Following is a success story report from a student who received an offer from several firms and accepted an offer from Bain in it they share a great example of perseverance.

Success Story:

Thank you very much for providing so much great material for free. I also found a lot of value in the LOMS materials that I purchased after going through the Case Interview Secrets videos. From these materials and a lot of hard work, I was able to interview with most of the Big 4 consulting firms and MBB. After receiving offers from all but BCG, I decided on Bain as my final choice. I owed it to you to at least let you know how appreciative I am of your willingness to help CIBs!

If I could stress any of your words of wisdom, it would be to practice perseverance, especially for students from non-target schools like me.

After reading your article on CVs and resumes, I set my sights on getting a big name employer since I didn’t have any work experience or a big name school on my resume.

With high grades, SATs, and campus involvement, I decided this was the only lever I could pull to really increase my chances of landing a consulting gig. I was turned down across the board for internships/interviews at the consulting firms listed above as well as five other opportunities. I was steadfast in my search though, and I landed an internship at Goldman Sachs in NYC.

This past fall I got interviews from every company that had turned me down the year before, and I believe I have perseverance and my resulting internship to thank for that.

As far as getting numerous offers to choose from, I realize how instrumental Caseinterview.com was in helping me develop my case interview skills. At least 100 undergraduate students have asked me how I was so successful with recruiting, and I directed them towards your site, advising them to learn and practice with what you offer.

My Reply:

Congratulations on all the offers!  And thank you for pointing out the path you took to get them. I think it’s very significant that your resume a year and a half ago was completely lacking big name employers and schools, and you strategically considered what levers you could pull (too late to change the school) and recognized that an internship with a BBNE – Big Brand Name Employer – was the only card left to play.

I love perseverance stories like yours because I think it is inherently very fair. We have no control over what raw talent we may or may not have. But we all have the choice in deciding how hard we work — often in the face of no immediate short-term result. In your case, you’ve demonstrated that a path for non-target, non-brand name employers on resumes does exist. It may not be easy, but it’s an avenue that does exist.

Again I offer you my congratulations and I can’t emphasize the following statement enough:

You earned it!