Hello everyone!
As I prepare for consulting interviews, I've noticed a shift in the invitation landscape compared to a year or two ago, finding it more challenging. Can you provide insights on the current recruitment trends among top firms globally? Are there any regions experiencing a surge in demand? Which region and firms are currently recruiting a lot ? When do you thing is the right time to apply ? Your valuable insights would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jad,
Hope you are well.
Like many of the answers below I would suggest not to try to change location preference based on estimating a “boom” somewhere. Normally when applying to MBB firms you need to have a great reason to apply for the geography you are applying for.
Having said that to be more direct I have heard from friends across consulting across the globe that:
Europe/London: May slowly pickup in a couple of months (but far below 2 years ago)
North/Latin America: Slower than before
Middle East: Hiring a lot (although not as much as last year).
I think the most important thing is to have a genuine reason/passion for your geography of need (and have skills that match the region). As an example (not always true) - FS background helps a bit more in UK than it might in the Middle East (where Energy or Public Sector experience may help with the projects there).
I would also suggest being case ready, and having an ability to show passion for whichever geography you did apply for. Let me know if you ever need any coaching.
Best,
Madjid
Hi Jad!
You're absolutely right.
The trend has been downward for almost two years now.
Following the hiring boom post covid, firms now find themselves overstaffed and without many projects. So they are significantly reducing their hiring at this point.
You can read more about and what you can do about these trends here:
But realistically, the point is that the hiring flows are out of your hands / control, so there's no point in focusing on it. Also, hiring priorities change rather often and are set at the office level, so there's no central place where you can find the answer to your question (i.e., which offices are hiring and which are not).
My recommendation is always to reach out to the recruiter from your target office and just ask them. There's no better info source than that.
Wishing you all the best!
Cristian
Hi Jad,
Yes, point blank it's not what it was in 2021 / 2022.
That said, those were absolutely crazy years (monetary + fiscal stimulus, WFH, tons of work/pipelines, etc.)
We are rebaselining now.
Please also remember that hiring always happens. Even in the Great Depression people were being hired. There is always movement.
This applies especially to consulting where churn rates are at about 20%.
As an example, just yesterday one of my candidates got a Bain offer, and the day before that another got EYP. I'm telling you, hiring is still happening. YOU just have to be better now than in 2021 / 2022.
No region is “booming” right now, but most are hiring. And it's your job to keep a pulse on it. (just as an example, end of last year Riyadh had a surge in hiring/interviews, and, oddly, BCG Platinion London)
Here's some reading to help:
How to Get a Consulting Internship - Tips and Tricks
Hey there,
We are in the upward-sloping part of the curve at the moment. The worst recruiting market was last fall, after a decline over the last year. Currently, the situation is improving globally, but not everywhere in the same way.
For instance, the Middle East was hiring at full steam last year while everyone else was slowing down. Now we see other parts of the world are picking up again, while the Middle East has slowed down (more rejections, freezes of current applicants in the funnel).
I'd recommend a strong networking approach to a. gauge current interest and b. get referrals.
All the best,
Florian
Hi there,
hiring is still happening but it is slower and therefore more competitive as it was a few years ago. However, consulting recruiting is always competitive and only a small fraction of applicants end up with offers anyway.
The right time to apply is probably based on when you need a job. If you are currently in another career and you have a job but consider a potential move into consulting, then you can afford to wait a while, hope for the economic environment to improve and use the meantime to already prepare for consulting interviews as well as networking.
If, however, you are pressed for a job and you want to pursue a consulting career, then the right time to apply is now. In any case, you should view this as a numbers game and apply to many different consulting firms to increase your chances of converting an application to an offer.
In terms of hiring patterns on different geographies:
While there are differences in regional hiring dynamics, those would only really be relevant to you if you met the criteria for any given region (i.e. language requirements, visa/working permit). If you don't have that, your chances as an applicant are slim irrespective of whether the respective firm/region exhibits an increase in their hiring pipeline.
Best of luck
Hi Jad,
Recruiting has slowed down a lot since the market is adjusting (companies hired more capacity than demand these days).
In any case, anytime is good time to apply since all consulting firms have high attrition and are continuously renewing their staff.
Best,
Alberto
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Hey Jad,
Yeah, the industry is experiencing a slowdown in most parts of the world. Based on my students, there's some hiring activity going on in the Middle East and the Central Asia, but the latter region is not for everyone since the candidates should ideally know the local languages.
In this challenging time I would target a wide range of companies, including in-house strategy&operations, boutiques, startups and the industry.
Good luck!
Nick
Good luck!
Nick
Yes, there was a peak 2 years ago (everyone was recruiting like crazy), and now it is going slow. But it is still going. Everywhere.
Middle East used to be more active, but also had a slow down right now, and as other regions are picking up a bit, it really feels like recruiting levels seem to be similar everywhere at this point.
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