By Application · Limited Intake Each Year

Private Careers Advisory

From education to the world’s most selective careers.

Elite Careers Strategy advises ambitious students and their families on the route into corporate law, investment banking, private capital and consulting.

From school to first role. London-based. International families.

Request a Private Diagnostic See our results

Hassan Akram speaking at a Yale School of Management MBA student-club session

Founder-led judgement. A dedicated client team. A written plan for every engagement.

Began before university · four-year engagement

Karam Kahlon, University of Exeter

HSBC 2026 Investment Banking Internship and Blackstone 2026 Spring Insight Programme.

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Named with permission. Evidence held on file.

As featured in

See each article, its date and how to check it

Documented outcomes at

Goldman Sachs · Blackstone · HSBC · Gibson Dunn · White & Case · Clifford Chance

See the evidence

Three starting points.

Before university

Typically 16 to 18

Make informed choices early.

A mother passing a cup to her teenage daughter in their kitchen

Understand how law, banking, private capital and consulting select, and which early experiences matter.

Career guidance, with a parent or guardian involved. University admissions and personal statements are outside scope. Karam Kahlon began with ECS before university.

At university

First, second or final year

Prepare for selective recruitment.

Two university students walking and talking outside a campus building

From first-year insight programmes and spring weeks to final-year applications and offer decisions.

Graduate & Early Career

After graduation

A focused next move.

A university graduate in a cap and gown standing with his parents outdoors

A defined selection process, or a considered move where ECS has depth.

A paid client outcome

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Training Contract offer

Paid Private Careers Advisory engagement · complete anonymity at the client’s request

Outcome

A Training Contract offer from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, extended after the firm completed its own selection process.

Anonymised Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher email extending a Training Contract offer to an ECS Private Careers Advisory client. The candidate name, the recruiter name and the identifying part of the subject line are redacted. — Training Contract offer · Identity protected

And beyond this one firm

Documented Private Careers Advisory outcomes at Ropes & Gray and Baker McKenzie, alongside anonymised offers at further US and Magic Circle firms.

“The best decision we made for our son.”
The client's mother, on the record.

Read the full case →Request a Private Diagnostic →

Independent view

"The strongest career strategist I have encountered - anywhere in the world."

Kristin Irish

Former Head of IB Campus Recruiting
UBS Investment Bank, New York

Former Deputy Director of Career Development
Yale School of Management

Independent endorser - not a client of ECS.

Hassan Akram in one-to-one conversation with a student after an independent Yale School of Management session. No affiliation or endorsement implied.

The advisory behind the judgement

Individual judgement. A structured practice.

Advisory led by Hassan Akram, with a dedicated client team and selection research from Who Gets In?, the firm’s research arm.

Client operations are led by Janet, Head of Client Operations, with Catrina Mira in Client Success. Tengo Meskhi, Shinaz Navas and John O’Regan advise the firm. Meet the team. clients@accessecs.com.

More than 10,000 applications and related candidate materials reviewed across recruitment work and ECS advisory. 106 documented outcomes and selection progressions across 53 candidate journeys. A deliberately limited intake each year.

Individual strategy

A written plan connecting the candidate’s profile, target firms and recruitment calendar with the work ahead.

Written, tracked execution

Assigned work, written feedback and progress tracking, with client-team coordination between advisory sessions.

Real-process rehearsal

Firm-specific applications, interview rehearsal and assessment simulations, directed by the candidate’s current priorities.

How the advisory actually works →What an engagement contains →

Find the starting point

Where does the candidate stand?

Pick the one that fits. The Diagnostic starts there.

Stage 1

Not getting interviews.

CV and written applications not converting
Online tests or video interviews screening out
Evidence not earning a reader's attention

Diagnose Stage 1 Stage 2

Getting interviews, not progressing.

"Why this career?" answers not landing
Commercial fluency or technical depth below the bar
Answer structure breaking down under follow-ups

Diagnose Stage 2 Stage 3

Reaching finals or schemes, not converting.

Assessment centres not converting
Final rounds and partner interviews stalling
Schemes not converting to an offer

Diagnose Stage 3 Planning ahead

Early in the route, or no clear strategy yet.

At school or university, planning ahead
Decisions ahead that shape later access
Strong grades, but no plan for the process

Plan the route

Outcomes vary and are never guaranteed.

How an engagement begins

Your next steps.

01ApplyTell us about the candidate, their ambitions and the decisions ahead.
02Private DiagnosticSuitable applicants meet Hassan Akram to assess priorities and fit. Parents and sponsors are welcome.
03DecideWhere there is a fit, a separate scoping conversation establishes the work and investment before you decide.

Begin with a Private Diagnostic.

Establish where the candidate stands, what matters next and whether ECS is the right fit. Suitable applicants are invited to a Private Diagnostic.

Request a Private Diagnostic

Each year a small number of exceptional candidates are selected, on merit, for the ECS Scholars Programme.

Not ready to apply?

The International Family's Guide to Elite Recruiting.

A plain-English briefing for families and sponsors, written by Hassan Akram. No obligation.