How did you learn about McKinsey?
My first contact with McKinsey and management consulting was through two people at my university who received offers to join. We met on campus and they explained how they went about recruiting, interviewing and deciding to join. At that time, I was interning at a beverage company. When they started talking about their experiences and, I felt McKinsey could be for me.
Why did you consider McKinsey as a career opportunity?
From that point onward, I started researching the firm and preparing to become a McKinsey consultant. I also joined a consulting club, which helped me a lot on the journey. Being part of the club, helped me meet recruiters from several firms, understand the profile of each one, and get to know people who worked there.
McKinsey recruiters and their campus recruiting program stood out from the crowd for three reasons: program structure, student attention and individualized treatment, which gave due value to each person and their story. I could see the firm’s values in each touchpoint.
In 2019, I competed in the McKinsey Impact Experience, a case competition in Brazil, and won! The most significant prize to me was meeting exceptional people and learning a lot with them. From business analysts to senior partners, it was amazing to see how the firm develops one another through apprenticeship and mentoring.
How was your experience receiving your offer?
While I was competing in the McKinsey Impact Experience, I was also applying for a business analyst internship at the firm. I received all required support to have success, including a McKinsey Mentor to help me prepare for the interviews; he led me through practice cases and gave very actionable feedback. I also participated in a few training sessions hosted by the Recruiting team. One interesting, and unfortunate, thing happened during the process; I realized my college’s policies restricted me from interning in a city other than the one in which my campus was located and there was no McKinsey office near. Even with this situation, McKinsey assisted me by offering to change my application from intern to full-time business analyst position. Receiving that offer to join was one of the happiest moments of my career, and it was made even more special because I received it during a McKinsey Black Network Conference (Conferência Juntos) from Reinaldo Fiorini, the managing partner of McKinsey’s Brazilian office complex. (You can read more about Juntos and one of its organizers, another member of the McKinsey Black Network called Alberto, here)
How has been your experience with McKinsey since then?
Since I received the offer, I have been in touch with my future colleagues about the firm and my future daily routine. I have joined some calls about current affairs, hosted by leaders including global managing partner Kevin Sneader. These sessions have reinforced how much value the firm places on developing its employees.
Unfortunately, the whole world was surprised by COVID-19, and because of it, my graduation date was postponed. Even in this atypical situation, the firm paid attention to its future firm members and contacted each of us to honor our offers.