How McKinsey Is Changing What “Top Talent” Means
22 Jan 2026
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After analyzing 20 years of data, McKinsey discovered their hiring process favored “perfect” resumes over what really predicts success: resilience, real-world experience, and the ability to learn.

Listen to the full IdeaCast episode here: https://s.hbr.org/4bJGVO0

How McKinsey Is Changing What “Top Talent” Means 22 Jan 2026 --- After analyzing 20 years of data, McKinsey discovered their hiring process favored “perfect” resumes over what really predicts success: resilience, real-world experience, and the ability to learn. Listen to the full IdeaCast episode here: https://s.hbr.org/4bJGVO0

How McKinsey Is Changing What “Top Talent” Means

At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our leaders made better decisions, if people worked more productively, we believe that all of us — employees, bosses, customers, our families, and the people our businesses affect — would be better off. We try to arm our readers with ideas that help them become smarter, more creative, and more courageous in their work. 

We encourage comments, critiques, and questions. We expect our community to be a safe space for respectful, constructive, and thought-provoking discussion. We reserve the right to remove or turn off comments at our discretion. We do not tolerate bullying, name-calling, or abusive language related to identity, including race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, age, or region; spam; copyright violation; extreme profanity; or p*rnography.

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At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our leaders made better decisions, if people worked more productively, we believe that all of us — employees, bosses, customers, our families, and the people our businesses affect — would be better off. We try to arm our readers with ideas that help them become smarter, more creative, and more courageous in their work. We encourage comments, critiques, and questions. We expect our community to be a safe space for respectful, constructive, and thought-provoking discussion. We reserve the right to remove or turn off comments at our discretion. We do not tolerate bullying, name-calling, or abusive language related to identity, including race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, age, or region; spam; copyright violation; extreme profanity; or p*rnography.

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How McKinsey Is Changing What “Top Talent” Means

How McKinsey Is Changing What “Top Talent” Means