Breaking into MBB after 2 years of Industry

Question

Hi Everyone,

I am a recent graduate from Imperial College (integrated masters student) who is currently working at a chemicals company's graduate programme (worked in roles from research to strategy).

I want to break into MBB in the next 6 months but am not sure what route to take. I have a couple of questions:

1) should I be going for an entry level role, experienced hire, or is it easier/beneficial to apply to a specialist role?

2) At this stage can referrals help, and with a referral can I apply any time?

3) Or should I be applying to the normal september entry cycle? (i.e. what is the best time to apply for my situation)

4) Should I be targetting other countries e.g. Amsterdam? Would that increase my chances? (note that I have an european passport but can only speak english, the Amsterdam office said english is adequate)

A bit more context is I knew I wanted to pivot to MBB a year ago in order to broaden my industry horizons and learn key business and financial skills - I have started case prep through drills, live casing, etc. I am just not sure how to maximise my chances of getting an interview.

If anyone has any advice, I am all ears - thank you! :)

Answer 1

Hi Rushvi!

With Imperial + two years in a chemicals strategy‑adjacent role, you’re in the grey zone between entry‑level and experienced hire. You can apply to generalist Associate roles, but I’d need to see your CV to know if you’re competitive for MBB. Specialist roles (chemicals, operations, sustainability) can be easier because they value your domain experience.
Referrals help at this stage. They don’t guarantee anything, but they get your CV read by a human. With a referral, you can usually apply outside the main cycle, but only if the office is hiring.
For London, the September cycle is still the cleanest path. Off‑cycle hiring exists but is slower and more selective. If you want to maximise chances, apply in the main cycle unless a referrer tells you their office is actively hiring now.
Amsterdam can work. They hire English‑only candidates and value technical backgrounds. But competition is still high. If you’re open geographically, you can also look at offices like Copenhagen, Brussels, or even the Middle East, which sometimes have more demand.

Your real unlock is positioning: translating your chemicals + strategy rotations into consulting language. Once that’s clean, you can target MBB, but also Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 firms where your profile may convert faster.

All the best, Alessa :)

Answer 2

Hi Rushvi,

You are actually closer than you think for MBB in Europe, especially with Imperial + a grad scheme that already touches strategy. The main question now is less “is it possible?” and more “what’s the cleanest way in?”

Let me go through your questions in a practical way.

1) Entry level vs experienced vs specialist
At 2 years out, most candidates in your situation still come in through the standard Associate/Consultant track. Experienced hire is possible, but only really works if your CV clearly screams “strategy impact” (not just exposure to it).

Specialist roles sound attractive, but they’re quite narrow. If you don’t already sit strongly in that niche (e.g., chemicals strategy, ops transformation), it can actually reduce your flexibility.

So in your case, I’d normally go: generalist MBB first.

2) Referrals
They help, but in a very simple way: they get your CV seen. That’s it.

They don’t bypass interviews and they don’t replace strong case performance. So they’re useful, but not a strategy on their own.

3) Timing
In Europe, most hiring still clusters around the main graduate cycles (late summer into autumn). Experienced hire is more rolling, but slower and less predictable.

If you’re ready in about 6 months, I’d aim for the next formal cycle and also apply to relevant openings as they appear.

4) Amsterdam vs other offices
Amsterdam can be a bit more flexible than London or Paris, especially for English-speaking roles. But it won’t compensate for weak fit or casing.

Think of it as a small tailwind, not a shortcut.

If I step back, the biggest lever for you is actually how you position your current experience. Right now it sounds like “grad programme in chemicals,” but it can be framed much more strongly as exposure to strategy + operations + transformation in an industrial setting.

That narrative + solid casing is usually what gets candidates across the line.

Good luck!

Best,

Soheil