AT Kearney: apply for my home country while confirmed 1st round interviews in the Middle East?

Question

I applied for AT Kearney Middle East in summer and, after a successful phone screening call, I got invited for 1st round interviews over phone. Though HR said a couple months later that my 1st round interviews will be scheduled after January 2020 (I think it's not only me who is facing this problem here).

Now I'm thinking of applying for my home country's office in the meantime and was wondering whether it would have any negative consequences for my current application (e.g. getting a rejection email although having been confirmed 1st round interviews just because I applied for another country afterwards).

I think it is allowed to submit multiple applications at ATK, since the vacancies are being posted separately by each country's office on their website (I could try as well with a different email/my nickname though).

The two advantages of this would be that the interview process would probably be faster and the interviews will be face to face and not over phone, as it is the case in the Middle East (I already had a phone case interview with another company and bad experience with sound quality, so I would like to avoid this in the future).

Would you suggest me to do this? I tried to contact HR in my home country but got no response yet.

Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

I believe this would be a risky strategy. A better approach would be to apply to other consulting companies (either in the Middle East or in your home country), try to get an offer and followup with ATK asking if it is possible to accelerate the process. I did so when I applied to BCG, following up after I got another offer, and managed to clear the recruiting process in four days.

I would also recommend to have the interview face-to-face if you are not comfortable with phone interviews – even if you have to pay for the flights and accommodation I believe it would be a good investment to increase your chances if ATK is your target firm.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi,

I wouldn't advise you to do this, as ATK has a centralized system in which they can see the record of your application status globally. Because of this strategy, you may end up getting a rejection or they may put you on the spot when you do your interviews in January 2020, and may question your motivations/commitment.

Best,

Deniz

Answer 3

A.T. Kearney like most of the global firms have global recruiting policies. If you are rejected by one office then you are rejected by the firm.

You may still apply to other offices at the local office's discretion but they would typically require you wait for at least 6 months. This time needs to be spent improving interview technique or gaining some valuable expreince that actually improves your value proposition. In special circumstances, exceptions can be made but don't count on it.

Answer 4

Dear A,

I wouldn't try this risky strategy, since Kearney has centralised recruiting system.

What you can do is to apply to anoter offices in your home country.

Best,

André