20 probing follow-ups. This approach can be surprising and requires you to be ready to explore numerous facets of that single experience in depth.

For McKinsey, the TEI is less about verifying your proficiency with specific techniques or tools, and more about assessing your suitability for the role. It delves into how you perceive and handle technical challenges, providing insight into your problem-solving approach and fit for the technical demands of the job.

The Questions of McKinsey Technical Experience Interview

The McKinsey TEI, much like the PEI, evaluates your expertise in a specific field through a detailed discussion of real-world situations you’ve encountered. For example, you might be asked to describe a particular problem you’ve solved, with the interviewer probing into various aspects like the nature of the problem, your approach, and the tools you utilized, such as Python or R for analytics roles, or graphic design software for designers.

The aim is to assess how you navigate challenges and achieve outcomes. Interviewers delve deep, asking questions to understand your thought process, decision-making, and learning from the experience. Questions might include:

• ‘What was your thought process in that situation?’
• ‘Why did you choose one method over another?’
• ‘What was the final outcome and what did you learn?’

Expect the interview to start broadly, perhaps with a prompt like, ‘Describe a technical project from your previous job.’ It will then narrow down to specifics, focusing on the analytical tools or strategies you employed. Common questions could range from handling differing opinions on technical problems, managing SQL requests, and applying Python programming and data architecture in solving business issues, to the effectiveness of data science approaches in various industries. Expect 10 to 20 follow-up questions.

No matter the project you discuss, it’s crucial to steer each response towards the business impact you generated, demonstrating not only your technical acumen but also your ability to drive meaningful results.

McKinsey Interview Video Academy

Rated 4.98 out of 5 based on 57 customer ratings

(57 customer reviews)

$179.00 Original price was: $179.00.$99.00Current price is: $99.00.

Look behind the curtains and understand how to ace McKinsey Case and Personal Experience Interviews with our 40-part video academy. Curated by former McKinsey consultants and interviewers with the best track record in the industry.

Read more

Add to cart

How the TEI Differs from a Case Interview at McKinsey

Similar to the McKinsey case interview, interviewers want to see how you think and approach problems and projects, yet in the past based on experiences you already went through. At management or strategy consulting firms, the case interview is a staple, especially for traditional roles.

However, the TEI interview at McKinsey stands apart from a typical case interview in several key ways. It is not so much about the 100% correct solution but the capability to discuss and evaluate different ideas and options. In this interview, you are not expected to be 100% familiar or proficient with all tools that are available for the job but rather demonstrate a deep understanding of the area, essential concepts, potential approaches, and solution spaces.

For different questions for different roles, check out the video that McKinsey provided.

While a case interview assesses your problem-solving, logical reasoning, and communication skills in a hypothetical scenario, the TEI focuses on your real-world experiences. Rather than confronting you with an unfamiliar, simulated problem, the TEI requires you to articulate how you’ve tackled actual, complex issues in your past work.

It’s important to remember that TEI interviews are specific to technical roles at McKinsey and are not part of every interview process. A significant advantage of the TEI over the case interview is its predictability regarding content. In a case interview, the scenario is unknown until the interview itself. Conversely, the TEI revolves around your own experiences and projects, allowing you to prepare and discuss your actions and the outcomes you achieved more confidently.

Preparing for the McKinsey TEI: A Comprehensive Approach

Preparing for the McKinsey Technical Expertise Interview (TEI) involves a blend of technical and behavioral interview strategies. Here’s a streamlined approach to effectively prepare:

By systematically preparing for both the technical and narrative aspects of your experiences, you’ll be well-equipped to handle the McKinsey TEI’s unique challenges, showcasing your expertise and problem-solving skills in a way that aligns with McKinsey’s expectations.

We Help You Break Into McKinsey

As former McKinsey consultants and interview experts, we have specialized in getting our candidates into McKinsey. We can help you by

• tailoring your resume and cover letter to meet McKinsey’s standards
• showing you how to pass the McKinsey Imbellus Solve Game
• showing you how to ace McKinsey interviews and the PEI with our video academy
• coaching you in our 1-on-1 sessions to become an excellent case solver and impress with your fit answers (90% success rate after 5 sessions)
• preparing your math to be bulletproof for every McKinsey case interview
• helping you structure creative and complex McKinsey cases
• teaching you how to interpret McKinsey charts and exhibits
• providing you with cheat sheets and overviews for 27 industries.

Reach out to us if you have any questions! We are happy to help and offer a tailored program.

To improve your skills in all areas of the interview, check out our targeted offers below.