BCG is a tumor on my resume
Hi, all. I've been searching for a job for nearly a year now — I've interviewed at PE, VCs, growth equity, a hedge fund, and a unicorn — but feel like my internship at BCG's NY office has lost me some of these offers. I'm an Asian Male who lacked an employee referral and still got the offer despite the odds.
But no prospective employer wants to give me benefit of doubt when I tell them, after they ask, that I didn't get a return offer. My case was a "nightmare," as described by another associate when I connected with him recently; and it was "unfair" that I didn't receive any coaching, as told by a project leader from my second case.
Essentially, a partner was my manager, and he never saw the quality of my work, he never gave me feedback when I asked beyond the generic "be entrepreneurial," we only met one-on-one once during the internship, and he gave me my midterm feedback with 6 business days remaining. Obviously, I made some mistakes like all interns. But nothing major: we sold more work to the client after the case, and my teammates said they'd work with me again.
When an interviewer asks about my experience at BCG, I say that I learned to take independent initiative and give an example. But when they ask whether I got a return offer, I say that there were fewer return offers last year and that I didn't receive much coaching and my work lacked visibility. This is not working. And my family has 0 connections in the US to any company, so I will have to leave the country soon if I don't get a job.
When employers ask about the return offer, what do I say? And would anyone here be willing to speak with me regarding vacancies at their firm? I've been applying to roles widely, but the less competitive ones are paradoxically those that don't want to sponsor visas in the future.
I've emailed over a 100 BCG alums about vacancies at their firm and have been trying to network. If you have any ideas on other things I could do, it could really help.
Bump, quality post. Hope you get the help you need
You were the most qualified intern bc why? You're Asian and didn't have a referral? In what world does that make you the most qualified?
I'm not sure how recruiting works, but my understanding is that it's a lot harder for someone with my demographic to get an offer when cold applying.
Asians are on average the highest earning ethnicity in the United States. They get an even shorter end of the stick in recruiting than white Americans in terms of DEI.
yeah im very aware of the bs hand asian males are given in this insane DEI obsessed world we live in, my point was moreso questioning why OP was crowning himself as the most qualified intern based on him being asian and not networking, kinda suggests a lack of self awareness in my eyes. OP has since edited that part out of his post so now im getting a ton of MS lmao.
I would say to mention it as if your happy to be a so to learn as much as you did. That it allowed you to grow as a prospect of finance and truly start to put things together. Then mention how since your internship you have done XYZ things to truly solidify yourself for future jobs and hope to be able to show that to the next company you work for. Something along these lines. Even if you don’t believe you didn’t deserve it always speak of experiences as learning stepping stones
That sucks. I didn’t come from consulting, but I know of someone (Incredibly smart, terrific to work with) who got a raw deal at an MBB (similar situation - didn’t get proper views / touch points and not-so-great manager).
If you have a good rapport with the other BCG people you’ve worked with, can they serve as your reference? Such that the next time you have this question, you can explain the unfortunate situation, but then say - “I’m happy to put you in touch with X and Y who I’ve worked closely with, and can speak to my performance / value-add / deliverables, etc”
Like another person said, you can spin it positively. What did you learn from the experience to apply for the future…
Yes this is helpful, especially the point about the reference to a teammate who liked me. Many thanks!
I imagine you already know this, but just make sure to ask them if they are cool to act as your reference. Good luck with everything.
A lot to unpack here, but let's try it. FIrst thing's first, dismiss any stigma of the return offer by getting public recommendations from BCG folks on your LinkedIn/Letters of References (or Recommendations) to show the quality of the work was fine.
Second, you can position the lack of return offer by saying that you're more interested in an ownership-oriented role rather than purely advisory capacity, you would like to take a more granular look into (whatever sector/function you're applying for) or some notion to show interest. Work on narrating a compelling story and reach out to anyone, not just BCG Alums.
Finally, if you are aiming to go back into consulting, utilize your case experiences and opt for MBB (yes, try for BCG FT) and other top consulting firms. That bug on your resume can be a feature if positioned well.
Just say that you decided it wasn’t for you. And come up with a plausible story around that.
Tell HR you wanted something different and you aren't going back. Stop thinking about BCG and move on. Great that you are getting interviews in the big leagues. However, you are burning daylight and you may need to lock in some other consulting gig (big4)/internal consulting at some corporate to at least stay in the country.
Really helpful, thanks.
Apply to a T2, work for 2 years, then try to go buy side. Will be fine.
It would make a big difference if someone from BCG is willing to vouch for you being a good worker. It can be anyone above associate level. When you tell an employer "I didn't get an offer, it was a competitive year and I made a few mistakes prepping my case, but I'm fortunate to have BCG colleagues who are willing to speak with you about my work" it goes a very long way. Almost eliminates the issue.
This is really insightful. I'll now say this in interviews. Thanks so much!
EX-BCG here. Asian born and raised in Asia as well. Some facts are true but not wise if you state that way in the interview. One thing I learned when chatting with employer or potential employer: never say anything negative, even though the truth is ugly and you don't like it, including unfair treatments. Especially, at BCG this kind of people business world. People will understand the political part of it but wouldn't expect you to explicitly say it as a candidate. Feel free to DM me, happy to help.
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