Understanding the Process

Introduction

I believe that this section is potentially very valuable, because it could save you an immense volume of time, for preparation, or just to relax and have a life. Almost all of us spend a large amount of time in the run up to placements overthinking and over-indexing on non-value adding activities. We're smart enough not to, but we do because of misconceptions about the process and because of FOMO. My hope is that a batch which understands the nuances of the placement process better, will as a whole focus more on only improving their skill-set, and will therefore have a more relaxed and enjoyable placement season (if such a thing exists).
In this section I will walk through the different steps in the placement process. Importantly, I will try to shed some light on how the firm looks at each step of the process. The details of the workings of each step may change moderately from one year to the next, as the consultancies keep evolving. However, the model that I will illustrate should remain just as effective a way of looking at the process, since the core ideas do not change.
Each consultancy will often claim that their process is superior in a certain way, while trying to put down competition. These small differences and their implications can be a lot to process, so don't bother thinking about it. While there are differences in recruiting practises, they are for all practical purposes only notional. Every consulting firm can be imagined to follow the process that I will outline.

Steps in the Process