After a much rewarding experience as a Business and Digital Technology Consultant at a French consulting company Capgemini, I think it is time for me to share some of the things I learnt along the way and help those who are seeking the same career pathway. Please note that I will not be presenting all the job-seeking advice that ever existed; I am merely discussing those that I found benefited me the most.
My experience (and why you should listen to what I have to say)
During the year 2017, I spent 8 months looking for a job in a graduate program in consulting. I went through many interviews and assessment centres, until I received the offer from Capgemini. In this regard, I understand the anguish and hopelessness of constant rejections. More importantly, I served as an assessor in three separate graduate assessment centres, and I have spoken to a number of interviewers and assessors, so I understand the point of view of the employer. This puts me in a unique position to offer insights to those wishing to join a graduate program in the consulting industry.
General tips (that apply to all jobs in all industries)
In any job interview, there are only three things you need to show the interviewer:
- Why the company for which you are applying is the best company in the world (even if it is not, you need to find something).
- Why you are the most capable at doing the job.
- Why you have the most motivation and drive to do the job.
The reality is that those candidates who get the offer, are not necessarily the best at doing the job or the most motivated; they are, however, the best at convincing the interviewers that they are the best at doing the job and the most motivated. If you can make a convincing case that answers the three questions above, you will get the job. So stop focusing on how good you are at the job; instead, focus on how good you are at interviewing (this is sad, I know).
Mock interviews are a waste of time, whether provided by your university or otherwise. The only real practice you can get, is a real interview or assessment centre. So apply for as many graduate programs as you can, go to all the interviews and assessment centres to which you are invited, and get hands-on practice. Remember, interviewing is a skill that needs to be learnt.
After some self-reflection, you should seek feedback from the company. I usually email the HR (human resources) and the interviewer (you can guess their email address by looking at the format of the sender address in any email you have received from them), because this is usually the only communication option they accept. Most HR will not respond to you if you are not successful, because they have nothing to gain from you and they think they have better things to do. But you never know; maybe you get lucky and encounter a HR that is passionate about their job.
Consulting- and assessment-centre-specific tips
Practise you case studies, lots of them. Once you do enough, you will find that there exist only a few types of cases. The ‘correct’ responses to all cases in one type follow the same pattern, and you realise all you need to learn is just a limited number of patterns. Not to spoil the fun, I will leave them to you for discovery.
Once you become comfortable with case studies, you should be confident. This will hopefully make you calm during the real case study interview, and this is crucial. I once made a silly and basic arithmetic mistake during a case study interview because I was too nervous, and that cost me the opportunity. So take your time to answer, and always remain calm.
You need to give the employer a reason to hire you, so please find something that differentiates you from the rest of the candidates. For me, I had my essays (see https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenghao-wu/detail/recent-activity/posts/ or https://hungryandcurious.home.blog/). I gave printed copies of my essays to the interviewer at Capgemini, told him this was what I did in my free time and when I felt bored, which showed my natural curiosity and eagerness to learn just about everything, and that I was able to demonstrate the results of my learning. He seemed impressed by this, to the point where he was advertising my essays to many of his colleagues. Remember, you need to provide the interviewer with one single point of differentiation that they can take away.
Now, about the assessment centre. You’d be surprised by the large number of assessors who only notice those candidates who are ‘loud’ or the most vocal. They do not seem to ask themselves “am I discrediting candidates simply because they are introvert or just naturally quiet? Have I seen or heard what everyone really had to contribute, even when some people’s contribution had been overshadowed by a dominant, loud person?”. As a result, if you are one of those naturally quiet type, you need to do one of the two following things:
- Speak up louder and more often, in a constructive manner (i.e. not in an overly dominant way, don’t be rude).
- If option one is too difficult for you, as it was for me, then double-down on my point about finding your differentiator. You have to find a differentiator that makes you so special, that you stand out even from the most vocal people, even if you do not talk much.
The element of luck
The Japanese anime Naruto taught me that luck is an important element in combat. The importance of luck is also evident in job-seeking. Not everyone appreciates what makes you unique and special, and it is a matter of luck for you to meet the person that recognises the greatness within you. I had encountered many interviewers who did not appreciate my essays, thinking it was my way of cheating, my way of compensating for the lack of performance in assessment centre.
It was by luck that I met my interviewer at Capgemini. First, he was not one of those people who could only see the superficial; he was able to identify my data analytics skill even though the conversation was hijacked by another candidate. He also understood the efforts needed to be a blogger and to share knowledge; such understanding is rare to find.
The most fortunate event, was the fact that I was the last in a full day of one-on-one final-round interviews with the Capgemini interviewer. This meant it was relatively easy for me to make a lasting impression, because no one was there to replace the impression after mine.
Some final words
Finding a job in a graduate program in consulting is certainly hard. I was on the brink of thinking it was impossible. However, it sure is worth all the sweat if you pull through. Consulting has been some of the best times I have had in my life, and I hope it will be the same for you. Feel free to raise questions in the comments, or connect with me to have a private chat!
bigWU 