MBB firm keeps pushing back interview

Question

Hi everyone,

One of the MBB firms I’m interviewing with has rescheduled twice in the past few months. I even moved my other MBB interviews to have them around the same time (at HR’s suggestion).

They just called saying they’d like to push back a couple of weeks…AGAIN. FYI, I haven’t even done the first round and they know I have an offer from a tier 2 and interviews with another MBB.

I’m at my wit’s end, I’ve been ready for months and have to make sure I maintain my level of preparation but feel like I’m burning out.

Any advice?

Thanks guys!

Answer 1

Hi there, and sorry to hear the uncomfortable situation you find yourself.

I must say though this situations happens quite often, for several different reasons:

Market slowdown and consequently unstable market situation leading firms to be cautious about recruiting targets
Overall recruiting schedule review (sometimes if one firm does the others follow)
Lack of agenda with Partners/Aps/Managers to actually do the interview (this actually happens)

Unfortunately there is not much you can do, since you also do not want to be pressuring their HR even before getting the offer. What I would do though, for sake of full transparency, is:

reach out to the firm's HR very politely and explain again your situation, that they would be your preferred firm (if thats the case) and that you will have to move on with the other processes
if they are not able to offer you an earlier interview, continue other processes, and if the delayed one is really your preferred, try to postpone whichever deadlines you get from other firms

I would avoid refusing other proposals without having an offer from the firm you ultimately want: this will increase a lot the pressure over your shoulders and may jeopardize your performance. Given the uncertainty of the time we live, what if they end up changing the recruiting strategy and recruiting less people?

Again, not much you can do in addition to politely reach out to them and try to postpone other deadlines. And keep your case prep routine to remain confident and feeling prepared. Use the fact that you already have an offer as a way to release the pressure (this should help).

Good luck with that, and keep us posted.

Answer 2

Hey there,

Sorry to hear about your situation. Super annoying and nerve-racking!

I am seeing a general slowdown in recruiting across MBB these days unfortunately due to

parts of the world already having entered a recession
war in Ukraine
general uncertainty and negative outlook

As a result, they started to invite fewer people and push others back until the situation becomes clearer / resolves. Unfortunately, there is not much to do for you in this situation other than

going forward with your other interviews
accept the tier-2 offer if the MBB interviews fail

Try to see the positive in the situation since you already have one offer and other interviews in the pipeline.

All the best to you!

Kind regards,

Florian

Answer 3

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the multiple rescheduling.

I would recommend the following:

Call HR, reiterate you have the offer from the Tier 2 and explicitly mention the deadline for it
If nothing changes, continue the process with the other MBB
If you get the offer from the other MBB, followup again mentioning you also got the additional offer

I believe this should lead them to accelerate the process. If not, the only option would be to accept the Tier 2/ other MBB offer and join later the MBB that is pushing back if you prefer that company. Not a great situation, but unfortunately there is not much else you can do about it.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Answer 4

Hi there,

I'm sorry this is happening - what a pain!

A few thoughts:

You should push back. Re-iterate to them that you have an offer with a deadline and other MBB interviews upcoming.
If you have an “in” at the firm (i.e. anyone that referred you) push on this end as well.
Please don't have this “maintain level” mindset. Take a break! You're allowed to take a break for a week…this isn't like being ready for a running marathon, but much more like being a chess player. You can take short (multi-day/1 week) breaks and still have the same level of readiness when you come back.

Answer 5

Hello!

Sorry to hear that, it´s awful! Something similar happened to me back in the day and it was horrible trying to keep the tension so high for so long.

There is something here that works like a charm: call HR and tell them you have deadlines with other consulting company´s offers. You will see how this lights the fire under their ass and schedule you immediately.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 6

Hi there,

I can understand how this is frustrating.

In short, I suggest you just get on a call with HR / recruiter and explain to them your situation again. Go for the human touch - no email, but an actual phone call. Ask them what are the options and what they recommend you do - that's just so you pull them into a problem-solving mode instead of having them as gate-keepers.

Best,

Cristian

Answer 7

Which MBB? Are you applying for Entry Level?