What does this BCG rejection mean?

Question

I applied for a “Corporate Finance workshop” for BCG and got the following response. I actually have never applied to MBB so not sure what the response means. Is this a standard response from BCG?

We confirm the receipt of your application for BCG's Business Course and we thank you for your interest.

We were overwhelmed by the number of applications we received. However, after thorough evaluation we regret to inform you that at this time, we have decided not to take your application further. Due to the excessive amount of applicants we were forced to make a strict final selection, but have noted your impressive achievements.

If you remain interested in BCG and a consulting career, we encourage you to apply at a later stage, as we see potential in your ability to grow both personally and professionally. Please consider to apply again for one of our future business courses, a full-time Associate position or an internship.

Thank you again for your interest in BCG and we hope to see a new application from you at a later stage!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Kind regards,

Answer 1

You should not feel discouraged by this response but if you are seriously considering applying for a job at MBB I would work on strenghtening your application (CV and beyond).

What do I mean? During grad school in the US, I applied to participate in a networking/recruitment meeting with McK representatives from my home country. I received a very similar answer. When I was applying for a full-time position several months later, I made sure to gain some more experience I could put in my CV, prepared well for case interviews, AND obtained a recommendation. The result - interview invitation and ultimately the offer.

Answer 2

It just means you won't be attending their workshop. Nothing more, nothing less. Never hurts to go through your CV and think about how you can develop your profile further but otherwise, you should apply for a job at BCG when it makes sense for you.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Hi there,

Ultimately, no interpretation here is really needed!

You should work to 1) Improve your resume and experiences and 2) Network

This will improve your chances the next time around!

Answer 4

Hey there,

The reply solely focuses on the event and has nothing to do with your potential job application in the future.

Funnily enough, MBB events are often more exclusive than the chance to get an interview invitation, since there are plenty of interview spots but some expensive events over a weekend for just 15 participants.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 5

Hello,

This seems like a fairly standard rejection - the workshop was oversubscribed, and for whatever reason your CV didn't make the cut. Don't read too much into it - I echo the advice of other experts to go through your resume and workshop it to make it better. If you want to apply for jobs at BCG and other top consulting firms, you shouldn't feel deterred by this alone.

By the way, PrepLounge is piloting resume reviews by coaches - feel free to reach out if this is something you'd be interested in!