Undergraduate consulting opportunities in the UK
I'd like to start a discussion that hopefully answers my questions about management consulting in the UK. The majority of the advice I have read, either on this forum or other sources such as Victor Cheng's blog, focus on consulting opportunities in the US. I would be grateful for any insight into UK consulting opportunities and the actions I should currently be taking.
Firstly some background about me, I'm going into my final year at Warwick University on a first. My A levels were mediocre: A*BBB in Maths/Further Maths/Economics/Chemistry respectively. I've got over a year of work experience mainly bar tending. I was unsure of what I wanted to do career wise this year, so when it came to applying for internships I was too late for any solid internships. Instead I am working for a mid sized accountancy firm doing audit over the summer.
My first question is where should I apply? My primary targets are MBB, OC&C, OW, ATKearney, Roland Berger and LEK. Followed closely by Strategy& and Deloitte. If i was unsuccessful in those I would look at Capco , EY, Accenture, KPMG. How does this look? Have I picked too many? Will I be considered by the top firms?
My next question is about the actual application process. How important is the CV/Cover letter in the UK? Is it worth spending some money on resources such as Victor Cheng's toolkits? I've also read that the online assessments are important in the UK, how should I go about practising for these?
Finally I have about a month until applications open, is there anything I should do in this time? I'm currently in London so networking might be possible, but I have read that it isn't that useful in the UK. Would volunteering experience teaching football be of any use?
Apologies for such a long post, I appreciate any information regarding my queries.
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/can-anyone-kindly-share-some-ins…
Look at this thread, lots of similar info. My two cents would be - 1) apply everywhere (all firms you mentioned), London is very competitive and it is a numbers game. By the time you will be rejected by strategy houses it will most likely too late to look for a job offer from somewhere else. 2) Apply early 3) Practice case studies
EDIT: Given that you don't have any internship experience going into your final year means in my opinion that landing a job offer at Tier 1 / Tier 2 startegy firms would be pretty tough. You will be up against Oxbridge graduates who played varsity rugby and have multiple spring weeks / summer internships in IBD or consulting under their belt. In my opinion your best shot would be Big 4 and Accenture. Cast a wide net also look into smaller consultancies in London e.g. Bearing Point, PA Consulting, Efficio etc.
Big 4 is your best shot to be honest. Deloitte, KMPG etc are all more or less the same in Europe. Don't spend time on your cover letter as nobody reads them. You can try boutiques like LEK as well but they tend to be quite competitive too. Anything else is out of your league I'm afraid, but you can always try
Your chances are, unfortunately, pretty slim. Getting an MBB interview is hard and getting an interview at one of the other top firms you mentioned is perhaps even harder; Roland Berger has a small intake so they interview very few, OC&C has two online tests before you get invited for an interview, OW has one online test (but a very difficult one), L.E.K. hires few non-Cambridge/Oxford students. (Don’t know about ATKearney, but it shouldn’t be much easier). The thing is that there are around 1000 people at Cambridge and 1000 people at Oxford who are applying each year for consulting and all of them have by default better A-levels than you, and most of them have better internships than you. If I were you, I would apply to Big4 firms and smaller consultancies like Stroud, Credo, PA, CIL, CVA, Efficio, etc. If you want to interview with a top firm I suggest you really prepare for the online tests (many top applicants don’t prepare at all and are then negatively surprised they didn’t do well) and then hope you somehow pass the CV screening.
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