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Should I apply during my Masters study or after graduation?

master in management MBB Southeast Asia
Neue Antwort am 20. Mai 2022
5 Antworten
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Anonym A fragte am 16. Mai 2022

I am an incoming 1-year MSc Management student at a Russell Group university in the UK. I would like to get into McKinsey or BCG in a Southeast Asia office. It is probably not as competitive as the Singapore office- people mostly come from top local, Australian, or non-Ivy League US universities for their pre-MBA roles.

I know that the students from my programme will usually apply during their studies. Both firms set their application deadlines in October for UK students, whilst the local office that I am targetting at opens their application throughout the year, providing the analyst role is available. However, I know that should I fail, I will be barred from reapplying within the next two years.

I believe I can improve my CV if I wait until after graduation. I have got a head start in my study. I think I could pass the courses with flying colours and get on the dean's list, whilst getting leadership role(s) from my extracurricular activities.

I am inclined to apply after my graduation, but perhaps I miss out on some important information. I would like to hear your opinion.

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Ian
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 17. Mai 2022
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

My view is you should network starting today and test the waters.

Get on the phone with people at these companies/offices! Send/show them your resume (during/after the discussion) and find out if they think you have a good shot.

If they say you do (and especially if they offer to referral you) then apply!

If they say they don't (or no-one will say yes/won't refer you) perhaps wait.

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Francesco
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 17. Mai 2022
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Q: I am inclined to apply after my graduation, but perhaps I miss out on some important information. I would like to hear your opinion.

It depends on a couple of factors:

  1. When would you like to join (you will probably have delays in joining if you apply after graduation)
  2. The current strength of your CV (if it is already solid, having the expected stronger education profile may not help that much)

In terms of the ban: you may be able to apply again after 1 year if (i) you had a good performance and (ii) apply via referral the second time. So possibly a good strategy could be to apply now (if the conditions above are met) and if it doesn’t work apply again after graduation.

I agree with Ian that it makes sense to look for someone internally that could help you to (i) understand if now is a good time to apply and (ii) refer you. You can find more on referrals at the following link:

 How to Get an MBB Referral

Best,

Francesco

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Udayan
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 16. Mai 2022
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience

I would double check if Russell group is as much of a target as you believe, outside of oxbride and maybe lse and imperial they are generally not. A lot of folks in offices like Indonesia go to very competitive schools. 

In terms of waiting i would say it depends on what your current strengths are. If you have good work experience and extra curriculars then there's no advantage to waiting. If you are going to use the 1 year of college to improve your resume a lot with the grades etc then it could help but not by a lot. 

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Anonym A am 16. Mai 2022

Thank you. I do agree with you that it is a much lesser target university compared to Oxbridge, LBS, INSEAD, and Tier-1 Ivy. Perhaps, it is not a target at all. Not to mention the fact that it is not an MBA, adding insult to injury, but it is done and dusted. I have got to use what I have now. Sure, it is not ideal and I share the same sentiment. Some are my faults and some are things that I cannot control at all. It is like I barely scrape by. God forbid, who knows that there will be a recession by the time I graduate. I only can do something that I can control. I have faith in myself and I will do everything to get on the dean's list, prepare for the case interview etc. Those are things I can control right now. By all means, I have to be realistic and not bank on MBB. Again, it is quite hard to find someone from the target unis above. Mostly, it is more like Erasmus, University of Melbourne, University of California, etc. Well, I do not have the statistics, let alone an exhaustive list, but it is not a shot in the dark. I see your responses to other relevant questions here, I think you simply take no prisoners. I appreciate it.

(editiert)

Udayan am 16. Mai 2022

I apologise, I did not mean to say you do not have a good shot at MBB, I meant to say that it will not be as straightforward as you had written in your question. What this means is that you will need to network hard to get your foot in the door. Once you have interviews lined up, it does not matter which college you go to, then its all about how prepared you are and your performance at the interview.

Lucie
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 17. Mai 2022
10+yrs recruiting & BCG Project leader

Hi there, 

I agree with Ian's suggestion to reach out for a feedback. Beyond that, I recommend to:

1. Confirm if your university is a target uni

2. Critically evaluate (eventually with a coach) what is your “readiness level” to apply: 

  • extra curriculum activities, 
  • your internship experiences, 
  • you education related experiences… 

Even if you come from non-targeted school you can still get invited, but your CV must be very appealing (less than 5% of candidates pass this step). 

Good luck 

Lucie

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Clara
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 20. Mai 2022
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

The key point here is when you want to start. To join immediately after school, and have the job aligned during, for sure you will need to apply during your studies. however, if then you don´t mind have some gap months, you can wait. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

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