Being Realistic
Hey All,
Noob here :P.
Recruiting season is coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm determined to land a full-time offer with a consulting firm by winter break or graduation. I'm interning at a boutique consulting firm this summer and as far as FT positions, I'm very much open to a lot of consulting firms but honestly I'm going for the biggest name I can get. Before I list what I'm gunning for, I'll give a brief profile:
-I go to a top 10 LAC
-I have a 3.2 cumulative GPA (I know this will be a set back but it has been an upward trend -- most recent GPA is 3.675 :/)
-I've had 4 internships in the last 5 years: one at a Fortune 500, one at a MM IB (Sales and Trading division), one at a non-profit and currently this summer at a boutique consulting firm
So as far as the firms I'm looking at are: MBB (I know this is a big reach -- especially since they don't recruit at my school), Deloitte (luckily they recruit at my school and I have an extensive alumni network I can dive into), Oliver Wyman, Booz, Accenture, IBM, ATK, LEK, Analysis Group (luckily they recruit at my school as well).
What are you guys thoughts in terms of chances? You can be honest -- I do want to have a realistic and holistic perspective going into recruiting season? I know it's hard to gauge without a resume -- I will post in the RR section mid-next week.
I'm currently working on perfecting behavioral responses and I downloaded the Case In Point and Vault Guide to Consulting Case Interviews and getting started on that ASAP.
My biggest advice is to just find a place where you fit in. It's gonna be a longgg few years if everyone you work with is a straight-up douche. Best case scenario is that you get a few offers to choose from, but sometimes you have to take what you can get in this market.
[I'm an undergrad and I don't know much, so take this with a grain of salt]
I guess the most worrying thing about your application is your GPA... how does it compare to your peers in your major and overall? I go to a place which has recruiters from most of the firms that you listed, and I'm worried about my overall GPA, which is still above an A- average. I've been told that MBB and some other firms care a lot about how high your grades are. My college tells us not to list grades on our resume unless we have above a 3.5, so perhaps that's something to consider?
MBB, Deloitte (assuming S&O), LEK, ATK, OW, Booz are all high reaches. There's a good chance that you'll be screened out for 1st rounds because of your GPA. Some firms have formal GPA cutoffs (LEK has a 3.4 cut off, at least at my target) and most of the others interview only candidates with 3.6+ (or 3.7+ for MBB). Not sure about Accenture.
Thanks guys for the honest feedback -- I honestly appreciate it. I truly do believe there's nothing wrong with at least trying but I definitely won't blow my head with steam and getting hype when applying for these positions. That's one thing I do regret with my college career -- that I would've being getting 3.675 GPAs since the beginning and not just starting to get that last semester lol.
I think what I'll do is definitely apply and just see what comes out of it. I'm definitely going to make sure my application is top notch (I have to esp. since my GPA does me no justice) and try to really "network" or contact alumni from my school who work at these firms.
Unfortunately your GPA will probably get you auto-screened out during resume review so try to network hard. Also, look into PwC's advisory practice - they may be less stringent on the GPA (still gotta network though)
@Optimistic Consultant Definitely! Like your screen name, I'm going to try to remain optimistic but also apply, educate myself and network!
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