Am I good enough for management consulting?

Seem good enough to me.... What type of firms have you applied to?

Obviously the big strat houses are very competitive, but you more than have the credentials for big 4.

Sounds like interview/application form technique.

You sound like a bit of a tosser.

Can't understand why no AC offers?

A range from firms like McKinsey and BCG to smaller boutique ones like Simon Kucher. I think I just need to work on case study technique! Didn't apply to any of the big 4 this year bar Deloitte


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Ahh okay. Yeah, can completely understand why you wouldn't get through then. They only offer a small amount of places and the competition is so intense. You'll obviously be competing against a lot of Oxford and Cambridge candidates who also have better Extra Curriculars. Not to say you cant get a job at one of those, just you'll need a bit of luck to get through to the interviews, and then you'll really have to smash them.

Do you reckon I should carry on applying next year then? Hopefully because they'll be offering more grad scheme roles then competition won't be as fierce but I definitely need to bolster my work experience! I might have managed to get a week at PA Consulting through networking but not 100% confirmed yet.


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No harm in applying, there is still a chance the recruiter will like your application. Especially if you make it stand out against all the other A/A/A, 2:1 from a top uni, president of blah blah society, applications which they will see a lot of.

Thanks for your advice! You planning on applying to consulting firms too?


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Hi,

Like quite a few out there I haven't managed to secure a summer internship with a management consulting firm. I must have applied to about 12 firms but never even made it to an AC. I've had 3 telephone interviews but always managed to mess up the case question. I'm in my second year at Exeter Uni studying History with Economics (weird mix I know). I got A*, A, B in my A levels in bus studies, history and eng lit respectively. I did work experience at Barclays last year but apart from that have just worked behind a bar. I was just wondering if you thought my credentials were good enough to continue applying to consulting firms next year or whether I should go for a less competitive industry? I'm also interested in underwriting as a potential career. Thanks.


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You're credentials merely indicate if you're good enough to get an interview for MC (and indeed the same applies to any job application). The idea that you have certain grades and are therefore "good enough" is ridiculous. There will be plenty of straight A students with top degrees who could never get in. Those are just minimum entry standards, and you can very easily check if you meet those standards by looking for UCAS tarrifs etc on each consultancy website.

Work on your interview technique, case studies and group exercises. That will give you your best shot.

Starting at a Big four firm this September in their consulting practice

Ah congrats mate! May I ask where you studied/what degree? And did you do a summer internship with them before joining?


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Russell group/Red brick Uni. Did a BA in History then Masters in Business. Nope no summer internship with them or any relevant work experience at all!

Top strat houses like Mckinsey etc pretty much expect you to be getting a first if you're not from Oxbridge. The competition is mental. My dad works at McK and I've had a couple of interviews there but just missed out, although did get offered a job at Bain.

My honest opinion, is to focus on the slightly lower ranked firms such as the big 4 and less strat houses. By all means apply to them but if like your question implied, you want to know where to focus your applications I would recommend focusing on the less elite ones. However as snip pick, I used to be a consultant at ibm so I would recommend applying there, they take around 300 consultants each year so if you're good then give it a shot as they have more places available

Best of luck

Sorry I realise the phrasing is awkward! I actually meant to put *to get to a consulting interview. I realise that it's all based on who you are after that. Thanks for the advice though!


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Yeah competition is insane! Well done on getting offered a job at Bain though! I don't fancy my chances with the strat houses tbh, and so won't do many applications for them next year. Is it mainly IT consulting at IBM?


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