Dealing with rejection...I’m a 23 year old recent graduate and after applying for around 28 different MC firms I had secured interviews with McK, Mercer, PwC Strategy, Deloitte Consulting and Bain. I had been researching their work/services, practicing numeracy tests/case studies and so on for 2-3 months yet without any luck; I was rejected at the first round of all of them. Putting aside that none have provided me any feedback, and putting aside my disappointment and frustration I am left with the big question: what to do next?I had set my mind on this career path for some time; I am eager to work in MC and specifically in strategy in view of starting in Sept 2007 yet all deadlines for graduate schemes I know of have passed and I just don’t know what to do. I have followed this forum for some time and many contributors advise looking at boutique firms, or working in industry for 1-2 years for then trying to reapply. Is this a good idea? What kind of ‘industry’/roles should I be looking at? How should I differentiate boutique firms and would this limit my career path in the future if it would imply early specialisation in one field? Should I try getting into MC through a recruitment agency? Sorry for the long message, I’d really appreciate any help/advice I could get from everyone as I really don’t know what to do…Thanks,Ed

Hi EdI just wanted to say - you are not alone! There are loads of other people out there feeling the same frustration and dissapointment.On a more helpful note, many MCs do another round of recuitment in the summer ( at least they do in Oxford). Also some of them may be prepared to give you a post-graduation placement ( I don't know which ones specifically), espically if they are busy.A company worth trying might be Freshminds.co.uk to gain some experience.Alternativly give it another go next year, your CV is clearly good enough, but try to practice for the interview in a more structeured way. There are courses, and the prsentations companies can be very helpful. The Wetfeet and Vault guides and also helpful at getting a feel for them.Best of Luck

Ed,I feel you pain.I got rejected by BCG,McK and DC after first round interviews.It starts to put all kinds of doubts in your head like;am I rubbish at interviews,do I speak clearly etc.Just keep at it man.Think about it,we got selected out of thousands to even get into interviews(for McK,Bain and BCG anyway) so there is something special about us.PA is still open for applicatins.Im sure they would be interested in hearing from someone who has a CV like yours Im sure.Best of luck.

Good luck, dude.Keep it up. Sometimes its just a matter of luck.Dont overwhelm yourself. Sometimes a door closes, for a window to open. Keep your mind open, who knows what will be around the corner, huh?

By the way, there's this guide to consulting guide from top-consultant. Maybe you want to check out some of them?

Rejection hurts, there's no doubt about it.

I had a friend who applied to 12/14 banks every year for three years.. Constant rejections (fitted in a phd while waiting) then last year they got a place at UBS and in a years time will have earn't more than I have in consulting over the past 3 years!!Never give up.

how much does he earn

He's on £62k + £5k signon + bonus of about £30-35k

thank you, do you know also what kind of hours he typically works? thanks again

UBS is often both long hours and top pay!I reckon Ed sounds like a decent bloke and its good to see the sensible advice people are giving him. On top of that, and on the evidence of his post alone, he has the ability to consider things strategically. The thing is at 23 you are making some real progress. You've got a degree - you can get interviews at top firms - you are naturally a bit concerned about what to do next - keep at it you are on the right path - youre simply at a signpost and not sure which way is best.No harm in pausing for thought - some paths might be longer than others - others might take you the wrong way. - Working in a specific sector/industry is a possibility. A role as an analyst for example? The sort of business or commercial role where you are feeding into significant strategic decisions? - There are lots of ways boutiques differ and their websites help to spell this out. But I'd think more about what you can offer them and they you. They often do specialise more than big firms, but usually less than an industry role. Perhaps thats a good balance between the two for you?- I would not worry too much about specialising too early (at least not by industry). Try and find a role where you are involved in more than one function or rotate across functions (banks for example often rotate people like this 6mths in brokerage, 6 in corporate finance etc.). Traditionally in industry roles a graduate would have more opportunity to do this, but would still be specialising in one industry. This would appeal later on to consulting firms if you were to apply for experienced hire positions.- I would try and approach 2 or 3 MC recruitment firms if at your level for further advice, esp. about getting through interviews. What do you have to lose? - Those present on this site give you a good choice. Use all the quality career support guides you can, including those that help you to improve your interview skills.- I agree with Mr T sometimes it is simply about luck. Some grads simply have the confidence for interviews rather than the mindset for top consulting roles. Fairly or unfairly they often do better at interview. Remember though that you can create your own luck - understanding which roles are going to let you do that and how you are going to master interviews is going to help in the long run. Good luck to you.

I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice and encouragement so far received; I’ve taken onboard your comments and started looking into some possibilities. In response to Mr T, I have the Top-Consultant guide and I’ve started scanning through the list of boutique firms and their websites. I think this feeds quite rightly into what hardhat says regarding boutiques being a good balance, yet they don’t seem very interested in recent graduates (training/cost issues I suppose), even less so of ones like me which come from a ‘soft’ science background. Hardhat, I’ll also give some recruitment agencies a call and get some direct advice, thanks.Jo, thanks for your message, would you be able to elaborate more on the summer recruitment in Oxford? (I’m not Oxbridge material so I’m not sure if what you’re saying would apply to me!). Concerning industry, I have thought possibly of looking for an internal strategy role yet I’m not sure about where or how to go about this. I would rather not distance myself too much from my interests within MC, (traditional MC, strategy, M&A, private equity advisory) yet I realise that outside of the renowned firms this may be impossible and compromising is not a choice. As Adam quite rightly says I must just persevere yet I’m really eager to get started and the thought of looking at 2008 is tough. Finally, if I ended up temping for 4-5 months until I would be able to reapply, would that be a CV dot? Any further advice would be strongly appreciated and thanks again to all the above for your help.Ed

I have a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who applied to <pick MC/IB/PE firm of choice> and got hired after re-applying every month for <pick any number> straight months. Haven&apos;t we all heard this before? There are no absolutes in life...there are always exceptions. But as MCs, we know about the "law of large numbers"; i.e., while every event has exceptions, as a whole the "rules" apply.What am I talking about? Let&apos;s turn this into a case interview question. What&apos;s the probability of getting hired after you&apos;ve been passed over once? Is it the same as the first time you applied or less? If less, how much less? Does the probability increase or decrease on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th try? Why?You&apos;re all smart...do the math. MC is not the end all and the be all. There are many other better jobs. You might make less at first, but TRUE talent has a way of shining no matter how dark it seems to be. And TRUE talent will always get paid top dollar in any industry. Period.

Enigmatic as usual.

The rule of talent exception.... the Armed Forces.... where talent equals innovation and is a threat, where solid mediocracy is the key.Dont be too good... scares the authorities lol

Rubbish. The forces are rigorously meritocratic, but of course it is a distinctive culture in which dissent is unpopular. Perhaps this is too subtle for you?PS "Mediocrity" is the word you are looking for. Difference between an adjective and a noun (and a neologistic one at that), old boy.

Where would we be witout pedants? p.s. I&apos;ve left a spelling mistake for you to correct.

If preferring to preserve the distinction between nouns and adjectives = pedantPosting to complain about supposed pedantry = pedant-spotting moronic illiterate

An employers view....Perhaps if we focussed on intelligent discussion and reason, rather than infantile personal attacks and how to write good &apos;England...&apos;, we might return to the issue? Not a good advert for the quality of some military leavers sadly, although I expect &apos;rupert&apos; does not reflect the majority of those well respected individuals.However, perhaps the reaction by &apos;rupert&apos; does mirror current problems within MC, where sounding intelligent often is mistaken for being intelligent and holding a potential to provide the customer with benefit, the two expectations do not always meet. Surely the focus for all potential MC trying to enter the business is to realise that they must sell themselves as being able to provide benefit to both the MC unit, and their customers. If rejected you need to go back and review your approach to ensure that &apos;they need the value you can bring&apos;, not just employ because you &apos;need this job&apos; or have a pointless ox/camb/harv english degree etc. Gentlemen, I cant stress it enough... show them why they cant afford to lose you!!!Rejection has a negative, yes. But used properly you can find a path to improve yourself as long as you focus on showing employers those abilities and innate characteristics which can convince them you will &apos;add value&apos;.Just speaking in an articulate manner and presenting a pocket full of university qualifications is utterly useless, and attracts the worst sorts to the profession.Back to the issue then...errr....old boy??...errr...gagg....reeetch

Dropping the word "neologistic" in a thread, in an off-topic context, is incredibly pretentious.It points to a very deep-seated level of insecurity. How deeply sad.

any sadder than "mediocracy"?

Hi Ed,Being invited for an interview is in itself an achievement. At least your POTENTIALl has been immensely acknowledged- so I wouldnt worry about it.Now the only thing is - you have to work towards developing that potential- I have been through rejections but I learnt from my mistakes and I would like to share them with you 1. Numerical analysis- even if means to devour 100 hours- practice practice practice- it is very vital and understandably crucial. Tests at Mercer is particularly hard- and really it’s not about being able to solve the problems- it about SPEED- so practice!!!! 2. Practice as many case studies as you can- lots of websites/MC companies have them posted- download them and try to find the fundamental theme- that cuts across- say Market sizing, Market expansion, New Investments- and fit them into the essential components of marketing- like Customer research, Market Competition, Economics, Current position and future targets-Basically if you can devise a formula based on these elements- you can crack any CASE INTERVIEWS- and above all - practice them verbally - it will boost your confidence to perform well- 3. Read as much as you can about - at least the top 15 MC companies- their structure their area of practice, culture, what the people working for them have to say- some area may seem irrelevant- but just eat up the entire available literature- and then you will be absolutely clear of how you should get about and go ahead-Don’t loose hope- with your cv response it leaves me with no doubt you will succeed- but this time a ‘little older and wiser’ ?So next time lead the interview and enjoy!!!! Go for it boy!!!!!Dave

what excellent advice dave!

Ed,I&apos;m puzzled when you say "none have provided me any feedback". Have you asked? If you haven&apos;t, why not? Given the volume of applicants and first round interviews, it&apos;s unlikely many firms would bother providing you with specific feedback automatically, but in my long(ish) history of rejection very few people have failed to provide insight if asked directly and politely.Once you have some ideas of why you are stuck, then you can start working on what option is best for you at this point.Good luck!