Quite upset that HR never reply emails

Hi there,

I understand your frustration with not receiving responses from the HR contacts you have reached out to. While it can be disappointing when you don't receive a reply, it's important to keep in mind that HR teams in consulting firms often receive a high volume of inquiries and may not be able to respond to every individual message.

In the consulting industry, HR teams are typically responsible for managing a wide range of recruitment activities, including reviewing applications, conducting interviews, and coordinating hiring processes. Their primary focus is on finding the best candidates for the firm's needs. While they strive to provide a positive candidate experience, their capacity to respond to individual inquiries may be limited.

That being said, it's possible that your messages may have been overlooked or lost in the HR team's busy schedule. In such cases, it can be helpful to follow up politely and professionally, reiterating your inquiry and expressing your continued interest in the firm. However, it's important to strike a balance between persistence and being respectful of their time and workload.

Additionally, it's worth considering alternative channels for reaching out to HR contacts. For example, if you have attended events or networking sessions where you had personal contact with HR representatives, you could try reaching out to them through those channels. Personal connections can sometimes be more effective in getting a response.

Remember, the consulting industry is highly competitive, and HR teams are focused on finding the best candidates for their firms. While it can be frustrating when you don't receive a response, it's important to stay positive and continue exploring other opportunities. Networking with consultants and leveraging personal connections can often be a valuable way to navigate the recruitment process.

If you have any further questions or need additional guidance, feel free to ask. Best of luck with your job search!

Hi there,

First of all, sorry to hear.

Second, think about it from their perspective (seriously!). 

• Often 1-2 people in an office
• With lots of responsibilities around organizing offers, interviews, the other day-to-day of the job (current consultants' careers, stafffing, people problems, office issues, etc.).
• Then, on top of that, they're likely being bombarded with hundreds of emails per day from a bunch of candidates, 90% of whom won't ever be interviewing
• And 90% of whom are asking questions that could easily be googled

HR is there for the company/firm NOT you.

Coaches are there for you.

By the way, I don't disagree with you on how it should be, but, please remember you're not the center of this world - they don't owe you these responses! And, it's very important to build thick skin here - it's going to happen a lot in your life! With clients, with other customer service, with colleagues, etc.

If you're networking, HR is not the way (LinkedIn is)

If you have questions, HR is not the way (coaches are)

Hi there, I can understand your frustration! This is indeed not professional and from my experience not the standard. May I ask which offices and firms you are encountering this? Feel free to ping me in a DM and share some example messages, maybe we can find some reason for the ghosting. Besides working on the way you reach out I'd recommend networking through events and linkedIn to build relationships (e.g., you're more likely to receive a response when you refer to an event or person from the firm that you have recently interacted with). Hope this helps, do not give up it is a marathon not a sprint ;-) Frederic 

Hi there,

I can agree with the general sentiment. The HR folks usually get a lot of inquiries from outside candidates and from within the firm. 

If you approach them with general questions that they might feel like are being addressed on the website or other official communication, they might prioritize other inquiries over yours. 

If they don't reply to your follow up e-mails, try to give them a call. If that doesn't work, try to get some networking calls with consultants from that office (e.g. via LinkedIn). You can try to get your questions answered there and potentially even aim to get an internal referral for your application.

Best of luck

Hi there,

I can see why this is frustrating. However, if you're not actually shortlisted yet for interviews yet, you're ‘just’ another person trying to get their attention.

While this is not a bad strategy, and you might have legitimate questions that can't be answered by googling (or consulting Preplounge experts), you can't reasonably expect a response.

I know for a fact that MBB recruiters have inboxes flooded with messages and it's hard enough to keep up with the important ones, which yours probably isn't to be blunt.

Nonetheless, keep it up and find a balance between continuing to engage them and not being ‘annoying’.

All the best!

Moritz 

Hi there,

Sorry to hear you had this bad experience, I can understand the frustration.

Try to move on doing networking with other consultants at that office to help you accelerate the recruiting process.
Best,

Alberto

—

Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs

Hi,

Sorry to hear this experience. Indeed it can be frustrating to not hear back from HR or recruiting.

Coming from the other side though, I just want to say that it is often not their intention to create a bad experience for you. Often times recruiting is overwhelmed and in their POV they have numerous other more critical tasks than to reply a single message on email. 

What would be more effective (and I speak from experience) is to leverage your network in these firms, and get them to help you get an answer. That's what I actually did for some of my friends - I literally popped into HR's room, checked something and got the answer I needed.

All the best!

Hi there!

I know, it's true. 

You might've also just been a bit unlucky in the process. They're not always so difficult to reach.

Try to also reach out to them via LinkedIn. If not, send them a reminder email. 

In parallel, I'd recommend you start networking with actual consultants and they can fill the gaps that HR might not be able to do.

Here's how to lead these networking calls:

• Expert Guide: How To Handle Networking Calls and Get Referrals

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

Q: I have some general inquiries to HR. However, they never reply. I feel quite disappointed that consulting is a people business but the recruiting team are not friendly at all. 

Sorry to hear about the negative experience. I would just move on and reach out to someone else in the company – possibly the people you contacted were just busy/an exception in that particular company.

Good luck!

Francesco

This is typical, my candidate experience at many of these firms has been pathetic, despite eventually receiving offers at several.