MBA Intern Recruiting Interview Still Haven't Heard Back

Hey!

It's normal to feel anxious, but response times can vary depending on the office and the candidate pool. Larger offices or those with more applicants may take longer to finalize decisions. Silence doesn't necessarily mean rejection—some decisions take time due to internal alignment or pending candidate comparisons. If you haven't heard back within a week, a polite follow-up with HR to inquire about the timeline is completely appropriate.

Alessa

Hello there!

Don’t worry, there is no clear pattern to the time calls are made. I’ve seen a partner leaving for vacation without talking to the other interviewer, offices that wait until all candidates were evaluated and other admin-related issues that impacted the time for a candidate to get a response.

You can reach out to the recruiting person you’re in touch next week and kindly ask for a time frame (don’t worry, this kind of contact is recurrent and won’t cause them any additional work).

Best of luck!

Hi there, 

Short answer: super normal. In my experience, decision meetings a lot of time (not always) happen on Fridays. Recruiters usually urge interviewers to make the call right after, but most people do it on Monday. We can cut them some slack considering the 80 hour week they may have gone through 😉 If you haven't heard back after a week, maybe reach out to your recruiter to confirm. 

Call time has no correlation with the type of news you will get. But the hardest time is the weekend after the interviews. Try your best to get distracted (I remember binged watching some random Netflix show after my round 1 with McKinsey). 

Cheers,

Han

Hi there,

The response time after an MBB interview can vary, but typically, you should expect to hear back within maximum 1 to 2 weeks. However, it's important to note that this timeline can depend on factors such as the number of candidates being interviewed and the specific recruiting cycle. For a next interview, I would advise at the end of each interview to ask how long they expect it will take them to provide you feedback.

If you haven't heard back within this timeframe, it's perfectly acceptable to follow up with a polite email to express your continued interest and inquire about the status of your application. Good luck with rest of your interview process.

Mattijs

Well, that's how it is.

You can't control it and you'll find out when you find out.

As always, make sure you apply to dozens and dozens of firms. Make sure you have as many interviews as possible.

And, realize that MBB is the 5%. You're not a failure if you don't get the offer.

If you don't get the offer, recognize that there are other jobs and there's next year - reflect on what you did wrong, if you should have gotten coaching, studied/prepped more, etc.

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on going through the entire application process with this consulting firm!

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

• First of all, yes, it is quite normal for responses to vary in timing after interviews.
• Moreover, to be honest, even if it weren't normal, there's unfortunately nothing you can do about it except wait and follow up after a reasonable amount of time.

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