Struggling to keep my frameworks MECE-compliant after failing two mock interviews. Heard interviewers have pet peeves about incomplete structuring – anyone have concrete examples of what NOT to do? Specifically looking for checklists or failure patterns from those who’ve been on the hiring side. How do you systematically check for MECE gaps during prep?
oh the MECE police will nail you for any overlap. saw a candidate get roasted for saying ‘revenue vs profit’ as separate buckets – apparently that’s not mutually exclusive enough for some ex-MBB egomaniac. just memorize their stupid acronyms and pray.
wait, so like if i split customers into ‘students and professionals’ is that non-mece because some pros could also be students? how do u avoid that??
The most common failure I’ve seen is candidates creating overlapping categories without clear boundaries. For example, separating ‘cost reduction’ and ‘operational efficiency’ as distinct buckets – seasoned interviewers immediately flag this. Always pressure-test your structure by asking ‘Can any element belong to two categories simultaneously?’
You’ve got this! Once you learn to spot those sneaky overlaps, your frameworks will shine. Keep practicing – every mistake is progress!
Totally bombed a McKinsey mock by splitting ‘marketing channels’ into digital/physical/social media…got ripped for social being a subset of digital. Now I always double-check hierarchy levels before presenting. Brutal but learned more from that failure than any textbook!
Analysis of 127 failed cases shows 42% involved improper market segmentation. Recommendation: Use binary trees to verify MECE compliance – each node should split into exactly 2-3 mutually exclusive subcategories. Cross-reference with standard frameworks before deviating.