At a couple of recent interviews for graduate positions I have been asked how my applications are going with other companies.I didn't get as many interviews as I would have liked and I haven't had an offer yet but do I disclose this in an interview? I don't want them thinking 'If all the other companies don't want to employ him then why should we?'How should I respond to this if it's asked at my next interview? Keep the answer vague or be totally honest??

Just say you have targeted your applications very deliberately and as a result, this is your sole interview? Is this not obvious? This can dovetail nicely into the "why us?" question, as you can wax lyrical about the joys of McConsulting Ltd.

How irritating. Why do these companies think they have a right to ask such personal questions. It's none of their business and puts you in an awkward position if you'd prefer not answer this rather quite intrusive question.

From a recruiter's point of view, this is a question I ask in nearly every interview. It tells me 1) how quickly I need to make an offer, if there are likely to be multiple offers and 2) if the candidate has any real understanding of the consulting market.A candidate who applied to the FPM practice of EY, Accenture, and Deloitte probably understands the market. Someone who has an application in at Accenture, PA, and McKinsey is probably desperate for any job and doesn't really know what they're aiming for or understand the consultancy market.

As an interviewer then if someone told you that they had already recieved an offer would that make you less or more inclined to make them an offer, or should you never reveal that you are already holding an offer?

It really depends on the candidate. If they were already holding an offer, I'd want to explore a little further why they were talking to us. If they were a marginal candidate, I probably wouldn't take them forward, since they would probably end up with someone else anyhow. If they were a strong candidate, their other offer would influence the speed with which we responded and could potentially influence any job offer we made.Ultimately, though, we generally avoid getting into bidding wars. We'll offer broadly the same package as we would have otherwise, and rely on our differentiating factors to attract good staff. We don't want someone working for us who has come solely on the basis of a higher salary -- we want someone who genuinely wants to work with us.So, as always on this board, the answer is "it depends." Horses for courses, really.

VI what do you mean exactly on point 2?How does the question 'How are my applications going with other companies?'necessarily inform you of 'Does the candidate have any real understanding of the consulting market?'The implicit assumptions could be so vast as to be meaningless.Take Consulting Director Bloggs - she might/might not have a vast knowledge of the consulting market and have applications with any number of firms. But without wishing to trick you too much, what happens if she has between 0 and 5 applications? It is helpful for starting a conversation, but does it really tell you that much about their knowledge of the market, if they have 1 application versus 5 applications? or apply to McKinsey instead of Deloitte?

hardhat, it's not the number of applications that concern me. It's the type of consultancy that they're applying for.If I work at McKinsey and a candidate tells me they're also applying at Bain and BCG, it tells me that they are looking for a strategy role. They're applying to some of the best firms in the market. This is a reasonable job-hunting strategy -- I'll just need to be convinced that McKinsey is their first choice in order to offer them the position.However, if they apply to McKinsey, Accenture, PA Consulting, and EDS (and let's assume they're not looking for a role in IT Strategy, where such a portfolio wouldn't look so far out of place) it would be a different story. Because they'd essentially be telling me that they had applied to a strat house, a large IT advisory firm, an operational consultancy, and an SI house. Which would immediately say to me: this person doesn't know what they want.I generally see this type of unfocused effort from junior-level candidates and those from industry, most of whom are unsuccessful in their applications. If you've got a shotgun approach at job-hunting, it's very hard to annunciate why you'd like to work in one area or another -- you're backing too many different horses at once.I would be amazed if this happened with Consulting Director Bloggs. By the time you've hit Director, you've got a very clear idea where you fit in the marketplace, and I would be shocked to find one who was applying for an unsuitable role. Similarly, it's very rare that I would ask the question "where else are you applying" to someone who had a strong track record in consulting -- their CV would tell me about the sorts of places that they're likely to apply.

Hi, village idiot, would you share the interviewer point of view on the answer of this question for a graduate position please, 'currently in the early stage of big4 application process due to academic finishing time, although the position & the company are both my initial choice, also believe would bring more vaule for the company in this position.'Also, do you think it's approriate to give some your own opinion about the threats and potential of the service line you applied for, then backup with your own experience in this area(non consulting through), try to convince the interviewer you would be a good fit for the position.Would be really appreciate your view on this, thank you.

A, you raise an interesting point (and one that drives me nuts when I interview graduates). I understand the value my service line can bring far better than any graduate ever will -- and in general, trying to talk knowledgably about an industry where you don't have much experience only reveals your ignorance.The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. It is unlikely that you can 'convince' me through your arguments that you're the right person for the job. I am much more likely to make my decision based on the overall evidence at hand.As a graduate, you should be able to:- Comment on the other firms that you're applying to, understand what they do and how they differ from one another.- Have thought out the companies you're applying to and have a rationale for applying.- Demonstrate that you're bright, having an understanding of business, commerciality, and are eager to learn. Too many grads try to impress and come off as 'know-it-alls'- Demonstrate that you understand the key skills we're looking for in this businessI work for an operational consultancy. If you came here for an interview, I would expect to see evidence of all of the above -- and you would be a good fit if you could demonstrate that you were numerate, analytical, presentable, and mature. I would understand 100% if you were applying to our competitors, but I would expect you to have at least some idea about how we differ (or asked some good questions about this).I've worked within Big 4 companies for years, and even with my experience, it's hard to differentiate one from another. The answer is unlikely to be in the annual account or the graduate prospectus.If I were applying for accountancy, operational consulting, and strategy consulting, I might just tell the interviewer the other companies in the relevant field where I was applying. So if I was applying for KPMG Audit, I would mention that I applied for Deloitte Audit as well, but wouldn't mention my McKinsey or JP Morgan application.Hope this helps

Thanks alot for the reply, VI, it was really valuable for me.As i understand from this, you would expect straight answer for the question you asked, it's better to keep it simple/structured.And for another question, i believe 'know-it-all' is the first thing should avoid, never mention being ignorance. You might understand sometimes a graduate want to showing enthusiasm and competence for the job.But from your advice, i understand we need to concentrated on the 'difference' between firms and its service, (think might take the approach from the recent action and the resulted possible growing direction?), and the people of your firm i met are certainly a great factor compare to others. so should i prepare the answer based on the obvious and positive thing about the firm, and concentrated on the competence skills of the positon?another quick question: you mentioned in a previous thread that the chance for a candidate who require work permit to get a interview is very slim, is it true?

Would agree with that response overall VI, although I would not underestimate McK regarding operations consulting.VI might have time to offer you a better response A on work permits. However it can be done (based on experience), but need for a work permit is a negative for most roles (unless you are able to meet a role requirement through your local market/language knowledge).See it from the employers point of view. Two graduates one job. A graduate has a work permit and another does not. Unless graduate A (without work permit) can demonstrate strengths that outweigh the administrative costs (and in some cases the risks that a permit will not be given) then why would they not go for graduate B with the permit ?There is certainly more to it than this, but that is logically a way to consider this question. It might therefore make more sense to apply for local market roles first and then obtain a work permit as your career moves on? Although of course you should consider this in terms of your own specific circumstances as well.

hardhat, I accept that McK has an operations consulting capability -- but thought I would use straight-forward examples that most people could relate to. There's an exception to every rule, and that highlights my point -- if someone can articulate why they've applied to PA *and* the operational practice at McK, they probably understand their area. If they've just shot-gunned, they probably won't.A - I think it's very unlikely you'll find a graduate position if you don't have permission to work in the UK. If you are here on a student visa, I think the law has changed to allow you to take a job after university for two years -- check with the IND website for specifics.

Hi, hardhat and VIThanks a lot for the advice, really appreciate the opportunity to get help from some senior professionals.hardhat, thank you for the strategical advice on my problem, i actually considered the factor of thinking from employer's point of view since i've decided to apply for graduate position, i understand the chance is highly unlikly, but still wanna give my best shot. And another thing you said about apply local market is actually kind of meet VI's suggestion on the subject.(i might misunderstand it)I'll be entitled the Fresh Talent Scheme after graduation, which would happen after April. The scheme give me two years of working permit to work in Scotland, and one year in the rest of UK. I understand i need a work permit for join any graduate program in London office, but what happens when i apply to a position in Edinburgh office, particularly for the 18mth Business Advisory program.VI, would you be kind enough to give some advice about this please, thank you.A

From my point of view, having a mix of consultancy companies (McK, PA, Accenture as used above) at graduate level isn’t a problem as:-Graduates apply to any company that has any sort of profile on campus, and the big brand names are often not that distinguishable in the literature handed out, they’re full of buzzwords and how great they are with very little content (perhaps reflecting the industry they represent!). The best way for a grad to really understand if you fit with a company is to get an interview with them. -Linked to the above, consultancies themselves do a god-awful job in explaining what it is they do at campus events. Very often, you get the viewpoint of a consultant from one practice which doesn’t represent the company and therefore doesn’t inform students in their application to other areas. -As a graduate it’s very hard to benchmark how good you are as you’re applying for your first proper job, so if you only apply to 3-4 companies the law of averages says you probably won’t get a job in consulting unless you’re truly excellent. With such a short window of opportunity to apply, to me it’s acceptable to put 12-15 applications out and then see what happens. Companies can be declined if you get a decent response. What bugs me more is the ones who are full of themselves coming in saying they are pursuing applications in investment banking and consultancy and haven’t yet decided. In other words, they feel like they should have a “prestigious and rewarding career” but haven’t bothered at all to research it. It’s obviously more worrying if experienced industry hires have a scattergun approach as they should know a bit better.On the original point about what to say if you’re shorthanded, my advice is simply to be polite but vague as, quite frankly, it’s none of their business in the way that “How much do you earn?” or similar questions are to experienced hires. As it’s none of their business, this is one part of the recruitment process where, to me, it’s acceptable to tell a few porkies if you need to. Have the story in your head before you go in as any hesitation will make you look like you’re making it up on the spot. Basically, my advice would be to say something like, “This is the first interview I have but I’m in the recruitment process for another 3 companies.” Some interviewers will leave it at that, if they push for names say, “I have an interview with x next week (name a direct competitor) and 2 other companies have said they’ll get back to me with a date in the next day or two.”. If they’re particularly nosey, make sure you have another 2 names to say in case they ask.