Hi James,

Sharing my perspective having been on the recruiting team in BCG, and also from having worked with and known colleagues in North America. 

I would say that you are right that you are not in the target demographic - both from an academic perspective & to a certain extent military perspective as well (quite a few candidates in top bschools that feed into MBB come from SF/Ranger/SEAL background given the similarities in traits)

You are also right that networking would be your strongest chance of landing an interview. Essentially, you'd have to find someone who is 1) willing to connect with you and 2) willing to refer your CV/pass you on to the recruiter. To me there are 2 things you can think about to better network

1. Finding an inroad/relevant connection (who should I reach out to?) 
   • Military connections
     • Try and find someone that you can leverage your military connections with - it need not be necessarily in the same department, it could be in the same unit, division/camp or maybe you served on a project or initiative together.
     • Try and ask your previous superiors that you have had a good relationship with if they can introduce you to anyone
   • School connections
     • Likely slimmer chance, but do a search or reach out to career services to see if anyone from UF is working in MBB
   • Personal connections
     • Lastly, I would suggest that you exhaust this avenue as well. Ask around - as many friends/relatives/acquaintances you know to see if anyone canconnect you
   • Cold networking (this would highly depend on point #2 below)
     • You could reach out cold to A&D or Public Sector practice areas - but you would really need to be able to pitch a strong proposition here
2. Your own value (why would MBB want to hire me? what do I bring to the table)
   • This is the big question you need to be able to answer and demonstrate. You must be able to articulate and prove that you are not average 
   • As you are fairly senior - the first question is what position/tenure are you trying to come in as
   • If you ask me, most realistic is if you maybe come in as an expert track and bring to the table at least 2 sets of expertise
     1. Industry expertise: Your A&D expertise, maybe that of the military/public sector as well
     2. Functional expertise: Ideally, the most practical functional expertise would IMO be procurement. This is because many large scale projects for Public Sector/DoD etc often involve procurement and budget related projects, and is one of the functional areas (along with operations) that certain industries lets you build up more (vs say ‘strategy’)

The above in point #2 still abit general given I don't have further context on what exactly you did in the military. But happy to hop on a quick chat if helpful - just reach out. 

All the best!

(editiert)

Hi James, 

The referral is important, but not the only thing to focus on. Make sure that you also have a great CV, cover letter and overal application strategy. This guide will explain to you how to develop these:

• Maximising your chances of getting a consulting job during an economic downturn

Specifically for referrals, I'd recommend you leverage LinkedIn. Here are the steps to focus on:

1. Prepare your LinkedIn profile
   • Make sure that you have a professional photo, a clear headline and description and that you experience on LinkedIn matches what you have in your CV
2. Search and add target contacts
   • Use the search function to identify consultants with whom you share something in common (ideally 2nd degree connections on the platform)
   • Aim to people who are at the same seniority as the one you're going for and who have less than 1 y in tenure (more likely to answer)
   • Send them a connection request (can send up to 100 per week on linkedin) without a message (messages actually decrease the probability of the connection being accepted)
3. Send messages (that lower the barrier to getting answers)
   • Once you've connected with these people, you need to send them a short message 1-2 days later
   • Keep it short, ask them to connect over a 10 min call, suggest (generous) slots when you're available, provide your phone number, basically do anything that you can to make it easy for them to connect with you 
4. Do the calls
   • Research their profile before the call
   • On the call, ask question that relate directly to their experience. Stay away from generic questions about the firm or questions you could answer yourself on google. 
   • The purpose of the call is to connect and you should think about it as an opportunity to connect with somebody who is in your target industry but has some experience ahead of you
5. Ask for the referral (indirectly)
   • If the call went well, ask something like ‘I know that recruiting is particularly tough in this period in terms of screening. How critical are referrals to get past screening for office X?'
   • This is as far as you should go. At this point they either offer, or they don't. If they don't, thank them and move to the next call. It's a funnel - eventually it will work

I work with candidates in creating this funnel and can provide also templates for the messages to send out and coaching on how to conduct the call. 

For the last point, you can also check out this guide:

• Your Guide to Consulting Coffee Chats

Best,
Cristian

Hey James,

Nice to see a fellow Terp on here!

Here are some key tips for you (internship tips apply to full time tips): https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-get-a-consulting-internship-tips-and-tricks

Ultimately you need to:

• Get as much related experience as you can on your resume
• Get the best resume possible (as in, the document)
• Best cover letter possible
• Network super effectively and a lot (aiming for referral)
• Case prep effectively (to maximize chances of offer). Some reading for this here:
  • https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation
  • https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case
  •  

Hi James,

1) As someone who isn't in the demographic of hires with MBB, is it even possible for me to break into that elite level of consulting?

We would need more information for a complete assessment but there are a few things to increase your chances:

1. Increase the range of options. I would not target only MBB but also Tier 2 (Booz Allen might be interesting as they work in the defense industry and maybe there is some connection with your job). Even if you target MBB, you could land there after a few years in a Tier 2
2. Optimize your CV and Cover. If you structure your CV and Cover well, you could compensate for the non-target education.
3. Find a referral. This is probably the most important element to land an interview and compensate for possible weaknesses.

You can find more on the application material for consulting below:

▶ How to Get a Consulting Interview Invitation

2) I suppose anything is possible, but how would I network for a referral? 

You can find some tips below:

▶ How to Network to Get a Referral

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi James,

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

• First of all, your military experience can be quite valuable to consulting firms, particularly their Aerospace and Defense practices. These firms value leadership, discipline, and a structured thought process, which you have likely developed during your time in the military. I would advise you to emphasize these skills in your applications, along with any specific projects or experiences that you have had in these sectors.
• Moreover, networking is crucial in breaking into the consulting industry, especially when you're not from a traditional background or a target school. Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn to connect with current employees at your target firms can help you get noticed. Ask for informational interviews to learn more about the company and express your interest. This will most likely lead to them referring you internally.
• Lastly, remember that consulting firms look for potential, not just pedigree. Non-target school candidates do get into top firms, even if it's more difficult. Don't sell yourself short. The key is to convince them that you have the potential to excel in the role, and your military background is a strong testament to your resilience and leadership.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen