anyone in management / business consulting?

[Rhone]

So I've applied for a research position at a fairly large, business consulting firm here in DC. To date, they have had me come in for 3 sets of in-person interviews, 1 hour each, in addition to the 1 hour phone interview I had with a recruiter at the beginning of the process, for a grand total of 9 hours of interviews. This is my first time ever applying for a job like this, and I'm curious if this is "normal" in the consulting world. Right now, as you can imagine, it's feeling quite excessive.

[Shajen]

This is common for some firms, they feel it gives them a better idea of what you're all about.

It's [censored] excessive though. Annoying too.

GL man.

[kenberman]

I didn't follow your explanation of how you got to 9 hours, but...

I would expect at least 1 brutal marathon day, if this is a Mckinsey/Bain/BCG/Boutique or similar firm.

do you have a sense for much how interviewing is "left"? is this is MBA/management level position, or an analyst position?

[Rhone]

[ QUOTE ]
I didn't follow your explanation of how you got to 9 hours, but...

I would expect at least 1 brutal marathon day, if this is a Mckinsey/Bain/BCG/Boutique or similar firm.

do you have a sense for much how interviewing is "left"? is this is MBA/management level position, or an analyst position?

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks for the good luck Shajen.

Ken, the 9 hours are from:

1 1 hour phone interview
3 1 hour in person interviews, day 1
2 1 hour in person interviews, day 2
3 1 hour in person interviews, day 3

it's not for a management position, it's for a research position. My understanding is that they hire a mix of MBAs, MAs, and PhDs for these positions. My sense is that I'm done, thank God, but I thought that after the second on site set of talks as well...

[kenberman]

well, then go out for a beer, and good luck!

[jakethebake]

GL

[suitedtwogapper]

when i was applying to management consulting firms (mckinsey, bain, bcg, mercer, etc. basically every big firm and many smaller ones) i probably spent an average of 7 or 8 hours interviewing with each firm with whom i made it to the final round... it was ridiculously excessive since i probably spent 60 hours total, not even thinking about travel time, in interviews only to end up with two offers. luckily they were my favorite two firms but it was a bitch, to say the least. and those were only for analyst positions! good luck, man.

[Rhone]

I got the job! Thanks for everyone's "good lucks"!! Wow, being employed...that's going to feel strange. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[VBM]

he could probably shed some insight on the process.

[M2d]

congrats. if you didn't get it, I was going to tell you to bill them for your time.

[ptmusic]

[ QUOTE ]
I got the job! Thanks for everyone's "good lucks"!! Wow, being employed...that's going to feel strange. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Could you shed a little light on the process? And your background?

Thanks and congrats!

-ptmusic

[Rhone]

Sure. I have a Ph.D. in Political Science, and my research really had nothing at all to do with business. But I met an employee at the firm that just made me the offer at a mutual friend's house, and he said that they were really looking for people with the type of quantitative and qualitative (ie., interview/survey/archival) research skills I developed in grad school. This place is more of a research firm than a consulting firm, btw.

So I kind of applied on a whim. As I wrote in my original post, I first had a phone interview with a recruiting person, then went in 3 times for in-person interviews. The interviews consisted basically of three things: detailed grilling about my dissertation (easy; my defense was fresh in my mind), behavioral (ie resume-based) questions, and business/logic case questions (harder for me since I don't have a business background; but I bought one of those wetfeet guides which was helpful). It was a month and a half between when I first contacted them and when they extended me the offer.

It's been a really long job search for me. Even though I never saw myself doing this type of work, it seems like an interesting job with a lot of smart, over-achieving type colleagues. So, what can I say, I'm very happy right now.

[ptmusic]

What's the "wetfeet" guide you mentioned?

I'm interested because after I get my MBA, I may apply for this type of job, and I know the cases are a tough part of the interviews.

Thanks,

ptmusic