Applied to McKinsey and 2nd tier without any response

Question

Dear All,

I have applied to McK almost 4 months ago through Linkedin job posting and have not heard from them at all. Strangely, when I log into my McK jobs profile the status of my application is "Submitted", which suggests that interviewer has not even reviewed my application. On the other hand, the job is being posted again and again on Linkedin, which suggest that they are actively recruiting.

My resume is quite strong with some A-brands and consulting experience on it (a total of 10 years of experience and I applied for a position of "Implementation Manager").

Would it mean one of the following?

1. they are not really recruiting, just building their database of potential applicants

2. my resume was too weak (e.g. lacked some of the keywords they were looking for) to go through the initial (automated?) screening or competition was stronger than my profile, but then why the status of my application would be submitted for almost 4 months now and not rejected?

3. applying through Linkedin/ job postings to MBB does not really make a sense and it is just an employer branding and actual recruitment of experienced hires takes place through direct recommendations?

To verify that I have also applied to some 2nd tier (or even 3rd tier) strategy consulting 1 month ago, but then again no response to my application, while I thought that it would be a piece of cake to get an initial interview with them. And the same situation there as in case of McK, both on LinkedIn and their careers website they keep posting the same job offer for months now.

Honestly speaking that made me a bit frustrated and I am not really sure what to think about that. Is it something COVID specific or has it really been always like that? I mean applying through careers section/ LinkedIn job postings is just a waste of time?

Best Regards,

P.

Answer 1

Hi P.,

I feel for you - this is definitely frustrating.

Unfortunately, nobody without insider information can give you the ultimate truth as to what's going on here. Nonetheless, I think there are some lessons here.

1) One's resume is often not as good as one thinks it is. Yes, one can recognize that it has strengths. But whether this is enough to get an invitation is tough to gauge. Did you have it looked at by a professional? By someone who evaluates resumes?

2) Applying online is usually not helpful, often harmful. Don't trust a computer or a blind drop to select your resume. I've said this before on PrepLounge: anybody who has the resourcefulness to be a consultant, has the talent to find someone to refer them.

3) I think that was an interesting idea to "verify" your theory by applying elsewhere, but why not just make some phone calls? Do some desk research and some networking and find out who you need to speak to. Better to hear a rejection straight from them, than to theorize.

Hope this helps. Reply here or PM me if you want to continue the conversation.

Best of luck,

Allen

Answer 2

Hi there,

Applying online without a referral is not a good idea in normal times. But in this period is definitely a bad idea. It doesn’t mean you cannot get invitations anyway, but the odds are definitely against you for the following reasons:

Companies have higher uncertainty on how many people to hire (ie tend to delay the process)
Companies have a lower number of hires (ie less supply)
People that should have gone through the interview process months ago are doing so now (ie more demand)

The #1 thing you can do to improve your odds is to apply via referral.

Since you have not received any rejection, I would still recommend you look for a referral, it may still help for some applications.

You can find more on referrals at the link below:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

If you need help with referrals please feel free to PM me.

Best

Francesco

Answer 3

Hi Anonymous,

1) No, McKinsey is hiring and some coachees got offers. Start date was pushed to 2021, but offers are issued.

2) Without looking at your application documents it's impossible to say something about it. The issue in the first place is actually applying online without any referral. Already tough in normal times, but at the moment very unlikely to be considered.

3) Not only employer branding, but not the primary channel either - same is true cc referrals as mentioned in point 2.

Anyway, the only reasonable thing to do is to grab your phone and call your McKinsey HR contract and investigate what is going on. Could be a simple stupid technical issue, maybe something. Everything just pure speculation wasting your time and nerves until you call and investigate what's going on with your application!

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Answer 4

Dear A,

The 3rd bullet poiny you've mention is the right one. You need to better apply through the web-site or ideally even through the networkin with a help of internal referrals. Because referrals really maximizes your chances.

This situation is probably that HR manager in both firms are not really active on Linkedin and this is just for the employer branding. I wouldn't recommend you to apply over Linkedin any longer.

Further you need to reach out to HR directly to check the status of both applications at McKisey and Tier-2 company. Or may be you have someone with the firms who can follow-up for you.

Of course OVID has put additional pressure on the recruiting process since many applications got stuck in the middle of the pipe-line, which might be the case with you.

I have many strong connections in consulting world with McKinsey and other firms. If you need any help, justdrop me a message and let's discuss.

Best,
André

Answer 5

LinkedIn is a black hole

Cold applications as a whole account for less than 20% of final job offers. More than 80% of jobs are obtained through some form of connection / networking.

Sorry to say, but you approached this application completely wrong!

How do you do better next time?

1) Gain experience (internships, bootcamps, classes, stratups, extracirriculars, etc).

2) Network - speak to multiple people across offices and aim to get a referral

3) Review your resume - make sure your formatting is sharp/consistent, key words/experiences pop, and your experience bullets are properly written.

In terms of networking tactics:

a) Reach out to people in your network

b) Reach out to people once removed from your network

c) Reach out to people with a similar backgorund to you (i.e. same alma mater, same hometown, same career switch, etc.)

d) Tailor a message to them specifically both showing interest in them and their journey and demonstrating that you have done your research and could be a valuable hire

e) Play "tag" across calls you get so that you can work your way towards the company/office/role you want

f) Leave a strong impression - i.e. don't ask "basic questions". Rather, demonstrate your ability/intelligence by asking smart questions, carrying a natural conversation, showing genuine interest, etc.

g) Never directly ask for a referral, but "hint" at needing one (this is nuanced and important...happy to talk through wording)