Rejected, but invited to reaply

Hi everyone,

New here.

I've recently been rejected by a Top3 firm after the final round interview. However, the partner giving me feedback said they really liked me as a candidate and believe I'm fit for the work. I was told I should reapply in about 6 months and would be skipping the tests, going straight for the interviews.

I assumed, at the time that this was a routine thing they offer everyone who gets to the final stage and that it's not much better than a hard no. However, some of the people I've told about this seemed to think it was a very good sign.

This was from the firm I am most interested in and now I'm trying to gauge how positive of a signal it is.

Has anyone here had similar experience? What are your thoughts on the matter?

Thanks!

If they're offering to skip you straight to interview I would suggest that is a good sign.

What was your feedback on why they didn't select you this time? Is it something you can work on over the next 6 months?

Quick thought - do you know that anyone was actually offered the position this time round? There is a lot of "just in time" hiring going on in consulting at the moment. Consultancies looking at the pipeline of work they think they are going to win... and therefore the positions they need to fill. We're hearing lots of instances of people getting to final rounds - even being made offers - only for the hiring to be put on hold because the likelihood or timing of winning the work has changed. The consultancy still rates you, but their need to hire you has slipped in terms of timing.

May or may not be the case here, but thought it worth flagging.

Good luck with making your move in any case.

Rgds, Tony