McKinsey & Co. is asking graduate applicants to “collaborate” with artificial intelligence tools as part of its hiring process, as technology proficiency is a requirement to compete for top-level jobs.
According to CaseBasix, an American company that helps applicants apply for positions at major strategic consulting firms, the blue-chip consulting firm is incorporating “AI interviews” into some final interviews.
CaseBasix said in an online post that “final selection” candidates in the U.S. are being asked to complete a test using McKinsey’s in-house AI tool, Lilli. They will be required to perform hands-on consulting work with the help of Lilli.
“The McKinsey AI interview requires you to instruct the AI, see its output, and apply judgment to produce clear, structured responses. The focus is on collaboration and reasoning, not on technical AI expertise,” CaseBasix said.
“In practice, candidates are typically given business questions and scenarios similar to those in real-world consulting work. Rather than relying solely on their own analysis, candidates use AI as a supporting tool to explore information, structure their thinking, and refine their insights.”
CaseBasix said candidates are not expected to know advanced techniques for prompting, a term for asking an AI to perform a task or answer a question. However, applicants will need to demonstrate that they can use AI as a “productive thought partner” and clearly communicate their reasoning, similar to how a consultant might interact with a junior team member.
“Based on early reports and candidate feedback, it appears that McKinsey’s AI interviews assess how candidates think, judge, and work with AI tools, rather than their technical knowledge of AI,” CaseBasix said.
Lili’s use in the interview process for business school graduates was first reported by the Financial Times. McKinsey declined to comment.
CaseBasix said the AI interview will be conducted along with two other assessments: problem solving and structured thinking. Personal influence, leadership, and values.
In 2024, Microsoft announced that McKinsey will be an early adopter of its Copilot Studio project, which can handle autonomous AI agents, or virtual employees, that can perform tasks such as processing customer queries and identifying sales leads. Other companies that joined as early users include law firm Clifford Chance and retailer Pets at Home.
McKinsey CEO Bob Sternfels told Harvard Business Review’s Ideacast that the company has an “employee” of 20,000 agents along with 40,000 staff members.
Last year, UK recruitment experts told the Guardian that affinity and competency with AI was becoming a key part of the selection process.
