US T25MBA PM to MBB International offices

Hi there, 

A couple of actions you might consider:

1. See if you have any alumni from your MBA program who are currently working with MBB in ME. If so, reach out and ask nicely for a chat. The response rate is usually not bad, if the person graduated recently.
2. See if you have any contacts who are currently in MBB or used to be in MBB in the US (could be MBA Alumni, ex-MBB now in FAANG, or even from your own circle), and check if they can put you in connection with someone from the ME office.
3. Lastly you can reach out cold to current or ex MBB people in the ME, though the response rate would be much lower than the previous 2 options. 

Good luck!

Emily

Hi there,

Q: How should i go about networking for the same at offices like Abu Dhabi/Qatar?

To find a referral, I would recommend three key steps:

1. Identify the people who can help you (alumni of your school/current firm work well, you can find them via LinkedIn)
2. Write them a customized email
3. Have a call and indirectly ask for a referral

My tips for the process:

• You can use LinkedIn to find the people to contact, but I would recommend writing an email rather than sending a LinkedIn message – you have more control over emails. You should target a 30% conversion for your messages; if you are not achieving that, there is space for improvement.
• When sending emails, your goal should be to organize a call, not to ask questions – you can then use the call to ask questions.
• Ideally, you want to close the call with an indirect request for a referral – don’t leave that to chance. There are specific ways to phrase it so that it’s not pushy.

I would recommend preparing three main things before the call:

• Your own pitch. 3-4 lines should be enough.
• 3-4 questions about the person's personal experiences. Avoid asking questions about the company.
• A closing question for the referral. It should be an indirect request to avoid being too pushy.

Before the call, I would recommend having your CV and Cover ready – in this way, you can send them right away if the person wants to refer you. 

Following the same process, I got 6 invitations out of 6 applications, including all MBB. I regularly see my mentees getting referrals for MBB as well.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, assuming that you don't just want to network for the sake of it but are aiming for a referral, I would strongly advise you to first research whether there are any specific MBA program recruiting events for these consulting firms in the Middle East.
• Moreover, if not, you can still search on LinkedIn for people who ideally share something in common with you, as they are more likely to provide you with a referral compared to consultants with whom you have no prior connection.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your application files, for your upcoming pre-interview assessments and/or interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

in addition to what was suggested, two more tips:

1) there are often specific events for a region (e.g., I remember attending a BCG Middle East coffee chat event).

2) if you reach out cold via LinkedIn, try to filter for people with similarities (e.g., same school, nationality, degree, etc., where you can catch their attention and bond over it).

Feel free to reach out for more tips and support in the preparation process.

Cheers,

Kevin

Hi there,

Great that you have such a specific target.

Re networking, I've actually put together two guides that are aim specifically at this:

• Expert Guide: How To Handle Networking Calls and Get Referrals
• Expert Guide: How To Get Referrals Via LinkedIn?

Best,
Cristian

In addition to what other coaches have said, your 'why the Middle East' story needs to be really tight.

Lots of great candidates won't pass screening because they have no demonstrable connection to the region.