Recruiting timelines and cuotas for MBB?

Question

I just read on another post (https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/is-it-normal-for-mbb-first-round-interviews-to-be-cancelled-15830) about someone who was invited to interviews and then had their interviews cancelled because the office met their quota and to reapply in September when the cycle reopens.

We are in mid-April, which means some MBB offices have already this early finished recruiting activities until September. That’s almost 5 months of recruiting inactivity from now until September. It also means there is no point applying during this period because you’ll be automatically rejected (or worse, interviews cancelled).

What firms are expected to continue hiring into May and June? Any specific info on each MBB and specific offices?

Answer 1

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, in general, you can expect most strategy consulting companies and offices to continue recruiting throughout the year, with more or less the same intensity.
Moreover, while I cannot say for certain what happened with this specific office mentioned, chances are high they did not properly conduct human resource planning, resulting in the situation that they reached their targets already in the first half of the year.
Lastly, in order to know for certain, I would highly advise you to reach out directly to the recruiting team before you apply and inquire about the recruiting situation.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 2

Hi there,

This is a really good question!

You have to be really careful with blanket statements here. This is highly dependent on company AND office AND role.

For example, I have a candidate in Australia who just interviewed with McKinsey AND has an upcoming interview with BCG. This is Consultant level.

I have a candidate that JUST interviewed with BCG in the US. This is entry-level (Associate).

I have a candidate that is going to the second round at Kearny Middle East for a Consultant-level experienced hire position.

I have someone in the West Coast of US interviewing for McKinsey Associate in 2 weeks.

I'm coaching someone who's interviewing at BCG AND Kearney in London at the end of this month.

Another who just interviewed at Bain in US at Consultant level.

So, for all the doom and gloom, interviews are still happening.

You need to network to figure out which companies for your role and for your specific target offices.

Some may not be open until September. Some may open in July. Others may be open right now.

It's on you to find out for your situation….

Answer 3

Hi there,

The downturn is still continuing.

What you need is a good strategy for your applications in order to navigate this period. You can use this:

Free Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

Best,
Cristian

Answer 4

Hi there,

The situation is really dependant on the firm, office and the role.

There is definitely lots of interviewing activity happening accross the firms, but yes, its less crazy as 1-2 years ago.

Try to speak to local contacts in the companies/ offices you are interested in to understand if they are recruiting for you role at the moment or not.

Good luck,

Lilit

Answer 5

Hello,

This is going to vary by firm, office, and the role you are applying for. I highly recommend reaching out to people who work at the specific offices you are interested in to ask them about the situation there. While it is true that recruiting is a bit quieter right now than it has been in the past, the situation you mentioned where someone got invited to interview and then had the interview cancelled seems like a unique situation (at least from what I have seen). My personal opinion is that there's not too much to gain from trying to game recruiting timelines in this way because it can be hard to predict when recruiting will pick up to normal pace again, and hard to tell what exactly the dynamics at each firm are, but that is just my personal view.