McKinsey builds AI interview coach

McKinsey & Company has added an AI practice tool for candidates preparing for its interviews, according to a Business Insider report published on May 24. The tool is designed to let applicants rehearse interview scenarios before they meet the firm’s interviewers. Business Insider said McKinsey wants candidates to practice with its tool rather than rely on outside interview coaches and prep services. The move extends a broader push by the consulting firm to build AI into both its work and its hiring process. ### Why would McKinsey build its own interview practice tool? Business Insider reported on May 24 that McKinsey’s aim is partly to reduce candidates’ dependence on external prep providers. That matters in a recruiting process that has long produced a parallel market of paid case-interview coaching, mock interviews and preparation materials aimed at applicants to McKinsey, Bain and Boston Consulting Group. (businessinsider.com) McKinsey’s own careers site says the firm already offers candidates videos, practice cases and other preparation resources. The site also says many candidates use AI to prepare, including for practicing interview questions, and that the firm views responsible use of AI as acceptable in preparation but not for generating live responses during an interview. ### How does this fit with McKinsey’s broader use of AI in recruiting? (businessinsider.com) January reporting linked McKinsey’s recruiting changes to a wider internal AI rollout. Business Insider reported in January that Chief Executive Bob Sternfels said the firm had used AI to analyze 20 years of hiring data and concluded that resilience after setbacks was associated with later success at the partnership level. The same report said McKinsey receives about 1 million applications a year and hires less than 1% of applicants. (mckinsey.com) Separate January reports said McKinsey had also begun piloting an AI-related interview component for some candidates. Those reports, citing the Financial Times and interview-prep firms, said some final-round candidates in the United States were asked to work with McKinsey’s internal AI platform, Lilli, in a non-evaluative pilot tied to real-world consulting tasks. McKinsey has not publicly detailed that pilot on its careers page. (africa.businessinsider.com) ### What does McKinsey say candidates can and cannot do with AI? McKinsey’s careers page says candidates may use AI for preparation, including polishing a resume and practicing interview questions, so long as the use is responsible. The same page says using AI to misrepresent oneself or to generate real-time responses during an interview “goes against our values” and undermines fairness in the process. That distinction places the new practice tool on the permitted side of McKinsey’s rules. (managementconsulted.com) A firm-run tool gives candidates a way to rehearse within boundaries McKinsey has explicitly set out, while preserving the company’s ban on live AI assistance during actual interviews. ### Why does this matter beyond one consulting firm? McKinsey’s position matters because its interview process is one of the most copied and coached-for formats in white-collar recruiting. (mckinsey.com) A firm-provided AI rehearsal tool could shift more preparation from private coaches and student consulting clubs toward standardized practice materials controlled by the employer itself. That inference is based on Business Insider’s report that McKinsey wants to steer candidates away from pricey outside services and on McKinsey’s published guidance encouraging AI-assisted preparation within set rules. May 24 is also not the first sign that AI is being folded into this part of the labor market. Business Insider’s report on the practice tool follows earlier reports that McKinsey was testing AI collaboration in interviews and using AI to revisit how it screens for talent. McKinsey’s next public reference point is likely to be its careers materials and recruiting guidance, where the firm already outlines interview preparation resources, acceptable AI use and assessment integrity expectations for candidates. (businessinsider.com) (mckinsey.com)