Your experience is more powerful that you think

Hi there! We’re building a portal that enables users to track the latest insights from interviews, particularly in consulting, product management, and investment banking. Your experience is invaluable to us—it can help others access the most up-to-date information.

Recruiter Interview
09/08/2016
McKinsey & Company
Vlad
Job Title
Recruiter
Description

I applied online and the process took 5 days. First, there was a phone screening, followed by in-office interviews with 5 people. Then, I returned to the office for another round with 2 more people, had an additional phone interview, and finally a Skype call with someone overseas. The process was quite extensive, but everyone was extremely friendly and sincere. Most interviews were conversational, except the last one, which felt intimidating and caught me off guard. I wish the recruiter had shared more info about the types of questions expected. Ultimately, they chose a more senior candidate.

Interview questions

If your time to fill a position is typically 75 days, and the hiring manager says they need it filled in 40 days, what would you do?

Question answers

I explained that I would start by analyzing current bottlenecks in the hiring process to find acceleration opportunities, communicate trade-offs to the hiring manager, consider alternative sourcing strategies, and possibly reallocate internal recruiting resources to meet the timeline. I emphasized realistic planning and clear communication.

Recruiter Interview
23/12/2015
McKinsey & Company
A.
Job Title
Recruiter Interview
Description

I applied online for a role at McKinsey Digital Labs and was initially thrilled to receive an invitation to interview. However, the recruiter rescheduled our meeting three times — all on the day of the planned interview. Eventually, I was rejected without ever having the chance to speak with anyone. While I understand that schedules can be demanding, the lack of professionalism in this process left a disappointing impression.

Interview questions

No questions were asked as the interview was canceled before it happened.

Question answers
Recruiter Interview
12/05/2025
McKinsey & Company
John Doe
Job Title
Business Analyst
Description

The process included 2 rounds of case interviews and 1 round of personal fit. Each case tested logical structuring, market sizing, and creativity. The fit part focused on leadership and personal impact stories.

Interview questions
  1. What would you do if a client disagrees with your recommendation?
  2. Tell me about a time when you led a team through a challenging situation.
  3. Walk me through a DCF model.
  4. Describe a time when you had to work under extreme pressure.
Question answers
  1. I’d acknowledge their concern, clarify their perspective, and offer data to support my view. If the disagreement remained, I’d propose a test or pilot to validate the recommendation with minimal risk.
  2. I described a university project where team dynamics broke down midway, and I had to reassign roles, mediate conflict, and deliver the final result on time.
  3. I broke it down: project free cash flows, calculate terminal value, discount both using WACC, subtract net debt to get equity value. I also explained key assumptions like revenue growth and margins.
  4. During a student-run fund case competition, our team had 12 hours to create a full M&A model. I took charge of the Excel build, coordinated with teammates on research, and managed a tight timeline. We placed second in the competition.
Recruiter Interview
20/02/2025
Apple
Maria V.
Job Title
Product Manager, Apple Services
Description

The process consisted of 4 rounds over 3 weeks. The first round was a recruiter screen, followed by a technical product sense round where I had to design a new feature for Apple TV+. The third round involved metrics and data interpretation from an internal dashboard. The final round was a panel with a senior PM, a designer, and a cross-functional engineering lead. Emphasis was on collaboration, simplicity, and aligning with Apple’s product philosophy.

Interview questions
  1. Design a feature for Apple TV+ that increases engagement for Gen Z
  2. Tell me about a product you love from Apple and how you would improve it
  3. How do you make decisions when design excellence conflicts with technical feasibility?
  4. Walk us through a time you simplified a complex user experience
Question answers
  1. I proposed an interactive viewing feature similar to “watch parties,” but deeply integrated into iMessage and FaceTime. I emphasized real-time emoji reactions, synced playback, and integration with trending content. I backed it with user behavior data on social watching and mentioned a phased rollout + feedback loop
  2. I love the AirDrop feature — it’s fast, simple, and magical. But the UX breaks down in crowded environments (e.g., conferences, airports) due to too many visible devices.
    My improvement: introduce a “preferred devices” filter — users could mark frequent contacts (e.g., coworkers, friends) for quick targeting. Also, introduce a “Recent Transfers” section for follow-up actions like saving, replying, or forwarding
  3. I first aim to understand the “why” behind both sides. Design excellence is critical for user delight — but feasibility and deadlines matter too.
    I often frame the discussion around user impact: is this visual detail critical or cosmetic? If a feature can’t be done now, can we prioritize it in a phased rollout?
    I’ve also led design–engineering syncs where we explored lighter-weight alternatives without compromising experience. The key is transparency, iteration, and shared ownership of the trade-offs
  4. In my last role, our onboarding for a productivity tool had 6+ steps, and we saw a big drop-off after step 3.
    I ran a user journey audit, conducted interviews, and found that users were overwhelmed by setting preferences before even trying the core product.

We restructured onboarding to:

  1. Let users start immediately with defaults, and
  2. Offer optional customization later via prompts.
    This led to a 22% lift in activation and higher retention after 14 days

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