What to do after a terrible interview?

Move on and move forward.

First, I'm sorry. That is absolutely frustrating and hard to handle - not easy by any means.

Now, let's do something about it.

1. Apply to more internships. That was not the last possible one. You should apply to 300 more. 300? Yes. 300. 
2. Get back up. Rejection happens. Low moments in life happen. The question is how do you respond.
3. This is not the end of the world. What happens now? does your life fall apart? Nope! Will you remember this moment in 1 year? Nope! Rest assured, life goes on.
4. Get a coach. Whatever you did, it didn't work. Get a coach to help (like someone who fails at weightloss or getting in shape…hire someone to help!)
5. Change. Look at your recruiting this year. What did you do wrong? Not enough applications? Not a good enough resume? Not enough interview prep? Change it

The greatest accomplishments come from temporary defeat. Good luck!

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Hi there,

Q: Does anyone have any advice on what I can do?

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do for that specific interview. On the other hand, in case you are rejected, you can still:

1. Plan in advance for the next year and a full-time role. Specifically, you could structure a good referral strategy, if not done already, to secure more interviews next year. 
2. At the same time, you could find an alternative internship with a position that consulting companies consider positively (eg investment banking, strategy role with a big brand, strategy role with a growing startup).

For what concerns referrals, you can find more information below:

▶ How to Get an MBB Invitation

Good luck!

Francesco

Hey,

Doing cases from YouTube and case in point on your own lacks an essential component: quality feedback. Therefore, it's a bad preparation strategy.

To progress quickly, I suggest you take an active learning approach (in the following order):

1. Getting coaching when you are a complete beginner to learn the basics;

2. After you've learned the basics, practice cases with peers to polish your case solving process and acquire understanding of a wide range of industries and problem types;

3. Before the interview, ask a few acting consultants to give you cases in a mock-interview format to assess your readiness.

Hope this helps.
Good luck next time!
Nick

Hi there,

At this point, the best thing you can do is to

• learn from your mistakes and adjust your preparation for full-time hiring.
• find alternatives. If one door closes, many more open up and not getting a consulting internship is not the end of the world. The issue is that since you might perceive it that way, you are not looking for what else is out there (e.g., industry roles, public sector, launching your own thing).

All the best,

Florian

I'm sorry to hear about this. You must be feeling awful. 

First of all, don't assume that it actually went as bad as it did. Candidates tend to be harsher in their self-assessment than those who interviewed them. 

Secondly, you need distance to get perspective and reflect on the feedback. Figure out what didn't work out on this first go and then make a plan on how to improve it. 

I don't know how you prepared, so I don't want to be presumptuous, but youtube videos and Case in point are not the core sources I would recommend for a distinctive preparation. 

I suggest that you get back with another question on the forum that presents the feedback you received and then ask how you could improve on it. 

And if it is within your means, consider getting a coach to help you through the process.

Best,

Cristian

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you didn't have a good interview. 

This happens to many candidates, and it will happen to you on the job as well. Consulting as an industry requires individuals who have a growth mindset and the determination and desire to grow.

It sounds to me that your fundamentals are not yet fully developed well, so I would suggest the following:

1. Identify clearly what skills and abilities in the interview
2. Identify and understand what good looks like for those skills and abilities
3. Get quality feedback and guidance on those skills and abilities

If you don't have #3, then you have to rely on yourself to make sure that you are progressing in the right direction.

All the best!

Let me start by stating that Case in Point is terrible preparation material. Any structure coming from case in point is guaranteed to be a turn-off to the interviewer (because they are objectively inadequate).

You'll have to re-start your preparation. To be honest, I suggest getting a good coach to get you back on track, because forgetting the CiP type of approach is not an easy task.