CV Positioning for MBB After 3 Years in Big 4 (Non-Strategy)

Question

Hi everyone, I would appreciate advice regarding CV positioning for generalist strategy roles.

I come from a target school background and passed MBB CV screenings three years ago at graduation. I now have 3 years of experience in a Big 4 (non-strategy) practice and am applying to the strategy divisions of MBB/Tier 2 firms.

My work has included large-scale transformation projects (process standardization and implementation initiatives across multiple functions) as well as diagnostics covering IT operating model design, governance reviews, and organizational assessments within corporate IT environments.

When positioning this experience on a CV for generalist strategy roles, should I explicitly reference the IT department / IT governance context, or is it better to frame it more broadly in terms of operating model redesign and enterprise transformation?

Regarding extracurriculars, most of my leadership involvement was during university. At the 3-year experience level, is it preferable to keep only the strongest past extracurricular experience, or is recent involvement expected?

Regarding title calibration: my current formal title is Associate Consultant (with promotion to Senior Associate Consultant expected in the next cycle), but I am applying now. For strategy applications, is it better to keep the official Associate Consultant title, or simplify it to “Consultant” to better reflect 3 years of experience ?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated !

Answer 1

Hi! Would be good to understand what level of roles you're considering at these firms, and given the multi-faceted question, would be worthwhile having a CV review to determine what works best. Happy to help and wishing you the best!

Answer 2

Hey!

I was in a very similar position, so sharing what worked and what recruiters explicitly told me.

1. Positioning Big 4 non-strategy experience:
For generalist strategy roles, I would lead with the enterprise model angle, not the IT label. Mentioning IT is fine only as context, not as the core framing. Recruiters screen for problem scope, seniority of stakeholders, level of ambiguity, decision impact.
So instead of (for example) “IT operating model” I would frame it as: “Enterprise operating model redesign and governance transformation across multiple functions, with IT as the primary execution layer”, or maybe a little bit shorter. Same logic for each project you had. You can still reference IT where it adds credibility (in terms of complexity, scale), but avoid making your profile look like a functional IT specialist. The story should be: enterprise transformation, not IT consulting.

2. Extracurriculars after ~3 years of experience:

At the 3-year mark, recruiters care much more about professional leadership, not extracurriculars.
I would recommend: keep 1 strong university leadership experience if it is truly distinctive (founder, president) if you had it. Do not force recent extracurriculars just for recency, as no one expects heavy involvement once you are working full-time.

3. Title calibration (Associate Consultant vs Consultant):

That’s a common problem for Big 4. Never inflate titles - MBB recruiters do background checks and value consistency. I would keep the official title (“Associate Consultant”). Use bullet points signal the seniority, not the title. If your experience reads like a Consultant, they will map you accordingly regardless of label. Also, expected promotion can be mentioned in the cover letter or recruiter conversation, but not on the CV. And mention it only if it is already approved.

Good luck with your application. I can help you with further consultation if you’d like.