PST

McKinsey PST Dress Code

Are you going to take the McKinsey PST and do you want to make sure you’re not only prepared for the pen & paper test, but ace your overall presentation as well? Good: because it’s not just you analytical skills that are being tested during the Problem Solving Test, but your overall presentation as well.

Follow the advice from HR and/or recruitment

Often, your invitation from McKinsey specifies the dress code required for the occasion. It will often be either (business) casual or business formal: everyday attire or full suit and tie, respecitvely. If you want to make sure, you can always call to check what the dress code is for your McKinsey PST session or follow the rules below:

Only Problem Solving Test

If you’re invited for the McKinsey PST but there is no round planned following the test, you can assume that the attire should be (business) casual. Just wear a suit without tie, or conventional clothes that do not stand out and still look professional. But what to do if you are invited for both the PST and a (case) interview?

McKinsey PST and Case Interview

If a possible case interview round has been planned to directly follow up the McKinsey PST session, be sure to wear business formal attire: suit and tie for men, suit for women. Even if it is not specified, you can assume that business formal is the dress code.

McKinsey PST Dress Code: Final Words

It might not seem important “how you look” when you are going to take a pen-and-paper test, but dressing unprofessionally might disqualify you for further interview rounds. If you’re going to take the McKinsey Problem Solving Test, be sure to check the advice from recruitment or HR. When in doubt: wear formal business attire, because it can never be hold against you. Even if you are overdressed for the occasion, you can always remove your tie.

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McKinsey Test

by Stephan Spijkers Leave a Comment

The McKinsey Test is often referred to as the McKinsey Problem Solving Test or simply the McKinsey PST. Candidates who apply at McKinsey and get through the rigorous resume and cover letter selection are often invite to take the McKinsey Test afterwards. Though roughly 66% of candidates fail the McKinsey PST, the ones that pass are invited for a first round of case interviews. Only after a second round of case interviews a job offer is extended to the candidates that passed every test.

How do you beat the McKinsey Test?

One of the reasons that candidates fail the McKinsey Problem Solving Test is the fact that they underestimate how difficult it is or do not know that it is possible to practice for the McKinsey test. So one of the ways to ace the PST is to practice! This can be done in many different ways:

Reading: you need to read a lot during the McKinsey test, so knowing how to quickly parse data tremendously helps during the test. Reading business magazines for practice also improves your knowledge on business concepts and frameworks at the same time
Math: though not all questions features calculations, a lot of them do. Being able to quickly (and correctly) calculate helps a lot during case interviews as well
Sample Tests: the best way to practice is to use sample tests, both from McKinsey and provided by our site:
- The Key to the PST: a fully-fledged McKinsey test practice, including a complete answer guide and tips on how to approach written cases
- The Second Key to the PST: another full McKinsey PST practice, with a fresh set of cases to crack and improve your skills

Other McKinsey Test resources

You’ll find a lot of information on the McKinsey Test in the various articles on this site. We also provide great guides for case interviews and help to craft the perfect consulting resume. McKinsey also provides a lot of information on the PST on their own site, and even has an app to help you prepare for the PST.

Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

McKinsey PST Sample

by Stephan Spijkers Leave a Comment

Since roughly 66% of candidates fail to make the McKinsey PST cutoff, it is a good idea to practice with a McKinsey PST sample test. One of the reasons many applicants fail the McKinsey Problem Solving Test is because they underestimate the pressure generated by:

the amount of (financial) data they have to parse
the difficulty of the PST questions
the 60 minute time limit (meaning only 2 minutes per question)
the stakes at play (failing the PST means you’re out)

By making sure your skills are up to par and by knowing what you can expect, you can increase your odds of acing the McKinsey PST significantly.

How can you practice the PST?

If you want to make sure that you make the cut, you have 2 options: train the underlying skills required and practice with a McKinsey PST sample. To be able to train, you need to know the two basic skills involved in doing the McKinssey Problem Solving Test. We’ll cover them below:

(Business) reading: during the McKinsey PST you’ll be reading a lot of information on the cases, not all of which is relevant. Knowing what is important and what is not or being able to quickly determine this helps a great deal. Since you only have 2 minutes per question, you’ll also want to make sure that you “know your lingo” and have basic knowledge of all business & finance terms. Especially if you’re not from a Business or Finance background, it helps to do some background reading (start with Business Insider, the Financial Times or The Economist).
Math: since calculators are not allowed, you’ll have to do all computations by hand. If you cannot calculate in your head quickly (and correctly), don’t fret: it’s a skill and can be trained easily. Being able to do basic calculations on paper will help, but will cost significantly more time than being able to do these in your head. Read up in this article on case interview math if you want some sources of practice material.

But the best way to train yourself for the McKinsey PST might be to practice with a McKinsey PST sample. Before you take the sample PST on the Mckinsey website however, make sure that you practice your skills first. When you’re confident you can ace the test, set a timer for 60 minutes and take the sample PST. We recommend practicing more however: in our experience it takes 2 to 3 practice PST’s to really get a confident feeling during the real McKinsey Problem Solving Test. If you want to practice with more McKinsey PST sample tests: we’ve got you covered.

McKinsey PST Sample

If you want to make sure you’re well prepared and confident that you can ace the McKinsey PST, these 2 sample tests will help you improve your performance. Nothing beats extra practice!

The Key to the PST: a fully-fledged practice PST with 26 questions and an extensive answer guide. In addition, it also features tips on how to ace the McKinsey PST both when preparing and during the actual Problem Solving Test.
The Second Key to the PST: an additional practice PST with a fresh set of cases and the same extensive answer guide.

Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

McKinsey Problem Solving Test (PST)

by Stephan Spijkers Leave a Comment

The McKinsey Problem Solving Test or McKinsey PST is the second hurdle applicants to McKinsey have to face when interviewing for this top-tier strategy consulting firm.

Interviewing at McKinsey: consulting resume and cover letter

When you apply at McKinsey, you are asked to send along your resume and cover letter. Both of these documents will “travel with you” during the interview process: every interviewer will have a copy of them at his disposal, and every live interview will have questions based on information you provide in these documents. These questions might be to break the ice (“I’ve also ran the NY marathon, in 2013! What was your most memorable moment?”) or to zoom in on strengths or weaknesses you have in your curriculum (“You have a PhD in Physics, but could you give me an example where you exhibited exceptional leadership?”). Roughly two-thirds of candidates are rejected based on their resume and cover letter, so you want to make sure you have the best consulting resume and that your cover letter stands out. Only one third of all applicants are invited for the McKinsey PST.

The McKinsey PST

The McKinsey Problem Solving Test or PST is a written case interview, where your analytical and business skills are put to the test under a challenging time limit. While not everyone is invited to take the McKinsey PST (proven analytical skills such as a Math or Physics PhD, or prior consulting experience at a top-tier firm might exempt you), most candidates are asked to do the test. It features 4 business cases and 26 multiple choice questions that need to be answered in 60 minutes. Of the 60.000 candidates that take the test worldwide, 66% fail the McKinsey Problem Solving Test. How can you make sure you are invited to the first rounds of case interviews?

McKinsey Problem Solving Test Practice

Many candidates underestimate the difficulty of the PST and focus their preparations purely on the case interviews. Though the skills required to ace the McKinsey PST and subsequent case interviews largely overlap, the setting completely differs. Many candidates are surprised by the how little time they actually have and finish only part of the Test. Others misjudge the amount of calculations you have to make and forget to brush up their math skills.

Time limit

With only 60 minutes to answer 26 questions, you have roughly 2 minutes per question. This seems like plenty of time, but you get a lot of data to parse: both text and financial data. One way to make sure you’re not surprised by the 60 minute time limit is by practicing the McKinsey PST. Either using the practice PST from the www.mckinsey.com or by using one of the practice PST’s we’ve made available.

Math skills

The McKinsey PST requires you to do a lot of calculations in a short amount of time. To make sure you calculate quickly and correctly you should practice your quantitative skills. There are plenty of sites and apps to test your mathematical prowess, and we’ve listed some in our article on case interview math. Don’t be put off by your initial performance: your skill will improve rapidly with daily practice.

McKinsey PST cutoff score

Many applicants wonder what the “passing grade” for the McKinsey PST is and we’ve talked with many candidates who both passed the test and those who did not. Based on our experience with the PST itself and our interviews of candidates, we believe the McKinsey PST cutoff is roughly 20 questions. This means that you need to get roughly 75% of all questions correct. This has implications for how you fill in the McKinsey PST: it’s better to guess answers if you’re running out of time (there’s no penalty for wrong answers) than to leave them open. Even better is to practice with practice PST’s, so you know what to expect.

Practice the McKinsey PST

Luckily, you can increase your chances of making the cutoff score by practicing the PST. You can do this by brushing up on your math skills, but also by taking practice McKinsey PST tests provided by caseinterviewhq.com:

The Key to the PST: a fully-fledged practice PST with 26 questions and an extensive answer guide. In addition, it also features tips on how to ace the McKinsey PST both when preparing and during the actual Problem Solving Test.
The Second Key to the PST: an additional practice PST with a fresh set of cases and the same extensive answer guide.

Rating: 8.5/10 (2 votes cast)

The McKinsey Problem Solving Test (PST): How to ace it.

by Stephan Spijkers 6 Comments

In this post we will delve deeper into McKinsey and it’s recruitment process. Today we will discuss the McKinsey Problem Solving Test or PST. We already explored the history of McKinsey and later this week we will dive into the specifics of their case interviewing methods. But today it’s all about the McKinsey Problem Solving Test: a multiple choice test that is really a pen-and-paper case interview in sixty minutes (70 minutes for non-native speakers as the test is in English only).

Originally developed to help streamline the application process and reduce the burden on actual consultants (read: billable hours) giving case interviews to hopeless candidates. Since there are thousands of McKinsey applicants worldwide in any given year, the PST has evolved as a thoroughly tested selection tool with high predictive capabilities. If a candidate passes the McKinsey Problem Solving Test, his or her chances to ace the case interview are also considerably higher. On the other hand, if you fail the PST you will have a hard time convincing McKinsey that you should be allowed to pass to the next round: the McKinsey Problem Solving Test features a true cut-off score: if you don’t make it, you’re out.

The McKinsey PST

So, what is the PST all about? It consists of about 25 questions based on five or six cases. Every case starts with a short description of the company, some data on revenues or number of employees. Maybe a chart on how profit has evolved through the years. At the end, there’s often a quote of the CEO or manager that has hired you with the question they want you to solve. Then there are about 5 questions about the case, either based on the info in the introduction or some new piece of data (a table, a chart) followed by a question. When I took the McKinsey Problem Solving Test for example, there was a case about a fish restaurant who served three kinds of fresh fish. The first question was about some piece of information hidden in the introduction. After the fourth question, a new problem was introduced, as the chef wanted to buy an automatic shrimp peeler and wondered whether it was worth the investment. The final two questions were on that new problem.

What do you need to do to pass the McKinsey Problem Solving Test? First of all, you need to read both quickly and carefully. Secondly, you need to polish up your math: the PST will always feature some quantitative questions. And finally: practice, practice, practice!

Reading

Skim the introduction and underline important data or observations. Read the question very carefully. For example, the first question in the fish restaurant case was (along the lines of):

“What is the objective of the restaurant owner?”

You then go back to the introduction, in which the owner is quoted (a piece of info you should have underlined), saying: “I want to reduce the amount of fresh fish per plate so I can reduce prices and attract more customers”. Now pick the best answer:

The owner’s goal is to reduce prices.
The owner’s goal is to reduce cost.
The owner’s goal is to increase profit.
The owner’s goal is to increase the amount of sales.

All of the above are right, or a logical result of the actions of the owner. The best answer however, is D: as the goal of the owner is to increase the amount of customers. Maybe the answer surprises you, but take this piece of advice: during your interviewing process and while taking the PST you’ll have to think as a consultant. Often the client requests a certain analysis or asks for a certain problem to be solved that is not really the problem. Many times you’ll have to rephrase the client’s question and drive down to the real problem they face. Consulting firms look for this skill in candidates, and it’s no surprise these questions also turn up in the PST. Another thing you could do is to read the questions first so you know what is important, before you read the ‘real’ info. Since you only have a limited amount of time, you don’t want to waste time while trying to figure out the exact meaning of a graph or table.

Math

While you are not allowed to bring a calculator, the McKinsey Problem Solving Test features some quantitative questions as well. It’s designed to give candidates with all backgrounds (non-business ones as well) an even chance, so don’t expect NPV calculations or the like. But the calculations are both tough and time-consuming: remember that you have only 60 or 70 minutes to finish the test. It does help to brush up your math, so check this post on case interview math. Being able to calculate out of your head quickly and accurately is beneficial both during your McKinsey Problem Solving Test and your real case interviews and is one of those things you can get really good at with daily practice. It’s like training a muscle: it needs patience and practice, so get started as soon as possible.

Practice!

Practice makes perfect, but there is very little material online that compares to the real McKinsey Problem Solving Test. You can use the previous McKinsey PST from their website, use PST-like tests from firms started by McKinsey alumni or practice by making the storyline questions in GRE-books.

All of them are either not very much like the ‘real’ PST or give you very little insight into the tactics you can employ to maximize your score on the PST. Every bit of practice helps, which is why you can download these practice materials for free below. But if you want to learn how to ace the Problem Solving Test with confidence, with a full practice PST to put your skills to the test, I suggest taking a look at “The Key to the PST”, which includes inside info on how to prepare and a full Practice PST with a detailed answer guide to learn from your mistakes.

I wrote the book because a friend of mine who had to take the PST really liked the section on PST-preparation in my other book, “Cracking the Case“. He asked me to write a full sample test and I walked him through the test and his answers. After he successfully took his PST, he urged me to put the sample test I wrote online so others could practice with it as well. I decided to add the full PST-preparation section from “Cracking the Case” to the sample test, as well as a detailed answer guide (I can’t walk you through your answers personally, unfortunately). Since putting it online in June 2012, hundreds have downloaded “The Key to the PST” to help prepare for their test.

Not sure why you would need to practice? One of the readers of my book experienced first hand why practice helps:

I recently used your book to prepare for the cases. It was really helpful. I have just gotten news that I passed the test and the wonderful thing is I managed to finish with some 10 minutes to spare and revise the bits I was unsure of. Your guide really helped. Thanks again.

You can get it now for just $17, just click to buy it now or click here for more info. Don’t want to spend any money yet? You can also use the material I gathered below: it’s free. Everything I’ve gathered over the years is free to download and to use as you like:

– McKinsey Problem Solving Test 2011 Practice

– McKinsey Problem Solving Test 2011 Coaching Guide

– McKinsey Problem Solving Test Practice: 2001 Problem Solving Test

– McKinsey Problem Solving Test Practice: Monitor Test

– McKinsey Problem Solving Test Practice: 2020 Test

But if you want inside information on how to ace the PST, including a complete practice PST with detailed answer guide, I advise you to take a look at my book on the subject. “The Key to the PST” is available now for just $17! Click for more info.

Good luck with your PST!

– Stephan

Update: A reader pointed me to some other great resources:

Another good way to practice is using GRE training materials, especially the story-line questions. Below are links to three GRE books:

Kaplan GRE Exam Math Workbook (Kaplan GRE Math Workbook)

GRE Math Prep Course (Nova’s GRE Prep Course)

CliffsNotes Math Review for Standardized Tests (CliffsTestPrep)

And also some free practice online:

Sample GRE questions from ets.com

Sparknotes on Data Interpretation

Five (easy) Data Interpretation tests on IndiaBix

Good luck!

– Stephan

Rating: 8.6/10 (31 votes cast)

Updated: Key to the PST

by Stephan Spijkers Leave a Comment

The best preparation for the McKinsey PST: now updated

The best book for your McKinsey Problem Solving Test preparation has been online for only three months, and it’s already being updated. Why? Well, let me share a secret with you about how the ‘Key to the PST’ came to be…

A request from a friend

When I finished writing my other book (“Cracking the Case“) I had asked some friends and colleagues to proof-read the book and distribute it freely if they wanted to help other friends with their case preparation. I received great feedback on my book and made some important improvements as a result.

One of my friends came back to me with a different kind of question: he was preparing for the McKinsey PST and found the section in “Cracking the Case” really helpful. He asked me whether I could write a whole practice problem solving test, so he could practice for the real PST. Since I just completed “Cracking the Case”, I did not really feel like writing another book so soon, but he kept asking and finally I gave in.

The Key to the PST

I drafted some extra questions and let him practice with it. I walked him through the answers and he later aced the ‘real’ PST. He then kept pushing me to share this book with the rest of the world, so I decided to polish the draft a little and put it online on CaseInterviewHQ. It was an instant success and I felt a little scared: it proved to be a great practice together with me walking you through the answers, but what if I wasn’t there in person?

The response I get from my readers however is great: it really helps people finish the PST with more confidence, more time left to review answers and better results. There were still some rough edges and I got great feedback from many readers: thank you! This resulted in the new version of the Key to the PST being released so soon: version 1.1 is available for download right now. It features more clear answer guidelines and some improved formulation of the questions, resembling the real PST even closer.

Thanks a lot for your great feedback (keep it coming) and good luck with your problem solving test and case interviews!

Best,

Stephan.

Rating: 8.5/10 (4 votes cast)

Cracking the Case Available Now!

by Stephan Spijkers Leave a Comment

The best book on case interviews is now available!

It took many hours to complete and even more to fine-tune and perfect it, but ‘Cracking the Case’ is finished and available now! Click here to find out everything about the book’s features, special bonuses and content previews.

Having finished the book, I will also have more time on my hands to update the blog, so stay tuned for further updates.

Rating: 9.5/10 (2 votes cast)