There are 140 applications for every graduate job.
I had no spring week and still got four internship offers. This free course shows you how.
Exhibit 1 Where applications end
You need to be in the top 0.7% to get a role.
Out of every 100,000 applications to a large firm*
- Applications100,000 (100%)
- Application screen12,500 get through (12.5%)
- Online test7,500 get through (7.5%)
- Video interviewnot every firm uses this stage
- First round7,500 (7.5%)
- Final round2,400 (2.4%)
- Offer500 (0.5%)
*Estimates based on published third party figures for a large strategy firm, scaled to 100,000 applications. Firms do not publish numbers for each stage. The 140 is the mean applications per graduate vacancy across UK employers, Institute of Student Employers, Student Recruitment Survey 2025. Consulting is not reported on its own. ISE's 2024 survey recorded more than 1.2 million applications to just under 17,000 graduate vacancies at the employers that responded.
Most of them start with Unfortunately.
This course is how you get to the other email.
Tap the email to flip it.
Why I made this course Too many people sell you things that should be free.
Nobody told me which stage was stopping me, so I worked it out the slow way. A lot of the best material is already free online if you know where to look. I put these courses together so they take you straight to it, and keep you on top of the work every day.
Free
- The five week course, one email a day
- Every link it sends you. Practice tests, the case pages, the firm library
- A recorded mock case with its completed mark scheme
- The free employability quiz
Paid, only if you want it
- Time with a mentor from your industry who has been through the process
Everything here is free, except time with a mentor. You only pay for that if you want it.
Who is this free course for
- You are applying and not getting through. Find the stage that keeps cutting you, then train that one.
- You are starting out and have no idea where to begin. Day one tells you where to begin. Day two follows.
What stream is right for you
If you are happy working through it alone, the free course is all you need.
Start the free courseFive weeks, one stage at a time
Every email gives you a link, a task and the time it takes.
- Week 1
Application. Target firms and deadlines, your CV, your reason for the industry.
- Week 2
Online tests. Timed practice sets and an error log.
- Week 3
Video interview. Five stories, recorded and watched back.
- Week 4
First round. Structures, case maths, reading charts.
- Week 5
Final round. A recommendation that holds up under pushback.
Days 1 to 5 are tasks. Day 6 is for catching up. On day 7 you score yourself. See every day of the consulting course.
Example email, week 1, day 3
Week 1, day 3. Your CV
Yesterday
You wrote three reasons for choosing consulting.
The stage
Application. A recruiter reads your CV against the role, and a bullet point without a result gives them nothing to score.
Today, about 30 minutes
Rewrite five bullet points as action, task and measurable result.
Tomorrow
A 60 word reason for one of your target firms.
Mark today as doneTake the free employability quiz
See which percentile of candidates you are in, and what it takes to reach the top 1%. It takes about five minutes and asks for no details until the end.
The free course, or the course plus a mentor
Mentoring is for people who want to improve fast, or want guidance through the unknown.
| Free course | Standard | Accelerated | Expert session | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For | People who will do the work without check ins | People who want guidance through the unknown | People who want to be ready by a set date | People with a specific firm and round coming up |
| Includes | Five weeks of daily emails and weekly checkpoints | The course, a mentor call every two weeks, a short written comment on each weekly checkpoint | The course in four weeks, with one dedicated mentor. Replaces Full Track | A mock case or fit interview with a mentor |
| Mentor time | None | 30 minutes every two weeks, paid two weeks at a time | 15 minutes every other day, 14 sessions in all | One 30 minute session |
| You end with | A rewritten CV, a test error log, five stories, scored practice cases | The same, reviewed by your mentor | The same, corrected every other day | A score on seven skills and three next steps |
Prices are shared when you ask about mentoring and vary by stream. *Example figure, set by hand each cycle.
Who runs it
I'm Ishaq. I read every request for mentoring myself, and I interview each mentor before they join.
Every mentor will have been through the process they coach.
Exhibit 2 My own season
Start the free course
Day one arrives the day after you sign up.