2020 ADC/APD Summer Programs/Full-Time Applications Thread

Applications are starting up so figured I'd set up a thread so people could ask questions or share updates as they prepare for recruiting season. Giving back to the community I lurked a few years ago. Combined the threads this time.

Edit: It wouldn't let me post links to the programs and previous threads because I'm a new user, but will update with them when I can.

Summer Programs:

Other firms that hire PhDs include:

  • EY-Parthenon

  • LEK

  • Health Advances

  • Navigant

  • ZS

  • IQVIA

  • CBPartners

  • Cello Health Bioconsulting

  • Comment if I'm missing some

Link to Past Threads:

  • 2019 Full-Time | 2019 Summer Programs

  • 2018 Full-Time | 2018 Summer Programs

  • 2017 Full-Time | 2017 Summer Programs

  • 2016 Full-Time | 2016 Summer Programs

  • 2015 Summer Programs

 

I reached out to Putnam but never received a response. McKinsey Insight now says it is a one day vitrual event but honestly can't remember if it was an in person event before, though I'd assume so.

 

I know Bridge still has one-way interviews to go out, but for the others, any idea how long after the deadline a decision is made? Some of the programs suggested even just a few days.

 

FYI I just heard from ADvantage today (case interview workshop invitation, Boston) so don't be discouraged if you didn't hear last week/a couple days ago as some have in this group. Sounds like it must not be an 'all at once' invitation per office location then.

 

For Bridge2BCG's one-way video interview, how much time (if there's a limit) do they allow for you to prepare your answer after you see a question?

I understand that you can stop the interview between questions and come back at a later time, but can you pause after seeing a question before recording?

 

There were these last year aswell. Some Bain offices use them as an additional screening step to determine who to interview for ADvantage. From my experience, being invited gives you a pretty good chance for landing the interview. Last year there were around 30-40 people at the workshop and NYC interviewed 15-20 people. They split you out into teams of 5-6 people led by a Bain consultant or CTL to work on a mock case - it is pretty fun experience! Keep in mind you are being evaluated though.

 

Thanks for the info! Do you know if all interview invites are contingent on making it through the virtual case workshop? In other words, if we did not receive an invite to the case workshop this for offices that already sent them out can we assume we are not going to get an actual interview invite to ADvantage?

 

Has anyone applied to and heard back from L.E.K? Also, does the timeline for Bain notifications depend on the choice of office? Looking at all these notifications being sent out, should I take the absence of the same as a reject?

 
  1. Eye contact with the camera, not the screen
  2. Hold your framework up to the camera when going through it. Don't be afraid to point to what you are referring to
  3. Stress more clearly what you are trying to do with your calculations before doing them.
  4. Talk a little more slowly and carefully than you would normally. Practice adding checks before doing a long calculation ("Do you think calculating this will be worthwhile?")
  5. "Answer First"
 

Link to L.E.K update: Got an email from the recruiter sating they've canceled this year's workshop cause of COVID-19. Generic email, nothing much said apart from asking me to lookout for summer full time postings

 

Don't know about Imbellus, but I think since BCG considers the Pymetrics as part of the application itself I'm guessing literally every applicant has to take it. About Imbellus, I also was wondering the same, as in is it sent to an already screened pool or is it the same as pymetrics where everyone who applied is required to take it.

 

Has anyone heard from Bain ? I got invited to the case workshop a while ago after doing a virtual coffee chat, but no invite to interview yet. From other comments it looks like interview invites went out around the same as the workshop invite (or even without a workshop invite). Also, as a PhD student who only recently learned about consulting, I am feeling quite unprepared especially if the workshop is actually an evaluation.

 

I would definitely recommend doing or at least looking over some cases / frameworks before the virtual case workshop. People in my group were pretty experienced and I felt like I could hang since I had done a few cases. Can't say for sure if we were being evaluated or not, but wouldn't be surprised if we were.

 

Thanks Marie! I'm reading through Victor Cheng's frameworks and plan on doing a case or two before the workshop (with an inexperienced friend, but better than nothing.. or I might order a one hour coaching session on prep lounge but these are so pricey!). I'll also listen to LOMS whenever I can! Did you also do the virtual workshop exclusively for Advanced Degrees? This one is 3 hour long, just want to see if it's the same one.

 

Meh, felt like simple logic puzzles. I guess that’s the point, but I thought all the graphical bells and whistles were unpolished overkill that the company is using to justify selling glorified scripts for whatever absurd rate they are charging McK

 

It doesn't feel like an assesment (like BCG's pyrometrics) but rather as a test, and unfortunately, I am not that great with tests. I panicked a bit, got confused and ran out of time. But if you are someone who has no problem to stay calm and focus, it is pretty straightforward and doable. Graphics are completely irrelevant for the tasks you are asked to do, it didn't feel like game at all, rather puzzles as already mentioned. I am curious to see how much weight they put on this test.

 

I had a similar experience. Task 1 was quite easy but since they recommended you spend half the test time on that task, I really took my time and assumed the rest of the test would be similar. Task 2 was also fine. But Task 3 I found a bit more difficult than the first two, and had less time than what they recommended. I also got a bit confused about a specific part of it and that made me scramble to finish and I submitted an incomplete answer. I'm worried this will cause me to not even get a FIT interview. Oh well, can't do anything about it now! Good thing BCG/Bain don't use the same test. Imbellus apparently wants to replace the SAT/ACT/GRE/etc. I would say they need to improve their product quite a bit before that becomes a reality!

 

Has anybody gotten any type of rejection for ADvantage? Or are they just gonna leave us hanging to assume we aren't going to be extended an invite to the case prep / workshop?

 

Haven't heard anything either. I figured since I did not receive any email regarding a workshop or interview so i might as well take it as a reject. I then went and checked the applicant portal and all it says is position applied: ADvantage and nothing else. Don't know what to make of any of this except just wait for a final reject/acceptance email.

 

Hope thats true! thanks :D The only solace I have is relying on their claim that decision emails are extended until mid april which is still a week and a half away so maybe things can come up until then haha

 

Yes, and just to add on to this- some candidates last year got fast tracked straight to an interview for ADvantage without getting an invite to the workshop. This may or may not be due to not being local, but who knows.

 

Depends on the office - here is what I have scavenged so far as of today (4/7)

  • Atlanta - Case workshop invitations, No interview invitations
  • Boston - Case workshop invitations, No interview invitations
  • Chicago – Case workshop invitations, No interview invitations
  • Austin/Dallas/Houston (hosted in Dallas) - Case workshop invitations, some direct to interview
  • New York – No case workshop, direct to interview
  • San Francisco/Silicon Valley – Case workshop invitations, No interview invitations
  • Toronto - No case workshop, direct to interview
  • Washington, DC – Unknown
  • Asia-Pacific (APAC) - Unknown
 

Dang, I've been checking here pretty regularly, and haven't seen any other Texas posts, so I was hoping there hadn't been any interview invitations sent out.

I was invited to the Texas workshop, but have not received an interview yet. Any idea what the chances are that I will receive an interview?

 

From last years experience, Bain does not send out rejections per say. But if you email the recruiter directly, she will reject you in a few minutes LOL

I am looking for case partners! Have done about 35 live cases. Send me a mail if interested!

 

If we get rejected from either Bain BCG or McKinsey, can we apply from scratch in the summer no matter what stage of the interviewing we made it to? For example for McK do we get to take the Imbellus again and do the phone interview again or do they just use these results for future applications? Is Imbellus storing results like Pymetrics? For BCG do we get the video interview again (I know Pymetrics is the one thing that stores your results for a year). And for Bain if we make it to the first round interview and don’t pass, can we reapply from scratch as well without our performance on the case workshop affecting future apps?

 

I asked this question during a Bain recruitment event. They said that if you fail the interview to get into ADvantage, you can reapply for the full time positions. This is the same for McK Insight and Bridge to BCG. In fact if you are selected to interview for Insight and get rejected, McK fast tracks your full time interview to July.

BUT, if you get accepted to ADvantage and fail the final round interview at the end of the week, you cannot reapply until the cool down period is over.

 

Can anyone confirm if Bain's AIC (advance into consulting) is or is not a thing anymore? I know some people who did it last year after not being invited to ADvantage.. wondering if this is still an option or not. Still haven't heard anything post Bain Virtual Case Workshop.

 

Since McKinsey's insight is not open to residents in Canada anymore, is there another program for advanced degree candidates in Canada to connect with the firm before full-time recruitment?

 

Just read again: decisions are end of April but I recall somewhere on the site saying we’d hear something today or tomorrow. Maybe we invites to fit interviews? Not sure.

 

The Imbellus deadline was yesterday, this is way too early to hear back.

Unlike Pymetrics, Imbellus is a test and there is a right or wrong answer. Apart from task 1, it was pretty simple to know if I did the other tasks correctly.

 

Update from ClearView: While we are currently planning to hold one session of C2C in June and one in July, we are prepared to push back the program dates if that is necessary to ensure the health and safety of both our participants and our employees. We will keep all participants updated as the situation evolves.

 

A new user here.

I applied to Insight, Bridge, and ADvantage and just wanted to find out if anyone has any updates on Chicago offices.

For me: I just received an email from BCG that my application is now complete and they will let me know the status by early May. I'm not sure if it simply means that they haven't made decisions yet or I should just proceed as if I am rejected.

For Bain, I know people have gotten invitations to case workshops in Chicago but unfortunately that was not the case for me. However, I haven't gotten a rejection email either and I know for some offices people get invited straight to interviews. I don't know if that's also the case for Chicago office but I do not have high hopes.

For McKinsey, I haven't heard back after the Imbellus test and I was expecting to hear back (either good or bad) by end of this week.

 

BCG: Why would that mean anything other than what they are saying?

Bain: Offers were extended and you didn’t get one is a bad sign

McK: It’s been 3 days since the deadline.

Breath a little. Get some fresh air and work on some cases/skills. Nothing you can do at this point beyond bettering yourself.

 

Jeez stop making up your own scenarios and understand that people reviewing your applications have other stuff to deal with at this time so no if the deadline was Tuesday you're not supposed to hear back by today.

 

I just did the Chicago case workshop for Bain. We were told that the workshop was for them to give an extra chance to some applicants that they find promising, for them to connect to some consultants and ask questions and get to practice a Bain-specific case. If you didn’t get invited to it it doesn’t guarantee you’ll be rejected at least that’s what it seems from what they said. I have not heard anything from McK/BCG for Chicago either. BCG’s email was just to let us know we don’t need to do anything else and our application is complete, it’s not a rejection, we hear back in May.

 

Also new here.

I got the same email from BCG about my application being complete. I assumed they sent it out to all applicants but it could be a soft rejection; I totally bombed the interview :(

I was also expecting to here something from McK Insight but the website does say decisions will be released in late April, so I guess I'll just be on edge for the next 3 weeks.

 

Just got an interview call with clearview ! Any pointers on case prep? I have only done a handful of cases, and don't have much experience in life science cases specifically. Would be open to practicing with a partner as well

 

Congrats to everyone! Just got an invite from McKinsey South (Atlanta) as well. For those interested, I don't think the Imbellus score was heavily weighted because I felt absolutely awful about it. I knew that my answer to the first part was not correct but had to submit anyway to leave time for the rest. 2nd part was fine. I wasn't able to finish the third part and didn't even submit an answer. It's uncertain how everything is scored but I'm sure I was not even in the top 50% of scores.

 

congrats! I also just got an invite for Insight New York! Same thing happened with my imbellus test, I took too long for first part and ended up submitting the answer knowing its wrong, sped through the second task and didn't finish third task in time. I lost hope after that test but now getting the invite I guess it's not as heavily weighed, or I wonder if they may have extended more invite now everything is virtual.

 

Congratulations! Add me to the list of people who bombed Imbellus. I finished all 3 parts in time but I'm positive I got part 2 wrong. Maybe they're not weighting it too heavily since it seems this is the first year they're doing it. I also wonder if the cohort size will be larger given things are virtual this year. I'm certainly not complaining if that is the case.

 

rejected by insight yesterday, but the email said: "We are impressed by your application and wish to extend to you an invitation to interview for the full-time Associate role, starting in 2021, by taking part in our interview process later this summer (Aug-Sept). If you wish to accept this invitation, please be sure to submit an application between June 1 - July 12. Since you already have a profile in our system, this should be a quick process!"

Does it even mean anything?

 

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