How do you settle?

Hi there,

As the great philosopher Alan Watts says in one of his lectures:

“Liveliness is change, is motion. But you're always at the place where you always are. And you think ‘wowee', a little further on we'll get there. I hope we don't go further down and lose what we already have. 

But that is built into ever creature's situation, no matter how high no matter how low. And in this sense all places are the same place. 

And the only time you ever notice any difference is in the moment of transition. When you go up a bit you feel gain. When you go down a bit you feel disappointed, gloomy, lost. You can go all the way down to death, but somehow there seems to be a difficulty in getting all the way up."

Put perhaps more simply: “This, too, shall pass”

Also put more simply: This is the most important moment in your life until the next one.

You can apply to Bain again next year (a year isn't that long in a lifetime!). You can apply to Mckinsey and BCG. You can recognize that the Big Four is actually a great opportunity (as you noted before) and reset your expectations.

You can decide maybe you should focus less on career and make an effort to build up those other things in life.

There are lots of options here. The greatest accomplishments come from temporary defeat my friend. The joy is in the journey :)

Hi there, 

Sorry to hear that you're going through this. 

To be honest, I think your priority at the moment should be figuring out how to improve your mental health. You sound like you're struggling a bit with self-esteem after these interviews and also perhaps due to other personal events. I would suggest you find some professional help that can guide through this process. 

Management consulting will always be there, so you can always apply and you will surely get in sooner or later. Try to see the silver lining in this - if you would have gotten in, considering the lifestyle and the general pace of the business, you will have burned out quite soon with your current mental state. 

So perhaps it's best to take a break, get better and then try again. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

First of all, kudos for being so open and honest!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• First of all, I would highly advice you to seek professional help given your mental situation (in case you do not already do). There is nothing wrong with mental illnesses, and I would even go so far and say that a psychotherapist would help each and every person.
• Secondly, even if that seems pretty tough now, try to take it as it is - an opportunity. You have not even heard back from Bain and already threw in the towel.
• Lastly, if you truly want to work for MBB, you might still start your career with a non-MBB consulting company and switch later - consulting is one of the most permeable industries.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on what to do in your specific situation, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Hello there, 

Couldn't but drop a message as I can clearly tell that you're being too harsh on yourself. It's far from being over for you and it's for the following reasons:

1) You were able to get an interview with Bain, so your profile must have stood out, and there's no reason it won't another time. With MBB, and depending on the geography, you can typically re-apply minimum after 6months to a year of being rejected (which you're not yet, by the way!)  

2) You actually did well on a couple of interviews and only had a down in one of them - totally normal and happens to everyone and to most people who actually end up passing. It's the overall fit, the structure and other elements in the communication that help complete your profile and help the interviewer “judge” you. This means you can do well again.

3) IF, and I'm saying it doesn't go well (we don't know this yet) then you can still always apply to tier 2, and avoid big4 if that's what you want. So you can still go for great companies such as Strategy&, Oliver Wyman, Kearney, ADL and more, that could help you secure later on down the line other interviews with MBB in a few years. 

All this to say that it's far from being over, keep your head down and focus on the next steps if you get the chance to continue the process  (and practice on the topics that make you anxious in the interview such as quick mental math). And if not, you still have other options to explore with clearly a profile that's good enough to be given an interview at Bain. 

Andrew

Hi there, 

sorry to hear about your rejection, I can see the disappointment but also the confusion what next. 

MBB is great, but the world is bigger than that :-)

First of all I would recommend to pause for a while and regain balance again. it is important to be mentally strong to get on the adventure finding what the next way would be. 

You have 2 options what I see:

1. Prepare in different way for MBB recruiting

2. Explore other jobs beyond consulting: there are many options that can provide the characteristics you look (e.g. challenge, fast pace, etc.) as there are many non-consulting jobs offering similar experience, particularly firms having management programs 

If you would like to gain a perspective just on what to focus on, I would be happy to offer you coaching (true coaching) as an professional certified coach, feel free to reach directly. 

Good luck,

Lucie

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A traditional potato farmer who had 40 years of experience stumbled upon an Apple tree. He started to look for the fruit, his old instincts kicked in and he started to dig the ground. The tree came down crashing on him!

This is the problem we face in current times..we are looking for fulfillment and happiness outside all the time. Your title, your job etc are all important but your fulfillment will always come from within. All your experience- anxiety, joy, misery love etc is created by you from within. The trigger may come from the outside. You clearly have had a set back but have sadly gone into a negative thinking-feeling loop. The way you feel is the way you think and vice versa. Stop doing this!

Pay attention to this situation and ask yourself- what is it that you will truly enjoy doing and is worthwhile investment of your time & effort. Dont compare to others as this will only amplify your insecurities. If you dont have the answer yet, explore and keep looking but dont put your well-being/happiness/fulfillment too much on the outside.

Consulting is one career track and there are plenty of the other options out there. Take a break for a while and be with your feelings & thoughts until some clarity happens.

Check out this article for some more guidance & tips- https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-do-i-know-which-career-is-right-for-me

All the best!

It all seems great and super-exciting… until then you have to be there everyday and feel the day-to-day demands and pressure. Some things are great - other things are really hard. The midlife tenure of a consultant in a firm is 2-2.5 years…

This is already a quite difficult job - I can't imagine how hard it can be if your mental health is not ok. 

Honestly, what you need at this point is to get professional help (phychiatrist) to help you with treatment.

Hello!

I just read you got the job, HUGE CONGRATS! 

Clara