How MBB differ from other consultancies from a learning perspective? （more from the persepctive of how MBB can make their consultants more "valuable and sought after" compared with other firms) Is there a significant difference in skillset between the two?
A very broad question and I think it's worth pointing out that ones consulting skills are not necessarily what is perceived to be "valuable and sought after". Narrowing this down just to strategy consulting, I have come across many headhunters and companies across different geographies who make the distinguishment (i.e., we only hire ex MBB consultants) more from the perspective of selectiveness and prestige.
In terms of skills, I feel it really depends on the firm and individual but MBBs (as well as others) work more on C-level strategic topics than others (e.g., project management), faster paced projects with smaller teams/greater responsibility, more variety in terms of geographies/people/topics/etc., a greater focus on apprenticeship and investment in learning, higher calibre of colleagues, rigour and professional excellence, etc.
My hunch is that the learning curve you're going through in the first few years of your career is similar for MBB and the Tier 2 firms.
What's different is the topics you're working on (to a certain extent) and the brand value of the firms. Employers of alums simply piggy-back on the competitive application process and high-pressure environment during your career progression at MBB and trust the big brands more than smaller ones. (i.e. "If they made it into MBB and survived the grind for 3 years, they must be a strong candidate")
Different topics add a bit to that (e.g. working on more high-level stratgic questions for the CEO, rather than the COO). However, I doubt that this will have a big impact unless you're making the change at a more senior point in your career.
Signalling
Top-tier universities (Harvard, Yale, etc.) do not teach students better than the next top 10-50. However, to get into them, you have to be "better".
Same thing here. MBB doesn't fundamentally train you better than the other top consultancies. However, to get in, on average, you have to be "better". This also means you're more likely to get mentored/led by the "best".
But, mostly, we live in a market of lemons, and you have to signal your value.
Hello !
I would say a few factors:
On top, it´s true that they hire top performers, hence part of that qualify and fast learning was there before joining hte firm.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Hey there,
Your question is very broad and will depend on what exit options you are thinking of as you wont become sought after for every job if you are working for MBB. Generally speaking, if you end up working for a global consulting firm for 2 years+ & really apply yourself, regardless of whether its MBB or someone else, you will end up learning problem solving, structured thinking, relationship building and communication skills for sure. And you can then go places from there. But being very specific, if you want to learn Strategy work focused on C-suite then MBB is the best place to be or for Technology Consulting & Implementation work Accenture will be a better option. So it really depends on the type of work & geographic location. A particular consulting firm is not a market leader in every geography.
Have a look at these threads too
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