Most candidates prepare for the wrong target. They memorize frameworks, accumulate case volume, and treat the behavioral interview as a formality — then underperform against an evaluation standard they were never shown.
This session is built from the other side of the table. Drawing on my experience as a former McKinsey Engagement Manager and interviewer, I'll walk through what interviewers are actually assessing in a top-tier consulting interview: why cases test your thinking rather than your answer, why the behavioral half carries far more weight than candidates assume, and why composure is simply preparation made visible.
The second half is about calibration. Not more practice — better-targeted practice. How to aim at the right standard, how to use conversations with consultants to calibrate rather than network, and how to build a preparation system instead of a case count.
You'll leave understanding what separates a competent candidate from one an interviewer would advance, and how to direct your remaining preparation at the gaps that actually move the decision.
Open Q&A to close.
