FYI: I went to a BCG Presentation at Cambridge the other day, and they said that, last year, they received 5000 applications, and made 20-30 offers for graduate places. I think everyone expects the number of applications, given the IB turmoil, to be more this year - although, they did assure us that they "hire for the long-term" and so weren't going to reduce the number of graduate places they offer.My question - does anyone know, or has anyone else been told, the applications to offers ratios of any of the other firms?

Sorry - they (BCG) said they hired for the long term and said they would be offering the same number of grad places.Another thing - I met someone from Lehman Brothers there, who had been lehhed off - does anyone have any ideas how many people will be trying to migrate from IB into MC, and does anyone know how this will affect the hiring spread. Do you think, given that fewer M&A deals are going to be done, and more and more PE companies are starting to fail, that banking experience will actually have LESS of a cache this year than it might have done in previous years (for grad hires)???

MC firms are receiving tons of CV from IBers! The point is that the only place outside banks that has a bit of prestige is MC. And I am not talking about small firms, just MBB.In my firm (Bain) we have experienced a huge increase in the number of CV received, and we literally have thousands of M&A profile in Top IB, Lehman above all. The result? It is very hard for these ex-IB to get an interview, since all the profiles are the same and we are happy with what we have. Overall, for a grad it would be a nigthmare to find a decent job in top MC.

I would just like to give a slightly different opinion from another Bainee...Firstly, we are not sure how many applications we will receive this year as our milkround recruitment ends on the 7th November. I expect it will be a similar number to that received by BCG. Undoubtedly, we will receive a great many applications from ex-IBs and I agree with my colleague in saying that they will not really have an advantage over anyone else. In terms of prestige, I feel that there are many great companies out there and that MBB is not the be all and end all! In numerous ways, there are advantages to working for a smaller firm that will make the prestige difference not as critical as some people would expect.

Thanks anon and Bainee! All very useful to know.I'm actually an English grad, not a LBer, who has been working in the arts for a few years. I was hoping to differentiate myself (you can tell I've been to a few seminars!) by basically saying that not only am I an arts grad, but I'm also someone who's had the benefit of a few years' experience, giving me extra and better development achievements in team work, communications, leaderships etc etc. So, an arts grad plus, if you like.My hope is that, despite the influx of IBers, the MBBB firms will still wants some arts grads, for diversity, and I'll be able to add value in a way that a straight graduate perhaps can't. Do you think that sounds realistic?

Ratio for my (niche) firm last year: 1,500 applications for 2 placesRatio this year: 2,500 applications and counting for 2 places.

The problem is that IBers do not have an advantage over other candidates. Actually, we (Bain) are not too admired with ex-IBers, especially those that have just 1 or 2 years experience in M&A. Those guys think that they will be hired without problem by MBB. The reality is totally different.Bain knows that its grads are as smart as IBers. So there is really no reason to hire junior IBers. The story is different for those that were Associates in some IB; their profile is very interesting.

well if you as a employer sign up with a few recruitment agencies its easy to get hundreds of applications in - that doesnt mean anything.Bainies may want to remember the events of the last economic slump. Faced with falling business in 1991, the company cut 20 percent of its workforce and nearly plunged into bankruptcy, a move staved off by a management buyout.

However, in 2001 Bain gained market share over Mckinsey and BCG because it did the opposite. Whereas the others acted conservatively, Bain hired a lot of great people in large numbers. When the downturn was over, that is when Bain hit the ground running.I agree Bain was arrogant pre 1991 but things have changed since then and we have adapted. I believe that if you compare our performance to the other 2 big players in the market, you will see we are doing extremely well.

Is Booz not a big player any more?

In 1991 Bain was in a difficult situation not because of the bad economy but rather because of Bill Bain.. The problem was purely financial, given the crazy ownership structure that was in place!!