The McKinsey Inspire program is an extraordinary opportunity for incoming MBA students to network with McKinsey and learn more about McKinsey’s work, culture, and people. It is a highly selective, invite-only program that is part of McKinsey’s Early Access program.

 

If you are planning to apply for the McKinsey Inspire program and want to give yourself the best chance of getting an invitation, then this article is for you.

 

In this comprehensive article, we’ll cover what is the McKinsey Inspire program, program requirements and deadlines, and tips for the application process.

 

What is the McKinsey Inspire Program?

 

McKinsey Inspire is an immersive two-day event for incoming US MBA students to connect with members of McKinsey’s diversity networks, explore a career in consulting, and refine problem solving and leadership skills. The program consists of case workshops, panels, and networking events.

 

McKinsey Inspire is part of the overall McKinsey Early Access Program and is designed for incoming full-time MBA students who are interested in and want to connect with members of the Black, Hispanic, Latino, or Indigenous networks.

 

Participants in the McKinsey Inspire program can expect to:

 

• Learn about McKinsey’s work, culture, and people

 

• Explore the potential of a career in consulting

 

• Network with McKinsey colleagues across their Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Indigenous networks

 

• Attend interactive workshops to develop problem solving and leadership skills

 

The McKinsey Inspire program can be attended virtually or in-person. The virtual event typically takes place in late June while the in-person event takes place in the middle of July at McKinsey’s Boston office.

 

There are no costs to participate in the program. McKinsey will cover all program-related expenses.

 

The McKinsey Inspire program is extremely competitive to get into. There are significantly more applicants than there are available spots. Those that get in will have an advantage in recruiting compared to their peers as they will have already gotten to know McKinsey better and networked with McKinsey consultants.

 

McKinsey Inspire Program Requirements

 

To be eligible for the McKinsey Inspire program, applicants must be admitted to a full-time MBA program in the US. Applicants that are pursuing dual degrees such as a MD/MBA or JD/MBA are also eligible to apply.

 

Additionally, applicants must be interested in and want to connect with members of the McKinsey Black, Hispanic, Latino, or Indigenous Networks.

 

McKinsey Inspire Program Application Deadline

 

The previous McKinsey Inspire program application deadline was May 13, 2024. You should check the McKinsey Inspire website to get the official deadline for the upcoming year. Expect the next McKinsey Inspire program deadline to be May 2025.

 

Invitations to those accepted into the McKinsey Inspire program are typically sent in June, though some invitations may be sent later.

 

If you do not get accepted into the McKinsey Inspire program, know that you can still apply to other McKinsey programs, internships, and full-time opportunities. Your application to the McKinsey Inspire program has no impact on your application to these other programs.

We've also put together an article that compiles all McKinsey application deadlines for their internships, full-time positions, and other programs.

 

McKinsey Inspire Program Application

 

To apply for the McKinsey Inspire program, applicants must indicate interest in the program through the McKinsey Early Access program. There is no separate application for the McKinsey Inspire program.

 

The McKinsey Early Access program requires you to submit your: resume, contact information, office interest, and interest in various Pre-MBA events.

 

After submitting your application, you will be given three days to take the McKinsey Solve, a 60-minute online problem solving game. The results of the McKinsey Solve will be used as an additional data point in your application in deciding whether you will be accepted into the McKinsey Inspire program.

 

Resume

 

The resume that you submit for the McKinsey Early Access program is the most important component of the application process. It’s important that you spend sufficient time crafting your consulting resume so that it best highlights your qualities and accomplishments.

 

Application reviewers will spend most of their time looking at your resume when making decisions on who to select for invite-only programs such as the McKinsey Inspire program.

 

Contact Information

 

For this section of the application, make sure to use your MBA program’s school issued email if you already have one. If not, you can use the email that you plan to use in the future during your recruiting process.

 

Office Interest

 

The McKinsey Early Access application will ask you for your top three office preferences. You should select your top office choices based on your potential geographic interests for a future McKinsey internship or full-time role.

 

The offices that you select are not binding, but will help put you in contact with the right people at McKinsey. You should think about where you would like to live after finishing your MBA.

 

You will be asked to weight each of your office preferences such that the sum of all weights adds up to 100%. For example, you may indicate your office preferences as 70% San Francisco, 20% New York, and 10% Chicago.

 

Interest in Various Pre-MBA Events

 

During this section of the McKinsey Early Access application, you will have the opportunity to indicate which Pre-MBA events you are interested in. This is where you indicate your interest in the McKinsey Inspire program.

 

We highly encourage you to express interest in all Pre-MBA events that are relevant to you. This will give you more opportunities to network with McKinsey consultants and give yourself an edge in recruiting over other candidates.

 

McKinsey Solve

 

To complete the McKinsey Early Access application, you’ll be asked to complete the McKinsey Solve online assessment.

 

The McKinsey Solve is a 60-minute online pre-interview screening test consisting of two simulation exercises, ecosystem building and the Redrock case study. It assesses a candidate’s cognitive abilities including critical thinking, decision making, and systems thinking.

 

The test is similar to an ecology-themed video game where players engage in tasks like building food chains, protecting species, and managing ecosystems.

 

The McKinsey Solve assessment does not require any business knowledge or video game experience. The assessment is taken at home, allowing candidates to use resources such as pen, paper, and calculators.

 

The McKinsey Solve is scored based on the final answers submitted as well as the method used to arrive at them.

 

Each candidate receives a unique McKinsey Solve assessment. No two assessments are identical.

 

If you have already completed the McKinsey Solve within the last 12 months, you will not need to complete this online assessment again. Your previous score should be linked to your McKinsey profile.

 

Tips for Getting Selected for the McKinsey Inspire Program

 

1. Perfect your consulting resume

 

Your resume is the single most important component that will determine whether or not you are invited to participate in the McKinsey Inspire program.

 

Therefore, you’ll want to dedicate at least a few days perfecting your resume while also getting feedback from peers, your school’s career center, or even consultants that you know.

 

Make sure to follow the tips below to perfect your consulting resume.

 

• Keep your resume to one page only. If it is longer, you’ll need to make your resume more concise and less wordy

 

• Every bullet on your resume should start with a verb in the past tense to show that you have completed or achieved something

 

• Every bullet should have some kind of number or metric in them so that you can quantify your accomplishments and make them sound more impressive

 

• Your resume’s bullets should show a mix of quantitative skill accomplishments (e.g., analyzing data) and qualitative skill accomplishments (e.g., managing or working with others)

 

• Avoid using technical jargon, unfamiliar abbreviations or acronyms, and buzzwords with unclear meanings

 

• Your resume should prioritize showcasing your work experiences, particularly if you have worked at a brand name company

 

• Include personal interests at the end of the resume to give resume reviewers something interesting to read about

 

Additionally, McKinsey recommends that in your resume, you should describe what you accomplished and why it mattered. Your resume should answer questions such as:

 

• What roles have you had?

 

• What problems did you solve?

 

• How have you made your work stand out?

 

• How well did you work with others?

 

• What skills have you developed?

 

McKinsey also recommends that you share your leadership experience, evidence of teamwork, skills, interests, awards, scholarships, and any additional information that McKinsey should know of.

 

If you need professional help crafting the perfect resume that will land you consulting interviews, check out our resume review and editing service.

 

2. Prepare for the McKinsey Solve

 

The results of your McKinsey Solve assessment may determine whether or not you are invited to participate in the McKinsey Inspire program. So, it is important that you do well on this test.

 

It is also used to determine whether you will get a first round interview with McKinsey when you apply for a summer internship or full-time position.

 

There have been a total of six games that have appeared on the McKinsey Solve, though only the first two are used today.

 

• Ecosystem building: create a stable ecosystem by choosing a location for the ecosystem and selecting eight different species to inhabit it

 

• Redrock case study: ensure ecological balance in a nature reserve by optimizing the number of wolves in the four packs that live there such that wolves and elk can sustainably coexist

 

Below, we’ve outlined a video that explains what the McKinsey Solve is and walks you through exactly how to tackle the games you’ll see on your online assessment.

 

After watching this video, we highly recommend practicing playing these games before you take the actual McKinsey Solve. You can do this through PSG Secrets’ McKinsey Solve simulation. This simulation replicates the actual games you’ll be evaluated on in the McKinsey Solve.

 

3. Attend as many McKinsey events as you can

 

Everyone that signs up for the McKinsey Early Access program will receive:

 

• Invitations to virtual meet-ups with McKinsey recruiters and consultants

 

• Access to webinars that highlight McKinsey’s culture, work, and people

 

• Recruiting tips to help set you up for success

 

• Information on Summer Associate Intern opportunities

 

Take advantage of these opportunities to meet and interact with McKinsey consultants. The more McKinsey consultants you meet, the higher likelihood you are able to hit it off with someone and potentially get a referral when it comes to getting into the McKinsey Inspire program.

 

In addition, you’ll learn a lot about consulting and McKinsey, which will help you answer common interview questions such as “why consulting?” and “why McKinsey?”

 

These questions will definitely be asked during your first round or final round interviews with McKinsey when applying for an internship or full-time position.

 

4. Prepare for consulting interviews

 

While you don’t need to pass any McKinsey case interviews in order to be accepted into the McKinsey Inspire program, it is advantageous to start preparing for consulting interviews early to give yourself an edge over the competition.

 

You will need to pass every single one of your McKinsey case interviews in order to land an internship or full-time offer with McKinsey.

 

A case interview is a 20 to 40-minute interview in which you are placed in a hypothetical business situation and asked to develop a recommendation to solve a business problem.

 

Consulting firms, such as McKinsey, like to use case interviews in their recruiting process because they can assess a variety of skills and traits that are required to be a successful management consultant.

 

If you’re looking for a step-by-step guide to learn case interviews quickly and save yourself hundreds of hours, make sure to check out our comprehensive case interview course.

 

In addition to case interviews, you should also prepare for consulting behavioral questions. These interview questions ask you to draw upon a time or experience in the past in which you demonstrated a particular quality or trait.

 

Behavioral questions give McKinsey interviewers a glimpse into who you are as a person. Your answers will show what qualities you demonstrate and what values you hold important to you.

 

If you want to learn how to answer 98% of consulting behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours, check out our behavioral interview course.

Author: Taylor Warfield

 

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