Hey there,

There are 4 things that need to stand out on your resume in order to pass the screening stage.

1. Academia (prestigious school, top grades, other achievements,...)
2. Work experience (internships, working student, and full-time positions with respectable companies, where you had to demonstrate the skills needed in consulting)
3. Experience abroad (worked or studied abroad)
4. Extracurriculars (NGOs, leadership in a sports team, any other clubs,...)

Now from what you are writing, I see that you have covered the first section and potentially the last section as well.

I am not sure about work experience and experience abroad?

• Did you gain any work experience outside of the Ph.D.?
• If yes, do you highlight it correctly?

The resume needs to be polished with the right keywords, phrases, and content and at the current stage, you might miss something here.

Additionally, in your situation, it would be crucial to score one or two referrals to increase your chances to pass the screening stage (more on the how, here: https://strategycase.com/how-to-get-a-referral-for-mckinsey-bcg-bain)

DM me if you have any questions!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

This is definitely a case of networking here!

Feel free to reach out to discuss a bit further (verbalizing is a bit better than just writing steps), but I recommend the following:

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 historically underrepresented demographic i.e. gender, orientation, ethnicity, etc., 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) Never directly ask for a referral, but "hint" at needing one (this is nuanced and important...happy to talk through wording)

Hi Anonymous,

Good luck with your applications later! Just an advice for case interviews. Some interviewers will be the bad cops to test how you react under pressure, so just a heads up to get ready for some soft-skill tests! One of my interviews did not involve any case (yes, none), it was 100% conversational. All the best!

Really surprised by the amount of generic comments here. The guy literally said he did everything, has a perfect record, yet the CV does not go through. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that there is some sort of prejudice in play here as he is a foreigner from what I understood.

Referral.