Looking for some honest input here. I had a McKinsey second round interview date locked in about two weeks out, flights and travel already booked. This morning I got a call with an exploding offer from JPMorgan that expires at the end of this week.
Due to other scheduling constraints, there is genuinely no way for me to fly out and do the interview in person before the offer deadline passes. So I’m weighing whether it’s reasonable to ask my recruiter if I can do the final round virtually on shorter notice, so I can get the McKinsey process done before the JPM deadline.
For what it’s worth, I’m okay with letting the JPM offer expire and just interviewing on my original date if the optics of requesting a virtual superday are really that bad. I don’t want to torpedo my McKinsey chances over logistics. But if this is something people have successfully navigated before, I’d rather not leave a banking offer on the table for no reason.
A few specific questions:
- Is an exploding offer from another firm generally seen as a legitimate reason to request a format change?
- How do interviewers/recruiters typically view virtual final rounds vs. in person? Is there a real disadvantage?
- Should I just reach out to my recruiter directly and explain the situation, or is there a better way to handle this?
Appreciate any advice. Thanks.