Dear Community,
What professional functions in industrial companies (say manufacturing) would be considered relevant work experience for entering MBB firms after completing the MBA? Is it supply chain, operations, strategy, business development, general management, or something else?
Many thanks in advance!
They’re all relevant!
Generally MBB aren’t too concerned about what you’ve done, but whether you have excelled in what you’ve done. Did you do something innovative in your role? Were you promoted really quickly? Did you smash all your targets? Make sure your resume is full of stats to quantify your successes.
It‘s always good practice to go make sure your resume reflects the attributes each firm looks for (e.g., analytical / quant skills; leadership) so make sure your resume reflects this.
Emily's answer is spot on - it is more important that whatever you do you do it really well. I will add one more criteria - you should also do it at a place that is known for that skill. For example supply chain at Apple, Software development at Google, Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs. That will give you a lot of credibility when you apply for roles at MBB post your MBA.
Hi there,
I completely agree with the others! The most important thing is that you do well in your role and advance. That your responsibilities are relatable to consulting (so there's analytical skills, leadership, client work, etc.).
All the ones you listed work. Strategy will obviously be the best match, but the others also work!
Hey there,
It does not matter as long as you can demonstrate significant impact throughout your career and extracurriculars.
For instance, many people join McKinsey post-MBA who come from a completely different sector pre-MBA, e.g., medical doctors, military staff, etc.
Cheers,
Florian
Hello,
All of these functions are relevant (and indeed, correlate with what consultants work on). You want to demonstrate that you have made an impact, can work on a team, are a good leader, and are good with quantitative skills. As long as your resume and behavioral questions reflect this, the specific professional function doesn't matter.
Hi there,
The functions don't matter unless you are applying to a role within a practice e.g., it helps to have worked in Operations if you want to apply for the Ops practice in McK.
Otherwise, MBB and pretty much all other firms focus on skills. It's about the abilities not the knowledge. There are experts out there who can help you fill in the knowledge gaps whenever you are missing those on a case.
Best,
Cristian
