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[Deleted member 3930]

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[Jaysen]

Hi, I hope everyone is doing well!

I am in my third application cycle and have attended seven assessment centres over the years, all at MC, SC and US firms. As the thread title suggests, I have not been successful at all and have not attended any vacation scheme. I managed to build on my feedback from the first three ACs but have not been able to receive any feedback for my last four ACs. I have attended mock interviews with my uni's careers services, charities and graduate recruitment teams at city firms (held in conjunction with my uni). One of the graduate recruiters even said I have a realistic shot at getting a TC!

Some of my friends say interviews often come down to luck/whether I bonded with my interviewers etc but I believe that if seven firms do not want me, then the problem must lie with me, not luck.

I would be really grateful for any views/advice/opinions. Thank you in advance !

I know several candidates who were rejected for three or more cycles, despite being very strong candidates (in my view). They subsequently secured training contracts; it was just a case of continuing to persevere. Obviously I can't say for sure, but I'd stress that sometimes the extreme competition means you'll be rejected, not because you're not suited to this, but there may be something minor that needs to be improved upon. It's often different each time, but you should also be able to improve on something different after each AC.

This is why feedback can be so important though. I'm sorry to hear that you haven't received feedback for the last four ACs. Did the firms all refuse to give some?

Finally, to me, the fact that you are continuing to secure assessment centres is a good sign. I'd be more concerned if you weren't.

 

[Alice G]

Hi, I hope everyone is doing well!

I am in my third application cycle and have attended seven assessment centres over the years, all at MC, SC and US firms. As the thread title suggests, I have not been successful at all and have not attended any vacation scheme. I managed to build on my feedback from the first three ACs but have not been able to receive any feedback for my last four ACs. I have attended mock interviews with my uni's careers services, charities and graduate recruitment teams at city firms (held in conjunction with my uni). One of the graduate recruiters even said I have a realistic shot at getting a TC!

Some of my friends say interviews often come down to luck/whether I bonded with my interviewers etc but I believe that if seven firms do not want me, then the problem must lie with me, not luck.

I would be really grateful for any views/advice/opinions. Thank you in advance !

Hi there,

I am so sorry to read you are feeling this way but I fully appreciate and understand where you are at. The first thing to say is I am completely dismayed to hear you have not had feedback from 4 firms. I really feel for you and other candidates in this position as you work so hard to complete applications, tests and prepare for ACs. I would really really entreat you to contact the firms in question and ask them for feedback, explaining you have been denied feedback four times and you really need to understand where you fell down to improve and be better next time. Whilst not an ideal situation, I know @Jessica Booker has written about submitting information access requests or something similar to get access to the data the firm has stored on you (I am no expert on this so apologies if this is not entirely correct but sure Jess can clarify).

In terms of what you say about luck - it is absolutely true. It sounds to me you have had some bad luck along the way but this has been compounded by lack of feedback. Sometimes the feedback I have had from firms has differed to my own feelings of how certain AC elements went so it is not really for you to try to infer what went well and what didn't as this cannot always be gauged accurately. Feedback is really crucial to development and it is not your fault it has not been freely given.

To give you a bit of insight into my journey: I had three ACs last year and didn't get any of them. They were all for different reasons too and I have never felt so low and helpless. Just like you are describing, I was convinced it was just down to me inherently, that I wasn't good enough/smart enough to be at these amazing firms. But just like you, I carried on, kept pushing and then I had my Freshfields AC. I felt weighed down by my three previous rejections in that cycle and it was my last shot to get my TC. I went to the day just trying to enjoy myself, to relax and soak up the experience because to tell you the truth, by that point I had resigned myself to failure a little bit because I just had it in my head that things weren't right for me that year. This was especially hard for me too because Freshfields really were my top choice firm and I remember feeling so upset that I was interviewing at a time where I felt so down about myself. However, following my AC on the Tuesday afternoon, I had just come out of a morning meeting the next day to see a missed call on my phone. It was one of the lovely partners who interviewed me the previous afternoon telling me I was being offered a TC and that I had done exceptionally well. I couldn't believe my ears and genuinely spent the next week thinking I fabricated the call.

The message I really want you to take from this is sometimes, at your lowest ebb and when you feel defeated by constant rejection, you can prevail and the seemingly impossible happens. Sometimes, it genuinely helps us as people to just try to alter our mindsets and take the pressure off a little bit. In a bizarre way, I truly think my approach of just going to that Freshfields AC to gain the incredible experience and to try to enjoy myself really ensured I performed at my best (not that I realised that at the time).

Please keep persevering and sticking at it - the fact you are getting these ACs means you will 110% get there when the time and firm is right for you. Remember, it only takes one 'yes'!

 

[Deleted member 3930]

Thank you very much for your replies and advice. It is at times like this when I am especially grateful to be in such a friendly and heartwarming community

@Jaysen I did request feedback but was unfortunately denied access to it for all four firms. I would definitely look into submitting data access requests!
@Alice G Thank you for being so honest and sharing your journey with me! Seeing your success story has motivated me to keep trying and hopefully get that one 'yes' some day in the future