Hello,
I was recently rejected at Bain and I'd appreciate some advice. I applied for the Associate Consultant position as an experienced hire (4 years of work experience) via a referral.
I showed my resume to a couple of MBB consultants who helped me strengthen it. I have a 4.0 GPA, several academic prizes, and lots of extra curriculars. My application went through a referral and HR told her they were impressed with my resume and invited me to apply.
Despite this, I was rejected at the resume screening stage. I thought I would have a fairly good chance of at least being sent the online test, but it seems even HR saying they're impressed is not enough.
That was my last MBB rejection, so I'm feeling very dejected and not sure what I've done wrong. What else can I do to strengthen my application? I can't afford an MBA and I'm at a point in my life where I can't change to a more “impressive” career and start at the bottom of the career ladder again because of financial commitments. Should I even bother applying again?