Being competitive as new grad

BCG Bain McKinsey
Edited on Jul 07, 2020
5 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Jun 29, 2020

Hi guys,

I was wondering how a new grad can stay competitive in landing an interview at MBB?

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Francesco
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Content Creator
updated an answer on Jul 19, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Since you have already graduated, you cannot work on the usual criteria used in the selections of students, as you cannot change your school, GPA or internships.

In any case, to land an interview the #1 thing that can help you is a referral.

To find a referral, you should follow three steps:

  1. Identify the people that can help you
  2. Write them a customized email
  3. Have a call and indirectly ask for a referral

As general tips:

  • Don’t use LinkedIn for your communication – emails work better. You should target 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 for the questions.
  • You need to close the call with an indirect request for a referral – don’t leave that to chances. There are specific ways to phrase it.

Before the call, you should have your CV and Cover ready – in this way you can send them right away it if the person wants to refer you.

If you are interested to know the exact email to write, questions to ask and indirect closing to land the referral, please feel free to PM me.

I provide a 30 min session at 50% discount to understand the exact steps to get MBB referrals, directly from home – no events participation required.

This includes all the scripts needed for the email to send and the call to have with the consultant.

Following the same process, I managed to get 6 invitations out of 6 applications – including all MBB. I regularly see my mentees getting referrals for MBB with that as well.

Best,

Francesco

(edited)

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Clara
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replied on Jun 29, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

You should not worry too much abou this topic "overall/in abstract", but land it more towards: how does a new grad rock the interviews?

Bear in mind that the interviewers are well callibrated, and they will measure you against you own peer group (i.e., new grads vs. new grads for Business Analyst positions)

The bar is high, yes, but it´s adapted to each tenure level.

Hence, just focus on rocking the interviews, both business case and FIT.

Precisely regarding FIT, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes, since we still have some left from the launch!

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Anonymous replied on Jun 29, 2020

Hi there,

I would say the significant majority of all MBB interviews are given to fresh grads (at least this is the case in the Middle-East) - so you need to be competitive vs. your peers.

  • Highly reputable school (consulting companies like to focus on selected target schools)
  • Relevant degree (for example: consulting companies would hire more engineers than art majors)
  • Good grades (consulting companies would focus their attention on the top 15-10% of every class)
  • Extra-curricular activities that show leadership or entrepreneurship or team spirit (consulting companies want self-motivated students who don't just focus on their studies, but also branch out to drive new initiatives)

I hope this helps!

Best

Khaled

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jul 01, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

1) Network

2) Network

3) Network

If you've already graduated, and you're recruiting today (i.e. not asking about internships, other work experience, additional certifications to get, improving your GPA, etc.), then all you can do now is network

4) Make your Resume + Cover letter look darn good!

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Anonymous replied on Jun 30, 2020

Hi!

As a new grad you have to focus on 2 areas:
A) credentials (internship experience in companies with strong brands, target school, grades)
B) strong networking skills and ability to get referrals

Best,

Anton

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Francesco gave the best answer

Francesco

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