How does experienced hiring (generally) work in consulting? Are there cycles similar to campus recruiting or is it year-round? Got laid off a few weeks back and the job hunt has been frustrating

Not sure there's any cycle, I jus applied. If h need a referral let me know :)

Get a good head hunter. It's not as cyclical as campus but Q4 is usually a freeze in my experience.

Laid off or fired? I feel like ppl often confuse the two.

No cycle, can apply and join anytime

As they said, if laid off...life is easier. Xhire is generally not tied to calendar like campus hire, other than fiscal year ebb and flow. Generally several cycles of increasingly serious interviews 1-hr screen 2-technical or expertise area 3- leadership lvl is generally the progression though there can be others and more than one at a lvl. Cold email out thru your LinkedIn and 'real' network and try to get an advocate who will lobby/market for you (if their firm is giving referral bonuses they'll appreciate you giving them 'exclusive' on your resume). If that doesn't get you on the right desks fast enough to keep you calm, also apply at sites of targets that interest you (but that can undercut referral bonus to your contacts there) and approach a very few headhunters (try to get referrals from your network for ones in your target subject/geo/lvl). Stay calm, stay healthy, you'll be fine.

Thanks ACN1! I may take you up on that :) D1 - I got a few weeks of severance, wasn't even at the firm long enough for a review, and it was during the mass FS exodus so I'm assuming laid off

SM1 - wow! Thank you for the thorough response and great advice. What are your thoughts on reaching out to people at firms where I declined offers during campus recruiting? I am still really fresh out of school, but I feel kind of awkward, almost like breaking up with someone for somebody else and then running back to them 6 months later.

PwC OP- Treat those recruiters as distant members of your network. Be real, don't gloss over or obscure things, but be prepared for them to ask. Try... 'We were last in touch during your firms 2015 recruitment efforts at XYZ University. Here is a current resume. Would you be willing to discuss current opportunities... (Or whatever language is appropriate to how things were left).' You probably will have to explain why you are at liberty so fast. Stay calm. You've learned a lot since you last talked to them. It's an adult conversation , you didn't fail, but now you want to move on w your career.