McKinsey now checks AI Skills in Interviews

Hi everyone,

McKinsey will now test how well you prompt / use AI as part of its interview process. Clearly, it’s all-in on AI and will include that as part of its compentencies.

Also, among the “tech”/”data center” backlash, Microsoft is trying to start a campaign on how they’ll work with communities to open up data centers that will guzzle up power and water.

In this issue:

• 🤝 In Partnership: A 20 second survey to improve newsletter ads

• 🤿Deep Dive: McKinsey tests grads on AI collaboration

• 🤝 Powered by: Where the day’s trades start

• 🤿Deep Dive: Microsoft's community-first datacenters

• ⚒️Tool Snapshots: Tools for AI, no-code, and productivity

• 🖼️AI Art: Examples of great and trending AI art

• 🎯Quick Favor: Fill out TIW survey form

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🤿 DEEP DIVE

McKinsey Adds AI Interview Round Where Candidates Work Alongside Lilli Tool

Intelligence: McKinsey is incorporating an "AI interview" into final-round recruitment for some graduate positions, asking candidates to complete practical consulting tasks using its internal AI tool, Lilli. The assessment tests how applicants prompt the AI, review outputs, and apply judgment to produce structured responses focusing on collaboration and reasoning.

• Candidates receive business scenarios similar to real consulting work and must use Lilli as a "productive thinking partner" to explore information and refine insights, demonstrating they can communicate reasoning clearly in a manner similar to interacting with junior team members.

• The AI interview joins two other assessments covering problem-solving and structured thinking, plus personal impact, leadership, and values with no expectation that candidates know advanced prompting techniques, just that they can collaborate effectively with the tool.

• McKinsey CEO Bob Sternfels revealed the firm operates a "workforce" of 20,000 AI agents alongside its 40,000 human staff, following Microsoft's 2024 announcement that McKinsey would be an early adopter of Copilot Studio for autonomous agents handling client queries and sales leads.

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🤿 DEEP DIVE

Microsoft Pledges Datacenters Won't Burden Communities

Intelligence: Microsoft launched its Community-First AI Infrastructure initiative, committing to pay higher utility rates so datacenter electricity costs don't fall on residents, replenish more water than its facilities use, and add to local tax bases without seeking property tax breaks.

• Microsoft will work with utilities and state commissions to set rates high enough to cover datacenter electricity costs already piloting this in Wyoming with Black Hills Energy and Wisconsin with a "Very Large Customers" rate structure that protects residents from cost shifts.

• The move comes as datacenter electricity demand is projected to triple by 2035, raising questions about who pays for AI infrastructure growth. Microsoft commits to a 40% improvement in datacenter water-use intensity by 2030 through closed-loop cooling systems that eliminate potable water needs, plus replenishment projects like leak detection in Phoenix and wetland restoration in the Midwest that return more water than withdrawn.

• Microsoft will partner with North America's Building Trades Unions to train local workers for construction jobs and expand its Datacenter Academy program, critical as the construction industry faces a 439,000 worker shortage while datacenter job postings grew 13.5% year-over-year in the US.

• The Quincy, Washington example shows impact since Microsoft's first datacenter in 2008, poverty rates dropped from 29.4% to 13.1%, county property tax revenue tripled to $180 million, and the city opened a new medical center while rural hospitals elsewhere closed.

⚒️ TOOL SNAPSHOTS

Futuristic tools within AI, no-code, and productivity

• 🎤 Voquill - Voice-powered typing for faster, convenient cross-platform text formatting.

• 💼 Cowork - Claude, your digital coworker for efficient task completion.

• 🎨 Bookmarkify - Streamline design inspiration and collaboration in one place.

• 📚 Alpine - All-in-one tool for efficient business communication and tasks.

• 🖥️ Phia - Create stunning, polished macOS screen recordings with ease.

🖼️ AI ART

Examples of great and trending AI art

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ℹ️ ABOUT US

The Intelligent Worker helps you to be more productive at work with AI, automation, no-code, and other technologies.

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