Didn't get any offers and feeling awful - Should I take an extra sem in college?

Hi all,

I'm currently a senior at a target school who recruited for all the top consulting firms and ended up getting 4 final rounds and 0 offers from them. I am feeling very lost and don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I am very, very committed to consulting. It really sucks and I've been feeling really down about it as I just got the final rejection call earlier today. I wanted your guys' advice on what I should do as I think I have three paths right now:

1. Take my boutique consulting return offer and lateral to a strategy shop during the next "recruiting" cycle. I think this will be very hard though as I won't have access to campus recruiting and I won't be an experienced hire either, honestly have no idea how the process works. 

2. Take a gap semester and graduate december 2023, allowing me to rerecruit for consulting firms, but then I lose my return and have no guarantees. Also companies might be sussed out by the fact that I am recruiting for full time two years in a row after getting rejected? 

3. Take my boutique consulting return offer while also doing an additional semester part time at my school to utilize the recruiting pipeline at the same time. I like this option the best but is this even allowed? Who should I contact to find out? My school or the consulting firm?

Sorry if the post is a little disorganized but I would really appreciate y'alls help. Thanks a lot guys.

2 Comments
 

Just thought I would respond to point 2. I recruited at many firms during undergrad (both junior and senior year) and never got an offer. Re-recruited in the second year of my masters program, and was able to secure an offer. No firm is going to be sussed out by you re-applying.

that being said, I don’t see a ton of value in taking a gap semester just to re-recruit next fall. Unless you are dead-set on working at a firm you didn’t get an offer from, it doesn’t seem like there’s a big upside from doing that. What are your main reservations about accepting this boutique offer?

 

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