Made some mistakes -- need advice.

You have a 3.8GPA at a Top 5 US school and worry about not being able to find a job??? I would suggest looking up the alumni database and start networking.... I think you have both the means and the right stats for consulting. If you utilize your school resources the right way, you'll be fine.

Good luck!

P/S: I still can't believe a 3.8GPA at a top 5 school and not currently having a job. You must be indeed a lazyass :D

^ People seem to think it's so easy at targets. Lol, only if you guys knew what the reality was.

Where are you located in relation to your undergrad? Sounds like networking is your best shot right now. You have good credentials- time to just get down to it. Your time will be better spent emailing alumni than blindly sending out resumes- with that said I can remember a couple posters on here saying they got interviews from online applications.

Good luck.

Im going to copy paste your own post, and make comments about it. The main thing you need to change is your mentality, and judging by your reaction to my last sentence, the way you handle criticism (apologies if not).

I'm a recent graduate of a top 10 (I guess with the rankings that came out today, top 5) undergrad program and am sitting pretty with no job. - This will get you noticed, nothing more, nothing less.

All of this is in my profile if you care to check but: BA Political Science (so useless...), 3.82 GPA, 34 on ACT in high school. - Seem solid, I dont know about consulting, but Big 4 take people from any walk of life. If you don' t you can make consulting, go through their less competitive channels and transfer. I made some mistakes on college that I'll briefly outline, but as I'm not trying to get anyone's pity, they won't be extensive. - Newsflash, human makes mistake, more on that story later. It's not about what mistakes you make, it's about how you deal with them, make sure they don't happen again. If anything use your mistakes as opportunities to prove what you can do despite bad situations. My biggest failings have helped me handle failure, so now i bounce back, (getting rejected from my first choice university on Dec 23rd nuked me hard for months). After enough rejections you get used to it and see it as a challenge.

1. Didn't work hard enough to get an internship - I didn't get one either, but was because i was an arrogant git.
2. Graduated a year early to to financial and family reasons - Same here, but was because I hated everything about my course that I had to leave earl.
3. Smart enough to handle a major like Math or Economics but was a lazy POS - I did Physics, this reads whiny and i could have been a world record holder if it hadn't been for... go to any bar mid week and you'll hear this time after time. Could have, should have, would have didnt.

That about wraps that up.

With my savings dwindling (my parents are both blue-collar folks so I can't ride for free AND means I have no connections), seriously hitting the job hunt has been pretty depressing. My understanding is that "recruitment times" at Big 4 and other consulting firms is going to happen, as it always does, a few months from now and into mid to late spring. Of course, I can't exactly take part in this anymore as I am not on my alma mater's campus and, as an alum, have limited exposure to on-campus interviews anyhow.

I guess my question is how I should approach applying for major consulting firms. I think I have the grades and stats to get an interview, and my resume isn't all bad as I did intern at an engineering firm and led a project that propagated findings that are currently being debated on voted on by local government, and it seems like they'll be adopting the resolution that I have suggested (yay). This certainly isn't BCG SA, but it's something.

However, it seems like applying straight up through careers.insertbigfourfirmnamehere.com is just -EV in all ways I think about it. Apart from 1) it puts food on the table and experience in the head, 2) Blank spaces on resumes look worse than convictions for war crimes, 3) A job in the current climate at any respectable firm is priceless to current grads.

In spite of the good stats and the feeder undergraduate school, I feel like I'm going to be overlooked just because of the sheer number of applicants who must apply in this manner. True, so like above, turn your problems into opportunities. Everyone could say this, but some will get it. What do you need to do that makes one of those people you.

Moreover, I don't even know if I apply right now, for example, any of the firms will look at my application because it's not recruitment season. For instance, yesterday I submitted an application to the general Business Technology Analyst position at Deloitte, but does Deloitte even look though these online applicants when they're getting tons of resumes directly from students at top universities at this time of year? It seems like they have no reason to look at the stack that will contain, at least by my reasoning, applicants who are less qualified than these graduating seniors.

Should I be looking through LinkedIn for alumni and trying to press my application through them? Should I just keep applying through these online systems and hoping that something comes around? Whats wrong with both?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Ok now for my comments. Why do you actually want a consulting job. Did it occur to you that it might not be something you like doing if you didn't WANT to get an internship. Money won't make you want to get up in the morning. Nothing i've read shows you're hungry for this. Sure you're smart, sure you're capable, but do what you love doing.

Assuming you do want to get into Big 4 consulting, look at your alternative entry points. I was in your exact situation when I graduated, but had way worse results. I took a year out, worked a couple of jobs, including tutor, and fashion office admin (lol at physics graduate in fashion), and then became a ski instructor. To be able to say at an interview - I wanted to become one, i raised the cash for it, trained up, passed the exams and taught in Quebec (translates to, I wanted it, I did it). It gets noticed, its different. I went for big 4 audit, rang up, explained my situation (any bullshit story will work here, just get your name across, and a unique story and it increases your chances they will look at it) and got interviews at 3 of the 4 places I applied to (despite not having the grades). At that point it's up to you.

Once your inside, you can stick it out for a year, and maybe try and lateral across to consulting. Get friendly with people that will take you, speak with them (they all answer internal emails), and see where it leads. It's just an option, audit is a lot easier to get into than consulting. This tactic is similar to the public school abuse in england for oxford and cambridge. Apply to do classics (easy as **** to get into, 1.2:1 applicants per place), then transfer into Economics (30:1 applicants per place). Costs a year of your life but worth it if you're an underdog.

Your To do List:

1) Change mentality from I can't do this to Do it and See what happens.

2) Find something you like to do to distinguish yourself from everyone else. Random suggestions: Ski Instructing (i'm biased - Snowboarding instructor is easier to pass the exams for, volunteer to small organisations nearby (racetrack owners, stadium people)- say you want to find ways of saving them money/increase their revenues, will not charge for your time. It'll show that you love the work you do, and not about the money.

Dinner calls, I'm about to put up a thread about job search advice either later on or tomorrow. Have a looksie through that then.