Is no feedback from HR a rejection

Hi there, 

I would not take it as a rejection - from my experience, consultancies, and most professional companies for that matter would send an actual rejection email if that is the case. 

It could be (1) that they are just pooling even more candidates before reviewing profiles and making a decision or (2) they kind of stalled  the process as they are not in dire need to hire for respective level / they could not get the interviewers to review all candidates. 

It's not the nicest practice to not give at least an indication on how long this process is going to take - in my opinion 1 month is a pretty long time to wait for a final round decision (unless it is specifically communicated that this is the normal process). 

I think if it's been a month since you last heard from them, you could reach back to HR and simply asking what is an expected timeline for final decisions. You can be extra nice and say you understand that there are several internal processes to consider, etc., but it would help in your own decision making to have an estimate on when they expect to be able to reach out. 

Fingers crossed it's a positive outcome!

Ariadna 

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about your negative experience with BCG!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

• First of all, I would advise you to follow up with the recruiter once more. It's important to communicate your continued interest in the position and inquire about any updates or timelines they can provide. However, not receiving a rejection e-mail or call means you haven't been rejected.
• Moreover, prepare for different outcomes. While waiting for BCG's decision, it might be beneficial to continue applying to other consulting firms. This will ensure you are not overly reliant on one outcome.

You can find more on this topic here: How to deal with a rejection from a consulting company.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

before offer decisions are communicated after the final round, they have to be aligned between HR and the interviewers in the process. This can sometimes take time for various reasons. A few common ones are listed below for a general overview:

• internal scheduling conflicts between HR and the interviewers, especially when partners need to be involved
• the firm is still conducting more final round interviews with other candidates and they might want to wait for that to play out to look at the full candidate picture before extending final offers
• offers have been extended to “first choice” candidates and the firm is trying to keep “backup” candidates on hold until they know who accepted and who declined their first batch of offers
• holidays or year-end shutdown delay the decision-making and communication process
• there is uncertainty internally around budget and the exact headcount they can actually hire so they are trying to buy time

I know that this is unsettling and every candidate wants to have clarity on the status sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, you'll always have to wait for the official word. It is legitimate, though, to politely follow up for an update after not hearing back for two weeks.

However, it is best to just assume a rejection and continue with the recruiting efforts with other firms until you have a written offer in your hands. That way you at least won't lose time.

Best of luck

In my experience, MBB is very good at letting you know about acceptance and rejection as soon as possible. I do not think they are trying to withhold information, it could be a few genuine things

1. There are many strong candidates and you are one of them. 
2. They have given out an offer to someone but before letting you know they want the other person to accept the offer
3. They have not been able to get all the decision makers in a room to decide on an offer (quite common in Europe in the summer)

I am sure there are other reasons as well. I do not think it is for sure a no but to be safe you should apply to other firms as well at this point.

Best,
Udayan

No, it is not a rejection. MBB's are quite direct and always give an answer (unless, of course, something goes wrong in the process… but the process is designed to make sure everyone gets an answer).

Hi there,

Not necessarily a rejection but likely an unclear demand situation. They don't know if they can make you an offer given the current market conditions.

A rejection would have happened right away.

Fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

Florian