Hi A,

There are more roads that lead to Rome, or consulting in this case.

In your case I would reach out to your network of consultants and have coffee/virtual chats with them about your interest in consulting. If you are able to connect to a senior level person within the company (Partner level ideally) and secure a referral through them, your chances of being invited to the interview will be much more stronger.

Best, Aws

Hi, and good luck on the journey!

I feel you and I think this is one of the worst aspects of MBB recruiting that does not have a definite answer. Because they get soooo many applications with such good credentials, they are basically forced to automatically eliminate most people without even meeting them. And I can hear you saying "man, if I can get into that room, I will show them I am worth considering but how do I get in there"?

In your situation, if the automatic elimination system does not let you in, you need to go out of that system, and there is a (in my opinion dirty but a useful) word in how to do that, NETWORK.

I would recommend you to meet and network with people potentially from your ex schools that got offers from MBB, friend's friends who work there, anyone you can think of. Offer them coffe, drinks, dinner whatever you can to get them to meet you in person. If you can get one of them, there you go, you are at an unofficial interview table. From that moment, you need to show that person, AUTHENTICALLY, why you can add so much value to their firm, and despite your grades etc. why they should give you a chance.

If you can really convince that person at that table, they might recommend you to their recruiter and your file will be taken out from the "automatic no" binder to "consideration" binder. Ofcourse for all of this to happen, you also need to have what it takes as well.

Good luck and hope it all goes well

Cheers

(editiert)

Hi,

Working with a well-established brand / working with 2nd Tier consulting company will help.

I will also look at the extracurricular activities:

1. Launching your own venture and entrepreneurial activities (even failing them is fine)
2. Grants / scholarships - even better if related to some research or entrepreneurial projects
3. Projects for companies - you may consider doing a free project for the company or a startup or writing a case that future grads will use
4. Volunteer / social activities. I would aim at the activities where you can have a leadership role. Organizing some club may work as well.
5. Case Competitions-especially the ones organized by your target company
6. Researches / articles published in well-known sources

I would try to go deep rather than broad. It's good to have something that you can put as a part-time job in your resume rather than just a bullet point. It will also give you great stories for the FIT part of the interview.

Best,