Nail Your McKinsey PEI
McKinsey's Personal Experience Interview is half your outcome and almost nobody prepares for it properly. Candidates who can run a clean profitability case walk in with three stories they've told at parties and expect it to carry. It doesn't. The PEI is a structured interview with a scoring rubric, and it goes deeper than you expect. You'll get a story out in ninety seconds and then face eight minutes of follow-ups on one decision inside it — what exactly did you do, what did the other person say, why did you choose that, what would you do differently. Depth is the whole test. We run three to five full PEIs, live, at real depth. Between them we work on: (1) Story selection across the dimensions McKinsey actually probes — personal impact, entrepreneurial drive, inclusive leadership, courageous change. Most candidates pick stories where they were the hero rather than stories where they were tested. (2) Structure without sounding rehearsed. Situation and result matter less than the middle, which is where interviewers dig. (3) Surviving the follow-ups. This is where PEIs are won and lost, and it's the only part you can't script. (4) Specificity. "I aligned stakeholders" scores nothing. What you said, to whom, on what day, and what changed scores everything. I was interview-trained at McKinsey and delivered hiring recommendations after on-campus rounds. I've been the person deciding whether a story held up. I'll push the way a real interviewer pushes, and tell you where it broke.
What's included
- Three to five full McKinsey PEIs run live, at real interview depth
- Story selection across the dimensions McKinsey actually probes
- Practice surviving the follow-up questions, which is where PEIs are won and lost
- Feedback from someone interview-trained at McKinsey who delivered hiring recommendations
Meet your expert
Ben L.
• Stanford GSB Alum, Class of 2021 -- see relevant background & experience below: • Coaching | Advised 400+ admits into Stanford GSB, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, INSEAD, Haas, and more (see ~100 Leland reviews), while teaching multiple courses through Leland • What I'm Doing Now | Based in NYC, building a publication 'Staying Human', working on a stealth, marketplace startup, coaching and playing chess profssionally, and advising a slate of Seed to Series C startups through Elevate LLC • Public Policy | Prior to Stanford, worked on the Policy Team for the Chicago Mayor's Office under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, focusing on 5G infrastructure policy, criminal justice policy, and citywide corporate/economic development deals • McKinsey | Before policy, worked at McKinsey & Co , with casework focused on job training for the formerly incarcerated and workforce development for at-risk youth • PE / VC / Startup Advising | After Stanford, worked in Bain's Private Equity Group on various due diliegences, managed deals with several venture capital firms, and advised multiple startups on growth and go-to-market strategy • Professional Writing | Speechwriting in public policy & political environments, Lead Editor for Nondisclosure (Stanford GSB's magazine) and Managing Editor for the Stanford International Policy Review • Additional Writing | Crafting op-eds, ghostwriting for major publications, developing a fictional short story collection, policy deep dives, a book on chess applications to life, and application essays of all sorts • GMAT / Test-Taking | Scored in the highest percentile of GMAT test-takers, but more importantly I've honed my ability to help others extrapolate top test-testing strategies in the areas they're weakest • Additional Coaching Details | 5+ years experience working with >750 individuals on essay writing and resume professionalization for top consulting firms, MBA programs, execs, and the broader job market • Interview Training | I was interview-trained with McKinsey, helping me give high-quality mock interviews for MBBs and any MBA program; I've also held 10+ events through Leland on interview prep for McKinsey's PEI and GSB's interview process in particular