Difficulty landing summer internship interviews?

I'm at a target (H/Y/P), with a 3.7 GPA, majoring in Political Science and Econ, and founded a campus organization, but am having difficulty landing first-round interviews. So far, I've been rejected interviews from McKinsey, APT and Altman & Vilandrie. Haven't heard back from others yet, but this isn't encouraging.

Does this imply that I'm doing something wrong, or is it just this difficult to land consulting interviews?

I have no work experience, though. I'm also thinking that maybe the two B's that I got in Econ courses might have something to do with it. Should I really not expect any interviews with a profile like this?

 
Glendale:
Some volunteer work, writing for the campus newspaper, and part-time job. My resume is super identifiable.

That doesn't sound "super identifiable"... What kinds of part-time jobs have you held? Are they relevant to consulting in any way? What kinds of responsibilities did you have within the campus newspaper? You need to be a little more specific here for us to give any useful feedback.

 

even at a target, for most people getting an interview is often more a question of networking than resume. all the econ 3.7s blur together after a while, but having had one good phone conversation with an analyst is often enough to push you into the interview pile.

if there are still any open resume drops at your school, it's not too late. reach out to some alumni on linkedin and ask to chat about their experiences.

 

My part-time job is a research assistant position with a prof. My extracurriculars aren't really connected to consulting, but I hold a pretty prominent leadership role in the organization I founded, and emphasized that in my resume and cover letter.

If I've been rejected interviews at three firms so far, should I expect to not receive interviews in general (I'm thinking the screening standards are pretty similar), or is it common to receive interviews at only some firms?

 
Best Response
Glendale:
My part-time job is a research assistant position with a prof. My extracurriculars aren't really connected to consulting, but I hold a pretty prominent leadership role in the organization I founded, and emphasized that in my resume and cover letter.

If I've been rejected interviews at three firms so far, should I expect to not receive interviews in general (I'm thinking the screening standards are pretty similar), or is it common to receive interviews at only some firms?

Why does it matter? Stop hypothesizing and start networking NOW at the firms that haven't rejected you yet. If you went to the firm's info session at your school, email & call up the alumni that were there. And if you didn't go, that probably explains why you've been getting shot down...

 
Glendale:
I discovered/decided on consulting pretty late during the last semester, and therefore didn't network at all. Would it really have made that much of a difference?

In any case, I guess I'll network really hard for the FT cycle.

Networking is almost essential for consulting in this day in age. All the 3.6-3.7 gpa people start to meld together when all you're doing is reading resume's all day. Having talked to a few ACs/BAs/As will help you stand out (or at least, not get lost, because everyone is now networking). If everyone else is networking, then your lack of networking is actually a negative for you.

Suffice it to say: Yes, networking would have made a difference.

 

Really?

When I was a junior at a lower Ivy (non-HYP) I had a 3.4 and I just recently bullshitted my entire resume from scratch. I applied and I still got some interviews. You shouldn't worry too much.

I had an industrial engineering background though, that might have given me the advantage over your econ major.

 

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