Honestly, I don't see my situation getting any better and at the current rate, my career and other aspects of my life will fade into obscurity.
I just received the news that OW, the firm that rejected me for SC for not enough consulting experience rejected me from their entry level consultant position for not having white enough skin or a graduating year ending in 26 or some shit. This game is rigged. Theresa no amount of networking that can create a pipeline or opportunity where none exists.
I've been very patient, but I can't finance an MBA, and I'm all but blacklisted from management consulting. Ironically, I've helped a few dozen get into the field I'm blacklisted from. I hear the same shit three years later I heard back then: your resume is strong, keep at it, did you consider X? Yes. Yes I have. I've considered relocating, staring from the bottom, upwards and downwards networking, I've considered forging documents and just fucking saying I have an MBA, but at this rate, getting my next of kin into management consulting seems like the path of least resistance since that will have a greater chance than me be graced with a goddamn interview from this godforsaken industry.
"Honestly, I don't see my situation getting any better and at the current rate, my career and other aspects of my life will fade into obscurity. "
At the current rate is key - it probably will if you allow rejection to fester (whether it's this rejection or other future rejections - they are inevitable). If you put it behind you, you'll have a decent shot at finding meaning in relationships, hobbies, altruism, nature, reflection, and yes, maybe even your career. Easy to say in my position, you might (fairly) say, but it's also hard to read the writing from inside the bottle. Best of luck; try to sustain some positive self talk.
"In which year do you think the soul dies between life and death?"
"The year in which you let it."
I get the whole notion of positive self-talk, mindfulness acts of breathing, stretching and journalling as well stoicism principles geared to readjusting one's relationship to his external surroundings. But in the same way that someone who's blind cannot ignore his lack of sight, I cannot easily ignore the dissonance between my career aspiration and the bitter reality in where I stand. In the same vein, I am irreparably set apart from that path not withstanding extenuating circumstances that will likely not materialize. It's not as if I ever expected this career to be handed to me nor did I expect the uphill battle to be quick. But I've tried for many years and I can count the few interviews I've received that weren't even in good faith as they were cancelled during the economic downturn.
I picked myself up after my 12-month recruitment with this one firm that cancelled their position twice in the end-to-end process. Also when I had gotten past a few rounds with this other firm and then they ghosted me, then told me they could no longer sponsor after they unghosted me. Also when I had two solid interviews to the point where I thought I may get the offer as a top candidate to them pulling the rug and pausing hiring for a year. Or when I was overqualifed and learned for the first time that I would no longer be able to apply to new grad positions. Or when I received shit during an interview about my irrelevant work experience. Through all of that. This? Being told by the same firm that I'm over and under qualified for roles that are next to each other? Perhaps this is the boulder that crushed Sisyphus.
Who gives AF about OW. They’re elitist for no reason and have less non-targets than Bain and effectively every single BB IB. Keep your head up and keep swimming. Grind your GMAT and do an MBA. If there’s a better option you know of to get where you want to be, do what it takes to make it happen. Nothing is gonna come out of complaining abt it on here. I’ve been in the same situation where I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I bitched and complained too. I said “the game is rigged”. “Only nepos and HYPSW kids get the good opportunities”. It didn’t help. The only thing that worked for me was that I had faith in God and somehow had just enough will power left to send out a few more emails that ended up being the ones that landed me the role I wanted all along. I’m not saying this will work for you just like it did me - but it’s not always directly comparable. The “luck” you need will find you if you’re prepared and keep searching for it. Just remember that you only fail when you quit. Keep pushing. You got this man.
It's been five years. I can't think of an approach I haven't tried or avenue I haven't considered. I don't have the priviledge to opt for an MBA, otherwise, I would. Opportunities in this industry only exist in brief moments and those moments have passed. I graduated in a pandemic, was scrutinized for my work in a non-consulting role relentlessly, managed to get a pretty decent experience regardless to then be scrutinized for not having broken into consulting five years earlier and being advised that I have to pay $150k USD and put the rest of my life on pause for the chance to re-recruit for this industry. Not because my Bachelors is weak, nor because my corporate experience doesn't have an impact, purely because I didn't place in a management consulting role earlier in my career. Your advice to continue although well-intentioned is not actionable outside of scrounging and saving to get the money to afford an MBA. And for what? To receive a fucking interview entering the field at a time where many of my peers are leaving the damn place. Why you ask? Because I was unfortunately recruiting during a pandemic some odd years ago and that's enough of a reason for 50+ consultancies to tell me that they'd rather take their chances with the latest cohort of Ivey kids. I've sat, mentored, and helped several cohorts of students place in T2 and T1 consultancies. The same ones that won't give me interviews will accept the candidates I've helped prep solely because their graduating date is of this year.
You may say that frustrations and cynism don't get you anywhere, that may be true, but they're very valid given that I didn't just stumble on this career, happen to apply and got an interview. An actual story by several on this forum. I've studied the damn ecoystem, it's players, it's trends, it's interview process, recruitment timelines, functional areas and where I thought I'd fit best given the stage of my career. And yet... my reward for my 500+ coffee chats (like ~100/yr), 75+ mock interviews, 50+ resume revisions, fuck-knows number apps is an automated response rejecting me from an HR system put in place by a rep in the firm who would not be able to tell you what their firm does for the nth time in the nth year.
I get where you're coming from. You are upset that you had a terrible market to enter into out of undergrad and that resulted in you not getting the opportunity that you wanted and now you feel it's too late to go the sweaty ASS/Consultant path out of an MBA that you can't afford in the first place. You are white I'm guessing and won't qualify for the scholarships you so desperately need. You aren't where you want to be in life and feel its unfair because you are just as qualified as anyone based on the fact that you've read up on the markets, understand the trends, cases, macroeconomic environment, can be sociable, and helped many kids prepare for the interviews that you deserve. I hear you, but that doesn't mean you just say "F this industry - it's rigged and I'm never gonna make it anyway - its been 5 Fing years Yes its been 5 yrs, but you haven't even failed yet, you have learned more than you would have just settling for some random corporate job and having no ambition to get into a more "prestigious" career but just haven't turned that knowledge into a profit yet. Also, I could be totally off base here, but I think what you're chasing is more prestige-driven than anything else. Boutique RX, Econ, or Srat consulting firms are abundant and many have a network-driven hiring process that are fairly willing to take a chance on someone like you who didn't follow the traditional path. I think what you want more than anything is to be in the "big leagues" with the MBB/T2 or A&M/Alix/Cornerstones of the industry that are reputable enough for people to be somewhat impressed by your career so that all your hard work can actually be made tangible in the eyes of others. I could be wrong, but if that is you, then it's hard to give actionable advice based on the fact that those firms I mentioned typically only hire kids from the traditional paths. The point I am trying to make is that, while those firms are most definitely glamorized, the work those analysts/associates are doing aren't much different than what you've done in prior experiences, just the location of where the work is being done. Also, the joy in life doesn't actually come from following the traditional "prestigious" path, but rather comes from carving your own and getting to a level of success in which you are finally satisfied with the work you put in and the impact you've made on the world. Young people often think the only way to make a great impact is to do it behind a name like Mckinsey or Goldman, but this is ignorance speaking.
My actionable advice: first, take a deep breath and be happy with the progress you've made in terms of intellectual achievement and stop using the term "I can't". I get it's difficult to feel happy with your work when your young and full of energy and so forward thinking that you haven't really reflected on the past few years because your so dedicated to meeting a certain man-made standard of success, but success is absolutely subjective and you are in-fact allowed to feel proud of yourself even if you haven't made it to where you want to be yet. Self-belief and affirmation is the only way to truly find success - don't lose your inner belief because some snobby cohort of Ivy kids seem to have a more recognizable job than you. Second, you say you've had hundreds of networking calls and tried every single avenue there is, but have you tried limiting your outreach only to boutiques that would actually give you a chance?? There are plenty guys like you that make their way into MBB/T2 from no-name boutiques because most of the competition has drifted into PE/F500 Strat by a certain point. Also, why not look at the big4? They are constantly hiring career shifters/brand-less school prospects, and they even have internal processes that sponsor MBAs (aka you don't have to pay dude). You only have to commit to working there two years after your MBA. There are also weekend MBAs that will still allow you to work. Other collegial options are 1 year MSF programs. Next, find a mentor - ideally someone who has been in your shoes before and has gotten to where you want to go. You can't tell me these guys don't exist. I have linkedin and always see guys stepping into "prestigious careers" way later in their careers. If you've had that many networking calls, then why haven't you formed any real connections yet? You need to understand what you're doing wrong, because in my ug experience, I've had roughly the same number of coffee chats. I initially sucked at sounding intelligent and forming real connections, but as I got more comfortable with talking to strangers in an "I need something from you" type setting, speaking normally and finding people you like and relate to becomes natural. Another option could be to go all-in on an industry that really interests you. Say, for example, Oil and Gas. Go and find a job on the finance team at an Exxon or BP, and then shift into an MBB or T2 role within their Oil and Gas advisory group (tons of OW Houston Partners came from this route). An MBB may then even sponsor an MBA or exec MBA that will give you potential exits that the traditional associates got. So: Big 4, boutique CO, industry in a specific sector. These are all very plausible and will make it possible for you to scale up or even stay at the boutique and turn it into an industry giant. There are so many opportunities out there. You got this. Continue to be relentless and ask for advice.
Agree OW is pretty elitist but are you complaining they didnt interview you for their new grad role? That seems pretty standard and every firm will keep that to ppl graduating the following year
The bitterness stems from the fact that I applied to their SC role, one notch above new grad and was told I don't have enough "consulting" experience. BS, but whatever. So I thought, "sure, okay, you want me to start from the bottom. I get it." So I then applied to their new grad consulting role and then promptly got rejected again for not being a recent grad or being overqualified. So I thought "Okay... so starting from the bottom wasn't it. Do you want me to just lie and say I did two years at some no-name consulting shop?"
It appears irrelevant that I have a strong education, and clearly a strong skillset since people I've coached got in. But I, myself, 5-6 years later, still cannot break into this field. The only way for me to land in consulting will be jump of a building and fall directly a top their firm's building.
This industry can be ruthlessly unfair, so you're not alone. Don't let rejection define you because it's obvious that your skills are valuable (you've helped others get in). To allow your talent to shine without the same gatekeeping, think about switching to strategy roles or boutique firms.
strategy roles famously advertise that they're looking for "previous experience in consulting, investment banking, private equity or professional services" - something that I evidently lack. Internal rotation is difficult as Canada is a satelite office and internal mobility has been severely restricted (as is the case with other firms from what I've heard). I've applied to boutiques. Many of them. And they've advised the same combination of over and underqualified.
i don't think with this attitude and mindset you'll be able to dig yourself out of the hole. if you're this jaded you might just be better off considering non-consulting options.
the people who make getting into consulting their entire life never get in. those who bang doors find it even harder. just take it as it comes, don't overdo things. this is coming from someone who applied to MBB and got in with the first try. and I'm not a nepo baby before you start. it's not rigged like you think, the recruiting process is there to weed out people unlikely to make it in consulting anyway.
I'll remember to grit my teeth and smile for the next five years to come as that's definitely the problem with my zero interviews. Not enough smiling in my application package. I'm already in a non-consulting option as we speak - so it's not as if I'm unemployed or not building a skillset, it's simply stigmatized since it's not in professional services so it's seen as inferior in every single application to every single consulting firm.
When you got into MBB first try... were you by chance in the US from a semi-target school? Because if that were the case, you literally have 10x the offices to apply to.
I hate to break it to you... but it is rigged. There are very few opportunities to get into consulting that are grossly defined by the externalities such as the pedigree of your education, the country you're from, or the economy you're handed. If you miss the post-bachelor's wave, then you really only have the opaque and sometimes arbitrary lateral market, or you have to pay $50-$150k USD to maybe break in post-MBA. If you think a pay-to-play recruitment scheme is not rigged, then what exactly would it be?
I can understand it being "not rigged" in the sense that as an ungraduate kid from a top university/college can get an interview having never heard of consulting as it's happened many times on this forum, but it's rigged in the sense that if you miss your narrow windows, it's damn near impossible to break in and it's largely driven by the opportunities (or lack thereof) in your country.
The bench has to be the dumbest thing to ever exist in consulting, imagine having to beg to work
Imagine saying no to paying consulting work because your firm doesn’t have a bench and you can’t staff it
I've been following your posts quite carefully for a while now and work in consulting so believe I have a decent grasp on the situation. As I'm sure you know, generally speaking there are three ways into consulting. A. Graduate recruiting B. experienced hiring C. MBA recruiting. Let's take them one-by-one.
Option A: unfortunately, you are simply too far past graduating for this to be an option. I would not waste time on any more applications here.
Option B: a priori, I would say this is your best bet. You could potentially come in as a senior analyst or equivalent. Depending on your strength as an applicant, this could be anywhere from MBB to a boutique. However you mention the painful amount of effort you've already undertaken here. Normally I would advise to just keep trying, but given your history and the toll this seems to be taking on your mental health I honestly would advise you to stop here. I understand how frustrating and unfair this must seem, but the fact is that the hand you've been dealt does not seem to be resulting in success. Of course, if you see the occasional job posting you think might fit, you should apply. However I wouldn't keep dedicating so much effort to this path- sounds like you've already given a good shot
Option C: this is also an acceptable path. This is also probably your best bet to land somewhere "prestigious". However, you mention money issues here, which I can't speak to. Of course you could take loan but I understand this might be difficult to do and also potentially poor ROI. It's ultimately your call, but I'd be hesitant unless you really know this is what you want to do.
My final advice: as painful as this might be, I'd begin to accept that strat consulting isn't for you, at least for now. It's a small, elitist industry and you seem to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and simply aren't what they're looking for. Don't take this personally- there are many factors out of your control. I would also seriously question if you even want this. From the looks of your history (might be mistaken), you have never properly worked in strategy. It's easy to idealise something you've never had. As someone at the "top" in MBB (ignore title), it's not all that it's cracked up to be. My advice would be to either keep working whatever you're doing, or make a switch to something else, not consulting related (e.g. tech corporate roles, anything really). In a few years the hiring market might be different, you might have saved up for an MBA, or your desire for consulting will have passed. I've been watching the struggled you've experienced so I hope this somewhat helps.
I appreciate the sentiment and will likely pause recruitment here, at least for now.
For the record, I'm not idealizing anything; I've spoken to the entirety of the industry from economic consulting shops to RX shops to operations shops, and everything in between. I get the work can range from dull, to unnecessarily convoluted and boring (waiting for a flight to a middle-of-nowhere motel) as well as stressful working 60+ hours for weeks on end. I have no delusions or aggrandized view of the world I'd be entering, I simply was hoping to enter and exit on my own terms how ever long I may have lasted. Initially, I was thinking to only really do consulting for 1.5-2 years post-undergrad and then switch to a client exit or firm-sponsored MBA (since I wouldn't be able to afford this any other way) and then exit a little later.
Never once did I think I'd be a lifer or think I'd be wining and dining execs as the norm. I've heard the stories... last-minute CDDs forcing 80+ hours, dodgy or vague clients not giving proper insights in primary stakeholder interviews, micromanaging superiors asking for details on an intraday basis, all the grueling office politics that skews meritocracy to "oh, him, he's great!". It's just unfortunate that I won't be able to get any first-hand experience in this world myself and see if I had what it takes to last the full 1-2 years.
This will also mark my hiatus from WSO. I don't think it's helping all too much when half the posts I've seen are about the newest cohort having interviews fall in their laps while I've been having a less-than-favourable experience for half a decade.
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