Optimal Consulting Recruiting Strategy Starting in March

Hi there,

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

• First of all, it's important to recognize that starting your preparation in March puts you at a unique position. While you may miss out on traditional campus recruiting cycles, many consulting firms have rolling recruiting cycles, depending on the country.
• Moreover, applying through campus recruiting would certainly be beneficial, but there's no point in thinking about it if you simply don't have the opportunity to apply.
• Lastly, application deadlines and the existence of rolling recruiting cycles depend on the countries you want to apply to. I would therefore highly advise you to find out about this.

You can find more on this topic here: Salaries in the consulting industry.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

1) Should I focus entirely on opportunities with all-year/ongoing hiring cycles or is it still possible to be successful applying for consulting roles through the normal campus process even with a later March start?

This depends on your country. If you have specific deadlines for campus recruiting before March, you won’t be able to leverage it. If there is a rolling admission, you might be able to apply using it.

2) What are the pros and cons of targeting just all-year roles versus trying for both all-year and the remaining campus opportunities? 

Campus recruiting is normally a preferential channel, so if you have the option, I would leverage it.

3) What are the typical timelines and application deadlines I need to be aware of?

As mentioned above, this depends on the country. You should be able to find the deadlines, if any, on the sites of the firms you are targeting or by contacting the career service of your school.

Good luck!

Francesco

Lots of questions, all going in the right direction. 

I suggest starting with what is actually possible and/or what you're eligible for. 

Practically, it means that you need to make a list of your target firms and roles. 

Then, reach out to the recruiters and ask them if there's any specific deadline for applications. Then respect that deadline. Ask also whether you could apply for both cohort recruitment and ongoing applications. In some markets, you cannot - i.e., you can only apply for cohort recruitment if you're a student, you can only apply for ongoing recruitment if you're an experienced hired. 

Is there an advantage to go with one or the other (assuming you'd even have that choice)? Yes, it's marginally better to go the ongoing recruitment route because then your application isn't being pitted against so many others. 

Sharing with you also a guide you might find useful about how to build an application strategy:

• Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

Good luck!
Cristian

Hi there,

1. You can apply via school recruiting as long as you have not graduated yet.
2. It is still possible to be successful applying outside of normal channels and outside of normal timelines. However, it is harder.
3. In my view you should always cast the net as wide as possible (i.e. as many roles + firms as possible)
4. An optimal consulting recruiting plan can be crafted for you via a 30 minute coaching session with a coach
5. Use an application tracker and network to better understand YOUR timelines/deadlines by company
6. And, some extra reading for your case prep timeline:

The Most Common Pitfalls in Case Interview Preparation

How to Get a Consulting Internship - Tips and Tricks

Application Tracker – Keep Track With This Free Template

Hi there,

This solely depends on the recruitment process of the desired offices. Recruitment timelines can vary widely. If you're past the set deadlines for campus recruitment, you might be out of the traditional loop and have to wait for a new admission period. However, for firms with rolling admissions, there's still hope. Double-check with your target firms for the most accurate deadlines and advice.

How?

Network and Engage: Start building connections now by reaching out to HR and engaging with current consultants at your desired office. Seeking their advice not only gives you insider insights into the current hiring climate (you don't want to burn your application chance during a freeze period/slowdown) but could also open the door to valuable referrals.

All the best,

Florian

As far as I am aware, most on campus recruiting is done by Jan, maybe early Feb at the latest, so post March it is largely going to be off cycle recruiting anyway.

Hi,

It's abit unclear on what your situation / context is.

OCR / campus recruitment is meant for students of a target school who fall within the specified demographics. OCR follows a fixed timeline and schedule. 

Typically, if you don't fall within OCR, you will apply on the general open roles or as an experienced hire. 

The benefits of OCR are that you are already given an opportunity to be screened, versus the real risk of being ‘lost in the pile' through public application portals.

Specific questions on the timelines really are best answered by the firms HR themselves. 

Answer depends on country and office.

You need to understand what is the recruiting cycle for each firm. If you can still apply through campus recruiting, go for it. If you you can't… go off-cycle, no problem with that.