Right time to apply?

Hi there, 

Here's what I think/saw:

1. You should apply whenever you feel ready and comfortable, so taking an extra two months is totally fine. But I wouldn't spend unnecessarily long on prep either: I saw candidates solving 50-100 cases before applying: and on my opinion, that's beyond what's required. I believe you should just go for it - but still feel reasonably confident.

2. What I've observed in our BCG Milan office is that candidate selection happens on a rolling basis, but the starting dates are pretty fixed: I think it's January 1st, March 1st, June 1st, September 1st - just because they have to fill up classes of new joiners for the induction week and the subsequent training. So there might be some wait time between signing the offer and actually starting because of these cohort waves. 

Hope this helps and good luck!

Hi there,

1) Is it ok to wait for some more time, and apply maybe say a month or two after the referral deadline? I am a bit skeptical that if I apply in a rush and dont feel ready, it might be detrimental. Please suggest.

You can apply anytime, provided it is within the deadline for the application for the cycle interesting to you, in case one is present. If you apply after that, you should be considered for the next recruiting cycle. If you don’t feel ready after you have been accepted for interviews in a cycle, you can ask to postpone/be considered for the following one.

2) How effective are these recruitment "cycles"? We keep hearing that these firms hire all year round. Then, what is the point of these cycles? Does the competition and selection difficulty also go up in these cycles?

It depends on the office. Some have rolling admission (eg Italy), others have deadlines for application (eg UK). If you are an experienced hire, the application is usually flexible all year round. You should check which is the case for your specific office.

If you apply via referral, your connection should help to identify the best time to apply, if one is present (eg high hiring period in your target office). You can find more on referrals here:

▶ How to Get an MBB Referral

Best,

Francesco

Hi there, 

That's a great question!

Actually, I recommend to most of my candidates to apply outside of these recruitment cycles. Even though most firms say they don't compare candidates and instead judged each individual candidate against a standard, realistically speaking they do aim to pick the first best 50 applicants let's say and then invite them to the first round of interviews. You have a much better chance of passing the screening if you apply at a time when not hundreds perhaps thousands of others are sending in their application papers. 

I would definitely encourage you apply when you're ready.  I have seen too many candidates where they don't time this well and end up not feeling prepared for the interviews.  Having said that, I don't think most candidates ever feel “fully prepared”…! :)

Most MBB offices continue to grow at record pace where for off-campus generalists, they will interview candidates throughout the year.  MBBs will not easily let talent walk out of their front door where the single factor influencing the likelihood of getting an offer is your performance. 

Good luck!

Hi there,

I just want to add a bit to what everyone is saying here.

First, if there is a deadline that you will miss that means you won't have another opportunity, you need to apply! This is if you're going through specific channels (i.e. via university recruiting, aiming for a summer internship).

If, however, you are applying as an experienced hire you can ultimately apply at any time! My strong recommendation is to case prep and network in parallel.

Once you are at about 80-90% case ready and have a referral in hand, then that's the ideal time to apply!

Hello, 

1. Short answer: Apply when you are ready! You don't want to get in a situation where you managed to get the interviews and fail for lack of being prepared. 

2. These recruitment cycles are for the planned capacity the consulting firms need. There is always attrition during the year that causes extra need as well so don't worry about rushing. Yes I would say competition & “meeting the bar” increases during those cycles, but there are also typically more “open spots to fill”

In the end, you want to make sure to have a strong profile + good networking to get the interview and to be fully prepared so you can crush them and get the offers! 

Happy to keep chatting if you have other questions. 
Cheers,
Nicolas 

Hello!

The most important thing here is that if you apply and make the interviews not being 100%, you will fail (and maybe even when 100% prepared). Hence, having enaugh time to being totally ready should be your number 1 prio, above anything else (cycles, timings, etc.)

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi there, 

only confirm what everyone said: you can apply anytime, the only thing to have in mind if you go off-cycles, the timelines are hardly met and the process can take fairly long. 

Good luck!

Lucie

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You apply when you feel ready or ready-ish but never under prepared. Its okay to apply outside the cycle but make sure you keep the networking alive.