McK/BCG failed at final round / reapplication with an ongoing MBA?

Question

Hello guys,

I failed my final round interview at BCG January 2019, I talked to the HR and they said I need to wait 18 months, which means I will be able to reapply August 2020 earliest.

I started a target school MBA programme (part-time) in 2019 October which has a duration of 19 months which means I will have a degree May 2021.

The question is about the timing of reapplication.

Logic 1: reapply August 2020, when 70% of the MBA programme will be done. In case of fail there will be opportunity to get a third attempt after that.

Logic 2: wait until May 2021 to have the degree because they will accept the application that way with solid knowledge.

Which one appropriate?

Another questions:

For what position should I reapply with an ongoing MBA study? BA, Junior Associate or Associate at Mck and Senior Associate / Consultant?

In case of second failure do you think there will be one more chance to try again?

I failed at final round at BCG and McKinsey at PST. Do you think I will need referral again or the target school MBA is strong enough to indicate enough change in the background to reapply?

CV check would be well needed as well.

Thank you very much for your help!

Answer 1

Hi,
totally fine to apply during your MBA. Your resume will be as ready as at the end of it. You can leverage MBA recruiting events but also referrals by ex-alumni of your school now in consulting.

I confirm that positions you can apply for after 7y of experience and an MBA will be associate in McK and consultant in BCG and Bain.

Feel free to send me the CV for feedback.

Best,
Antonello

Answer 2

Hi,

1) You can apply during your MBA

2) Associate (McK grade)

3) Ask your classmate from a target school to refer you to a local on-campus recruiter - that will be enough. Alternatively, ask any employee for a referral. PST is not required at this level

Best

Answer 3

Hi,

You should apply for a post-MBA role (associate at mck, consultant at bcg) August 2020. If you can find someone to refer you, you can increase your chances to be invited again significantly.

Best,

Deniz

Answer 4

Hi,

I'm currently doing an MBA in a BCG+McK target school.

I would suggest not to overthink this and this is why: MBBs have a particular process of hiring for MBA students in target school at Global level and that process has fixed dates.

In my school (I'm in London), the deadline for summer internship application (start June, end mid-August) is in mid-January for both companies, with interviews from mid-January to mid-March. Afterward, you'll have the deadline in October for full-time positions with a start date in September following year.

I would suggest getting information with the career service of your school to know the exact dates of the MBBs recruiting and then directly contact the MBB HR responsible for MBA recruiting in your school (it's not difficult to know it, because HR from McK, Bain, and BCG keep sending e-mails to all MBA students on weekly basis) and directly ask when you can apply.

My feeling is that you should be able to apply for the summer internship because you are doing an MBA, thus your profile is already different, just because you got into the MBA program.

Furthermore, I have been told by HR from McK that if you fail in the summer internship process, you can apply again for the full-time position.

+ you don't have to do PST/tests if you are an MBA candidate, you have the CV screening and then directly interviews!

Hope this is useful, please reach out to me if you need more info!

Answer 5

Hello!

I would try to get into the MBB recruting channel at your school, this would for sure smoothen the way. best,

Clar

Answer 6

Congrats on getting these interviews in the first place! We are looking for the same qualities in the written case as... (read entire answer)

Congrats on getting these interviews in the first place! We are looking for the same qualities in the written case as in the verbal one. You should have 1 hour to prepare so the... (read entire answer)

Answer 7

Hallo, in Deutschland wurde er laut HR in den meisten Büros abgeschafft und wenn, dann wird ein Test nur für bestim... (read entire answer)

Hallo, in Deutschland wurde er laut HR in den meisten Büros abgeschafft und wenn, dann wird ein Test nur für bestimmte Practices verwendet. Die Aussage war von September '15.

Answer 8

Neil, I was an experienced hire as well, so can definitely relate. The hardest part for your will likely be to get... (read entire answer)

Neil, I was an experienced hire as well, so can definitely relate. The hardest part for your will likely be to get an interview. McK is probably most open, assuming you have a... (read entire answer)