Hi everyone,Just for background info, my previous post: http://forum.top-consultant.com/UK/80449/16/Paving-Out-A-Future-Career/An update for those who were interested, and also a request for guidance, a lot of you helped with the information you gave last time, and I'm hoping you can really do the same this time around.Currently finished 3rd year and working over the summer (just at my retail job in Vodafone - most consistent performer 3rd month running!), I've begun applying for graduate positions (thought it would be a good idea to get started early!). Unfortunately, I've already messed up my main target of Accenture following a telephone interview. I know a lot of you will be thinking it's pretty ridiculous failing a telephone interview for a graduate scheme, but the call came at a bad time. Two nights before, my mum phoned me and informed me that my dad had become immobile and bed bound suddenly. My father is 72 years old, and has successfully battled prostate cancer in the last 2 years, but has been deteriorating rapidly health wise, developing heart problems of late. To be blunt, he hasn't got long left. Even bigger problem with the latest development is my mum is a Regional Director of a private healthcare company, however she's always had a fear of driving and has depended solely on him to drive her in her company car. When I received the call, I decided to catch a train as soon as possible the next day. This meant waking up at half five, being on a train from Manchester to London at 6am, arriving in east London 9.45am and consequently drove 140 inner city miles that day supporting my mother. Five hours sleep that night, and had the phone interview in the morning.I know I made the right decision in terms of putting family before career (or so people around me tell me), although having comfortably got through the telephone interview last year for the internship, it's a big disappointment not to for the graduate scheme. Unfortunately, also failed Deloitte's e-tray exercise, and as such they are currently ruled out - completely devastated, it's a really difficult time for me as you can all imagine.My question is, I've been doing a lot of researching into other companies, and who is it I should be looking at for technology consultancy (company wise)? My passion really was for Deloitte and especially Accenture - I felt they were the perfect match for me. I know I can only blame myself for not performing to the best of my ability in the telephone interview, and especially the e-tray exercise. Another question is, how many of you have gone through graduate recruitment processes, and what did you find key to succeeding? I have such a passion for technology and consultancy, I know if I put myself in a room with an interviewer I can get that across however nowadays it seems as though the process is completely gruelling. Most applications have 5-6 different stages to go through (Applications, test, initial interviews, assessment centres, final interviews etc) and even just looking at the processes seems so daunting. I just really want to get my career started as soon as I graduate next July as I really believe I can be a great consultant, and I'm willing to work and claw my way up. I have realistic expectations, I just really want to get started in the industry.Any tips and advice would be very appreciated, and thanks again for reading what must be an essay by now.

Sympathetic with regard your pa's illness of course, but .....Waaaayyyy too long winded. Hope your not like that in interviews? You could just have said "a serious family illness led to extensive travel and a disrupted night's sleep"Only 5 hours sleep? I'm afraid having to do a high stress activity after "just" 5 hours sleep won't get much sympathy from consultants for whom that can be a daily occurance. Same for getting up as "early" as 5.30!One of the reasons the recruitment process at these firms is so "tough" is to find out how you work under stress and deadlines. If you are recoiling from the process are you really sure you want to work in this field. It will only be a lot more of he same...

"e-Tray exercise"?I guess they have to do some sort of testing, but these sorts of things can be so artificial. My advice is just to get over it and apply elsewhere. You seem to be giving undue weight in your job search to household name companies. Small companies can often be much better places to work - have you tried some small companies instead?

[quote]Sympathetic with regard your pa's illness of course, but .....Waaaayyyy too long winded. Hope your not like that in interviews? You could just have said "a serious family illness led to extensive travel and a disrupted night's sleep"Only 5 hours sleep? I'm afraid having to do a high stress activity after "just" 5 hours sleep won't get much sympathy from consultants for whom that can be a daily occurance. Same for getting up as "early" as 5.30!One of the reasons the recruitment process at these firms is so "tough" is to find out how you work under stress and deadlines. If you are recoiling from the process are you really sure you want to work in this field. It will only be a lot more of he same...[/quote]Looking back, I was having a bit of a vent at the situation, and I do apologise. It was way too much information, think I just needed to "get it out of my system" as to speak. Apologies for that.And in terms of pressure, stress and deadlines, that's one of the reasons I want to be in consultancy. I love working under pressure, and time constraints for me have always brought out my strongest performances. In this case, I think it was more the emotional stress than the feeling of pressure that got to me and hindered my telephone interview. Simply, I feel like I threw away a very good opportunity.[quote]My advice is just to get over it and apply elsewhere. You seem to be giving undue weight in your job search to household name companies. Small companies can often be much better places to work - have you tried some small companies instead?[/quote]This is what I feel is the problem as a student. Understandably, smaller firms may not have the budget to attend career fairs or do presentations at universities etc but it's a lot harder to come across these consultancies. Are there any you have personally come across you would recommend researching?Again, apologies to everyone for my rant earlier.

[quote]This is what I feel is the problem as a student. Understandably, smaller firms may not have the budget to attend career fairs or do presentations at universities etc but it's a lot harder to come across these consultancies. Are there any you have personally come across you would recommend researching?[/quote]have a look here - yes not really answering your come across personally or recommendation, but I think you will find this is a great place to start[url]http://news.top-consultant.com/guide_to_consulting_firms.aspx[/url]

Hi OC,Having been in your situation about 2/3 years ago I can offer you a bit of advice.First of all, don't dwell on your rejections. Learn from them, figure out why you failed and make sure you improve for next time. You failed a phone interview and e-tray exercise. Get someone to practice your phone interview technique with, and there is loads of stuff on goggle about e-tray exercises.Secondly, I would say don't limit yourself to consultancy, you have a very strong degree and you may find that some roles in industry suit you better. You can always make the move to consulting if you feel it is what you want in a few years. It's not just consultants that solve difficult problems for clients, industry do it too!Thirdly, stop writing essays on here! Consultants need to use their time carefully, you should be practicing your interview technique or applying/researching companies.Good luck, and don't get too hung up on rejections.

OC a bit more advice: you have already tried 2 of the big 5. Try the other 3: EY, PWC, and KPMG. Beware KPMG has more of an audit driven technology offering so may not be your kettle of fish (although you don't say what you want to do within tech), as it is reviewing what companies in industry do with their tech and whether it is correct, providing recommendations for improvement. If you have no luck with the big 5 you could also look at the many IT services/outsourcing firms including: HP, CSC, Steria, Bull, Fujitsu, ComputaCenter, Capita, Atos, CGI, the list is very long! These can help with the transition to consulting, as can working for a niche player or in industry.Tech is huge and has so many different options - I have worked in industry, consulting, IT services, and digital agency so don't despair. Good luck with your search