If you're a current consultant applying to MBB, would there be a higher expectation from you in terms of performance or is the bar/standards to pass the same as everyone else?
In theory the bar is the same but from experience and observation of other interviewers, I would say the bar is actually higher. The ultimate question becomes "would I staff this candidate on my team today?" and a little less of the "potential" where the mental consideration set is not really the other candidates but a similar tenured consultant that the interviewer has/is working with.
If you're a current consultant you're likely to apply for a position with higher tenure. And that comes with higher expectations. If you want to be a Consultant, not an Associate Consultant, I expect more. Not because you should be better, but because you expect a better offer.
In that sense, the expectation is same for a current consultant as it is for a current banker or entrepreneur if they apply for the same position.
Objectively, the bar for performance will be the same for a specific position regardless of where the candidate is coming from.
I have worked with many successful consultants who struggled just as much as anyone else with their case prep, because they were never trained on these skills. So it makes sense that the bar is not objectively higher.
Subjectively, however, there is sometimes a bit of a higher expectation for "polish" from someone who is a current consultant,
Bottom line, prepare as well as you need to, don't look for ways to put more pressure on yourself.
Hope that helps!
Allen
Yes, expectations with be higher for sure. Evaluation criteria will remain same & standard. So its in your interest to give your best, perform above par and make it easy for the interviewer (s) to say Yes.
Hi there,
Officially/objectively, the bar is the same across all candidates for a given role. This is true in that you are all measured across the same criteria in the same way. However, there are of course higher implicit expectations and this can skew ratings down a bit if you're not as knowlegeable as they'd expect someone in your level to be. This is especially true when it comes to the behavioral piece.
Bar is higher as you should have more relevant and directly applicable problem solving skills and real world examples to bring to the table.
Best,
Udayan
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