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Email rejection CV stage 1st office choice

MBB office preferences rejection
New answer on Mar 20, 2023
8 Answers
743 Views
Anonymous A asked on Mar 16, 2023

Hello everyone,

I applied a month ago to BCG through a referral. I just received a rejection email at the CV stage from my first office choice. Although recruiters told me my resume and application materials were oustanding, I did not pass the screening stage because my connection with the office city was not strong enough.

Is the email rejection only specific to my first office choice or does it mean that my 2nd and 3rd offices choices also rejected my application? Should I reach out to them? 

 

Thank you for your help

Overview of answers

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Paul
Expert
replied on Mar 16, 2023
PL-level BCG experience (6 years)|Interviewer at BCG| 6/6 personal + 95%+ candidates offer success rate

Hi there,

sorry to hear that - but please bear in mind those are relatively tougher time for the firm - so you are up against an even higher bar.

1) Typically it means not selected for any office - confirmed

2) You should talk to HR - they could be very prone to tell you to reach out to other offices and/or minimize the waiting time before being allowed to re-applying. You only have upsides from contacting them

3) Please do not give up and apply across the board to Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier3 firms if you are interested in consulting. It is pretty typical NOT to get all offers from target firms

P.S. I am not sure I got the “my connection to the office was not strong enough" - not sure I would list that as a plausible root cause. Feel free to DM if you want to deep dive here together

Hope this helps.

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Best answer
Cristian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 17, 2023
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hi there,

Sorry to hear this didn't work out. 

They keep on changing the process about forwarding your application to the secondary preferences, but most likely you've now been rejected by all of them. That would practically mean you need to wait for about a year before you apply again. 

It's a tough period now and consulting firms are especially strict on who they take past the screening phase. Have a read through the following guide to develop an application strategy for getting a job during this sort of economic downturn: 

How to get a job in consulting during an economic downturn

Best,
Cristian

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Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 16, 2023
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the rejection. In terms of your question:

Q: Is the email rejection only specific to my first office choice or does it mean that my 2nd and 3rd offices choices also rejected my application? Should I reach out to them? 

I helped a few candidates that were selected for the second or third choice, in that case, that office reached out to them with the next steps and they did not receive rejection emails from the others. So I would expect your rejection to hold also for the other offices. In any case, you can reach out to HR to verify with them.

Best,

Francesco

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Hagen
Expert
Content Creator
updated an answer on Mar 16, 2023
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

  • First of all, unfortunately, this means your application was not strong enough for either office.
  • Moreover, and contrary to other coaches, I would not advise you to reach out to the recruiting team, as you will not receive any meaningful feedback or help at this early stage in the application process.
  • Instead, I would highly advise you to turn your frustration into action and apply to other strategy consulting companies. Please also keep in mind to polish your application files, as they were most likely the reason for your rejection.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best polish your application files, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

(edited)

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Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 16, 2023
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience

Typically this means that you were not selected for any office. Your first choice usually matters the most and other offices may not look at your profile in years where hiring Is very slow. 
You should still reach out to HR and see if there’s anything they can do or advise to help with recruiting in a different office. They may say that you don’t need to wait long before reapplying for example. 

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Ian
Expert
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replied on Mar 17, 2023
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Unfortunately this does indeed mean that your overall application was rejected. I'm sorry!

Please remember that referrals, while they help immensely to increase your odds, are not gaurentees (nothing is a gaurentee).

This is why it's so important to apply to dozens of firms. Even the best candidate with the best possible referral is not a 100% lock to get the interview.

It sounds like when they say “connection with the office city” they're talking about your resume not matching. This is so critical!

Everyone worries about which offices have high demand and low supply. But they forget that recruiters are evaluating a candidates match to their office/country.

Please make sure you're applying to places where your profile makes sense (you have lived/worked/studied there, you speak the language, you have working rights in, etc.)

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Andreas
Expert
replied on Mar 20, 2023
McKinsey EM | Top MBB Coach | >70% Success Rate | Free Introductory Calls

I would advise to reach out to the recruiting team. It is worth a shot and you might find out where/when to apply again.

Do not give up. There are tons of other consulting firms out there.

Andreas

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Anonymous B replied on Mar 17, 2023

Hello, 

Out of curiosity, which office was it for ?

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Cristian gave the best answer

Cristian

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