A Brazilian female client turns down offers from…
…BCG, Bain, Booz and Roland Berger in the middle of the worst recession in recent memory and takes on an investment banking role at Goldman Sachs!
In her words:
“I thought the consulting firms were just so arrogant. I mean these guys came to my school cocktail events and did not even want to be there. They had these fake smiles and gave fake answers. And they were just so rude and misleading. I don’t have a green card. So don’t lead me on with interviews and then ding me in the final round. Just be honest up front.
I just could not do it anymore. The interviews were usually [with] weak first-year associates who were in my position just 9 months ago! And they did not even know there cases well. I worked in management consulting as an analyst. I know the game and what is the lifestyle. I did not need these boring and lame stories to mislead foreign students and bolster turnout. I actually believed Accenture and turned down a Morgan Stanley cocktail event to attend the Accenture event. That was the worst decision I ever made. I checked with 4 Accenture recruiting managers if my lack of a green card would be a problem and everyone said it would be fine.
Then, after a final round where I was told I “I was a superstar,” they declined me since I was not a US citizen. That was the last straw for me. I was so disgusted, I withdrew from my other interviews and just went with the bankers.
I went to business school adamant I would enter management consulting. I was shocked by the poor value system in the US.
I even heard one interviewer say, “Goddamit, that girl is hot,” and he was not even out of sight, and I could hear him. I sometimes clearly felt people read my resume and just invited me to look at me. It was demeaning. One interviewer told me he liked my accent and then wanted to discuss my prior career. I walked down a ramp. That was it. There was not much to discuss.
When it comes to arrogance, consultants are worse than bankers!”
Hi Everyone,
Loved this article. I am hooked to this website because of the bold and honest nature of the articles. I am a senior in a large public school and Accenture does not sponsor international students at this University to work there full time. The other firms I interviewed with and the one I ended up taking an offer with did not even ask about my citizenship status and are going to sponsor me to work there.
Given the story, I am sure this client of yours is going to be a superstar wherever she goes.
Once again, thanks for such great articles!
Thank you. That is our philosophy. Honest and bold stories.
Sounds like she ended up wasting a lot of time because of the misinformation. In that case, Accenture showed a serious case of unprofessionalism. It really does sound like an Accenture specific problem though. I haven’t read of many people being dinged solely on green card status, especially if they truly are superstars. Whomever tells you green card is not an issue and turns around and says it is… not cool.
Her interviews with the others, such as BBM+RB may have involved incidences of fake smiling, but if she’s attractive, then that’s that. Men stare. Women stare at hot men too, otherwise male movie stars would be butt ugly, and acting would only be about the conveyance of emotions and have nothing to do with looks. Men smiling at her and being interested in her does not mean, at the end of the day, that people don’t respect her as an equal on the working floor. And at the end of the day, I’m glad she could find a place that makes her feel comfortable (Goldman Sachs). But I don’t think a couple incidences such as these reflects all individuals of all firms. But I guess the overt blurting out of “she’s hot” is a bit unprofessional. It shows a lack of professionalism in a professional setting.
In any case, she ended up at Goldman Sachs. You can’t say she ended up in a worst place because she’s attractive. Similar prestige. More money. What can you say?
John,
I completely agree. We printed the story not because we think consulting firms are unprofessional in any way. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Management consulting firms are far more professional than most sectors. I am of course going to be accused of bias here, but having led recruitment and now actively involved in recruitment worldwide, this is indeed an isolated incident.
But it is not the only one. Several female clients, whom many would consider attractive, have complained about US hiring with BBM+RB in the last 6 months. That said, it is difficult to know what happened, and even then, these events are very few.
Wrt to the green card, that is not as uncommon as one thinks. However, a brilliant candidate would entice a firm to sponsor them. And all the major firms with whom we work, sponsor candidates.
We merely presented this as an interesting story. One data point of many to help with decision making. That said, we have seen a lot of similar issues with Accenture. What upsets us here is that Accenture told her they were not hiring those without green cards, but would make an exception in her case. I know because we were blind-copied on all correspondence. To then tell someone she “aced” the case and decline her due to her status is extremely disrespectful. The comments about her features etc are of course completely inappropriate. I cannot think of any excuses there. We have also seen similar, again, because we were copied, problems with Deloitte S&O in Canada, South Africa, Australia, UK, France and Portugal.
The other upsetting issue is that this is actually a very genuine candidate. I have yet to see someone who is so humble, sincere, hardworking and honest despite her accomplishments. She actually declined another bank who offered her more money and a larger signing bonus because she had already verbally committed to Goldman. Moreover, she did not use this as a bargaining card for a higher Goldman salary.
To me, it is tragic that management consulting who lose someone who is so naturally gifted.
Some may argue that declining the Booz, RB, Bain and BCG offers may be too dramatic, but to be fair, most of our opinions are shaped by one bad experience, and we frown upon those who set themselves up for pain twice.
Do I think this was a loss for management consulting. Definitely.
Was this typical consulting behavior? Not at all. However, these few interviewers hurt consultings’ reputation.
Will she succeed in banking? Future CEO material, guaranteed.
Michael
Rather than a simple misinformation/misunderstanding, this actually sounds more like outright deception. In this case, I can 100% understand the disappointment with those involved.
Like others have mentioned before me, kudos for sharing this with us. This is good informationt o have. I’m not female, or a hot brazilian for that matter, but the culture of deception is not one I’d want to be a part of and I’m sure many others would feel the same. Too much trouble to always have to watch your back because you walked into a den of wolves.
Agreed, by discussing these things it calls out unprofessional behavior and forces changes.
Wow! Kudos for publishing this article even when it doesn’t picture your industry in the best light….is it really true that the big consulting firms don’t take people in unless they have green cards or US citizenship? I guess it would be hard to say that they ABSOLUTELY do not take people that require sponsorship, but is having a green card or citizenship somehow tip the balance in an applicants favor if he/she is competing for the same spot with a foreigner?
It totally depends on the person and circumstances. Every year, we do place people in the US who need sponsorship.
This may be an Accenture specific incident. I was dinged in my first round for their management consulting program too, I am positive I killed the case (got excellent feedback) but I am not a citizen and would need an H1B for American projects. All the other firms I interviewed with however did not even ask me my citizenship status and the firm I ended up going with is sponsoring me.
It probably is Accenture specific. BBM + RB do tend to sponsor people.