Selection and graduate recruitment in strategy consulting

Dear all,

I would very much appreciate any piece of advice you could give me regarding graduate recruitment in strategy consulting. Although all of the big names assured me that being French and having English as a strong language was an advantage, it seems that selection in strategy is really much more focused on a certain type of profile, i.e. Oxbridge student only, whether they have a business background or not. Having done a master's degree at Warwick Business School and coming from one of the most prestigious business schools in France, I feel totally frustrated! Recruiters seem not to know how to assess my CV.

Furthermore, the downturn in consulting in general may not enhance my situation. Do you think I should give it up, and try either to work a bit (marketing for example) and do an MBA or to try smaller consulting firms? What would be best?

Many thanks for sharing your opinion!

I would like to also express my concerns about the current recruiting situation into Consultancy. I am a Masters graduate with Project Management experience who is trying to establish a Consulting career. During my job-search I have found that the majority of Firms and Agencies only seem to select those with Oxbridge/Cambridge backgrounds. Far from being open and meritocratic as they claim in company literature, the big 5 and Consultancy agencies do not appreciate the pool of talent that can be found in less 'elite' universities. Not everyone from an Oxbridge/Cambridge background is suited to a career in Consultancy, and if they are the so-called 'elite', then why do most Firms experience difficulty in retaining them? The industry needs to realise and accept that everyone should be given the chance to prove and develop themeselves professionally: this is impossible if discriminatory practices continue to operate. I would offer a simple piece of advice: perservere!

It is true that many firms are elitist regarding their candidate selection process, but many others are not. I for one am not Oxbridge but have managed to get myself an analyst (graduate) position at Accenture. I particularly liked the broad spectrum of backgrounds found there.

I know many other big-5s that select in a similar fashion to Accenture; PwC, CGEY and Andersen (sort of).

You will find that the more traditional strat. consulting firms are elitist.

My advice to the both of you is wait a year before applying so as to circumvent the "hitting the economic rock bottom". Within this year, think about doing a further degree such as an MSc/MA in a field that is related to your career goals/ambitions. You also have the opportunity to "beautify" your CV by doing unusual extra curricular activities that will make you stand out amongst the other potential candidates and give you solid examples of leadership, working within teams, supervisory etc etc scenarios.

I hope the above helps!

Good luck!