Cookie and Privacy Settings

This website uses cookies to enable essential functions like the user login and sessions. We also use cookies and third-party tools to improve your surfing experience on preplounge.com. You can choose to activate only essential cookies or all cookies. You can always change your preference in the cookie and privacy settings. This link can also be found in the footer of the site. If you need more information, please visit our privacy policy.

Data processing in the USA: By clicking on "I accept", you also consent, in accordance with article 49 paragraph 1 sentence 1 lit. GDPR, to your data being processed in the USA (by Google LLC, Facebook Inc., LinkedIn Inc., Stripe, Paypal).

Manage settings individually I accept
  1. Dashboard 1
  2. Consulting Q&A 2
  3. How to explain no-return offer in interview? 3
3

How to explain no-return offer in interview?

Case Interview internship offer rejection

Hi everyone,

I was rejected by a top tier strategy firm for a full time position after an internship. The program is structured in a way that you do the internship in another geography and so you would still have to have a full time interview to finalize the full-time offer.

I think I performed well in my internship but I did not do well in the case part of the full time interview and got rejected. Now I have other interviews with reputable firms and they will probably be wondering what happened with my previous company. I have been saying that I do not speak the local language and the program was structured so that there is no way to get a return offer. Should I be honest and tell them that I simply didn't get the return offer?

Thank you

Hi everyone,

I was rejected by a top tier strategy firm for a full time position after an internship. The program is structured in a way that you do the internship in another geography and so you would still have to have a full time interview to finalize the full-time offer.

I think I performed well in my internship but I did not do well in the case part of the full time interview and got rejected. Now I have other interviews with reputable firms and they will probably be wondering what happened with my previous company. I have been saying that I do not speak the local language and the program was structured so that there is no way to get a return offer. Should I be honest and tell them that I simply didn't get the return offer?

Thank you

 Recent activity on Apr 19, 2018
3.8 k Views
3 answers
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best Answer
Book a coaching with Ashwin

0 Meetings

15 Q&A Upvotes

USD 299 / Coaching

Choose a time slot
View profile of Ashwin

Don't say "no way to get a return offer" as firms will see through that. However, you have my sympathies, this is a tough spot to be in.

My suggest is, let's say you interned at X and are interviewing for Y and Z, when asked about ""why are you looking to move", speak more about the positive qualities for Y and Z that attract you to them. A strong argument typically is geographical, which is that Y or Z offer you the ideal geography whereas X simply could/ did not. This way you will sound more credible and direct your answer in a manner that is focused on Y and Z, rather than reverting to not getting an offer from X.

Hope this helps.

Don't say "no way to get a return offer" as firms will see through that. However, you have my sympathies, this is a tough spot to be in.

My suggest is, let's say you interned at X and are interviewing for Y and Z, when asked about ""why are you looking to move", speak more about the positive qualities for Y and Z that attract you to them. A strong argument typically is geographical, which is that Y or Z offer you the ideal geography whereas X simply could/ did not. This way you will sound more credible and direct your answer in a manner that is focused on Y and Z, rather than reverting to not getting an offer from X.

Hope this helps.

3

You did great in your actual internship, and that's why you got a chance to interview for the full time role. I would be up front: say you had a great time and were reviewed favorably at the internship. On the day of the interview, you made a few silly mistakes (whatever they were) and had a bad day. Since then, you've focused on improving those areas and feel like you are ready and much stronger as a consultant now. It shows you are willing to admit failure, learn from it, bounce back, and stay resilient. Qualities of the highest order.

You did great in your actual internship, and that's why you got a chance to interview for the full time role. I would be up front: say you had a great time and were reviewed favorably at the internship. On the day of the interview, you made a few silly mistakes (whatever they were) and had a bad day. Since then, you've focused on improving those areas and feel like you are ready and much stronger as a consultant now. It shows you are willing to admit failure, learn from it, bounce back, and stay resilient. Qualities of the highest order.

2

Hey,

As far as I understand you are suggesting that you didn't get an offer not because of your performance in the internship, but actually due to failing the actual interview. Are you sure your interview performance was the issue? Did they tell you that your performance during the internship was above or at least according to their expectations?

If you're really sure about it, you are in a very difficult situation, because you want to sell that you're able to perform well... but simultaneously, you were not able to clear out an interview. I am definitely not going to advise you to lie about it, especially becuase I think they are going to ask directly what happened most likely, but you really need to build a very compelling argument that is bullet proof to all the different angles - something that is different between both consulting firms or locations might be some of your best options.

Best

Bruno

Hey,

As far as I understand you are suggesting that you didn't get an offer not because of your performance in the internship, but actually due to failing the actual interview. Are you sure your interview performance was the issue? Did they tell you that your performance during the internship was above or at least according to their expectations?

If you're really sure about it, you are in a very difficult situation, because you want to sell that you're able to perform well... but simultaneously, you were not able to clear out an interview. I am definitely not going to advise you to lie about it, especially becuase I think they are going to ask directly what happened most likely, but you really need to build a very compelling argument that is bullet proof to all the different angles - something that is different between both consulting firms or locations might be some of your best options.

Best

Bruno

2

Related BootCamp article(s)

Getting Up to Speed

In order to repeatedly demonstrate prerequisite skills under the pressure of a real case interview, you need to learn the basics and practice cases.

1 Q&A

Related case(s)

MBB Final Round Case - Smart Education

Solved 15.2k times
MBB Final Round Case - Smart Education Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US. The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadvantaged areas. The client is considering starting operations for its services in the Chicago area. They hired us to understand if that makes sense. Due to the nonprofit regulation, SmartBridge should operate on its own in the market, without any partnership. How would you help our client?
4.6 5 526
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Growth strategy, Market analysis, Market entry, New product

Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US. The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadvant ... Open whole case

Espresso, Whatelse?

Solved 8.9k times
Espresso, Whatelse? Espresso Whatelse is an Italian company that produces coffee and espresso machines since 1908. It is the Italian market leader and has a strong presence overall in Europe. In 2019, Espresso Whatelse has increased its revenues but it has seen declining profit margin. Your client wants to understand the root causes of this 2019 trend and how to increase its profit margin again.  
4.6 5 450
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Market analysis, Operations strategy, Pricing, Profitability analysis

Espresso Whatelse is an Italian company that produces coffee and espresso machines since 1908. It is the Italian market leader and has a strong presence overall in Europe. In 2019, Espresso Whatelse has increased its revenues but it has seen declining profit margin. Your client wants to understand ... Open whole case

Hot Wheels

Solved 4.8k times
Hot Wheels Problem definition: Our client is Korean Car Parts (KCP), a multi-national original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of car parts based in Korea. They've recently seen a decline in profits and have brought us in to understand how to address this falling profitability.
4.6 5 284
| Rating: (4.6 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Candidate-led (usual style) | Topics: Competitive response, Growth strategy, Market analysis, Operations strategy, Profitability analysis

Problem definition: Our client is Korean Car Parts (KCP), a multi-national original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of car parts based in Korea. They've recently seen a decline in profits and have brought us in to understand how to address this falling profitability. Open whole case

McKinsey Digital / BCG Platinion: Oil & Gas Upstream Technology

Solved 2.9k times
McKinsey Digital / BCG Platinion: Oil & Gas Upstream Technology [PLEASE NOTE: This is a technically difficult case and should only be completed by those coming in as a Technology specialist, i.e. recruiting for McKinsey Digital, BCG Platinion, etc.] Our client is a multinational oil and gas company. While they are vertically integrated and have upstream, midstream, and downstream divisions, they have recently been experiencing competitivity issues in the upstream gas division, which brings in $1B in profits annually. Our client’s upstream division has offices in Australia and Indonesia. Their work is highly dependent on their IT systems, as they have to constantly monitor wells and pipes (pressure, hydrocarbon count, fluid makeup, etc.) The upstream division has two large legacy IT systems that are primarily used for downstream operations but have been modified for upstream purposes. These systems are managed by a central team in the US which is responsible for all IT issues across the business. They triage issues/enhancements and then manage development teams in India and Finland who complete the work.
4.5 5 60
| Rating: (4.5 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Advanced | Style: Interviewer-led (McKinsey style) | Topics: Operations strategy, Organizational behavior

[PLEASE NOTE: This is a technically difficult case and should only be completed by those coming in as a Technology specialist, i.e. recruiting for McKinsey Digital, BCG Platinion, etc.] Our client is a multinational oil and gas company. While they are vertically integrated and have upstream, midstr ... Open whole case

Cutting Carbs - Divestiture in the Electrical Power Market

Solved 1.0k times
Cutting Carbs - Divestiture in the Electrical Power Market Our client is Energy England, one of northern England’s largest electric utility companies. They were created over the past decade through an aggressive series of mergers of existing utility companies each specializing in a single energy generation source. Recently, the CEO has embarked on an initiative to return to the core of the business. She is looking to increase free cash flow and cash reserves in order to prepare the business for evolving future trends.   The following can be verbally provided to interviewee if asked: Energy England is made up of assets across the energy-generation space. These include coal, gas, nuclear, and wind We are looking to divest from just one of our previous acquisitions (i.e one target is sufficient) There are no specific goals/metrics – the client trusts our judgement
4.2 5 20
| Rating: (4.2 / 5.0)
Difficulty: Intermediate | Style: Candidate-led (usual style) | Topics: Growth strategy, Mergers & Acquisition, Operations strategy, Valuation

Our client is Energy England, one of northern England’s largest electric utility companies. They were created over the past decade through an aggressive series of mergers of existing utility companies each specializing in a single energy generation source. Recently, the CEO has embarked on an initi ... Open whole case

Similar questions

Written case
Roland Berger second round interview: Written case
Should I bring a list of questions to an interview?
How to keep replies to FIT questions succint and engaging (and typically how short)?
© PrepLounge: Written Case – A New Case Interview Trend?
Networked my way into the interview - Disadvantage ?
Case Interview PwC (Financial Services - Transaction Services)
Does Victor Cheng have M&A and Supply/Demand cases in LOMS? Also, I am just starting to prepare for case interviews. What is the starting point?
How to learn from McKinsey final round PEI-based rejection?
Rejection from a MBB - what went wrong?
Ask new question