MSIE at HEC Paris - is it valid for entry to MBB/Tier 2 consulting?

Hi there,

Look, the honest answer is somewhere in between. There's no way it's going give you as good of a shot as an MBA. Also, remember that half of an MBA is the in-person networking it provides.

I'd be surprised however if you're locked out of recruiting and can't apply/recruiting for MBB/Tier 2. Ultimately you need to check with the school itself to understand how their recruiting works. Ask current/past students there about their experience. Literally reach out to them on linkedIn and ask how they found the program. Nothing beats hearing from the horse's mouth!

Hi there,

Q: MSIE at HEC Paris - is it valid for entry to MBB/Tier 2 consulting?

I would check on LinkedIn looking for alumni of the program and where they ended, that should give you a data-driven answer.

In general, regardless of whether the school has a clear track record or not for consulting, you may still get invitations leveraging referrals. Although, if they do have a track record, getting invitations will be easier. So it’s good that you are doing due diligence in advance.

You can find more on networking and referrals at the link below:

▶ How to Get an MBB Referral

Best,

Francesco

Hi there, 

To be honest, HR/recruiters care a lot less about your education when they do the screening than about your other experiences on your CV. The most important thing is to show a long-term interest in consulting (e.g., having been part of a consulting club / society at university) or some consulting skills (e.g., having done an internship with a consulting firm or in a consulting role). So from that point of view, MSIE is totally fine. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

hope to shed some light on your question, which includes different aspects

1. Target school - HEC is for sure one of Europe's prime target schools for MBB - so most likely you will have a dedicated recruiting team of Tier 1
2. Business relevance - MBB tries to hire diverse, I.e. with different educational background- acknowledging that still ~50% have a pure business background, they have established Management/Business trainings for new hires with non  business profile.
3. Outstanding academic profile - with respect to your cohort - MBB can calibrate your performance depending on your specific studies
4. Keep in mind management consulting is centered around logic reasoning, structuring and efficient way of working - whether gained in your MBA, Bachelor or Master is only 2nd importance

Will it help? Yes.

Is it the best option? No, clearly less impacful than an MBA.

Is it necessary? Only if you're not able to get an interview with your current resume. Have you actually tried networking and applying to those firms? I see a lot of people that could get into strategy consulting that for one or other reason think they don't stand a chance and don't even apply. Please apply first before deciding to take on that journey. 

Let me be clear about this - if your criteria regarding taking a specific degree is only the chance to get into MBB/T2 specifically, you should reconsider. This plan may fail, there are less expensive and time consuming alternatives, and there are other criteria that you should be taking into consideration.

This is a great question and I am happy you are asking it before starting the program.

The reality is that for postgrad degrees it is extremely important to choose both the college and the degree to optimize for MBB. The reason being that many brand name colleges use postgrad degrees as factories for making money. For example, INSEAD knows that its MBA program is its main one but it has many people that cannot qualify for the degree so they offer other programs that are not high value to essentially get fees from more people and grow revenue.

This logic is not true for undergrad degrees because getting into Oxford for undergrad is extremely difficult independent of the subject you choose to pursue. So as a signaling mechanism it is not the same as a Masters in Mgmt at INSEAD at all

In short - I do not recommend doing a cheaper/online degree because it does not provide any tangible benefits especially from a recruiting perspective.

Best,

Udayan

Hi there, 

if you are coming from HEC, which is the top prime business school (even without MBA) and you have consulting experience, I would bet you would have good chances to secure interview for entry consulting role. Please just make sure your CV and cover letter is perfect.

Lucie

Was this answer helpful?

HEC is a fantastic school! But as you don’t have a MBA what they’ll likely do is ask either than you come in at the same level as an undergrad (BA / Consultant / Associate Consultant), or a level just above that but below an MBA (Junior Associate at McK - a variety of roles at the others). Speak with the recruiting teams to figure out the right role for you and good luck! 

Hello!

My 2 cents here: never do an MBA mainly because it may open you the doors to consulting. 

It's a huge time and money investment, and you need your reasons to be more solid than that, or you can very well regret it. 

Cheers, 

Clara