Changing roles internally after you get into MBB

Question

Hi there,

I am curious about what are the possibilities of changing your role among different functions within MBB firms - e.g. Can you enter the firm as an implementation consultant and change to a strategic consultant? Will that be possible and if so, how does the process work internally and the successful rate?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi Jasmine,

answer based on my experience in BCG Europe (Spain+Italy+Greece in particular), cannot comment on other firms, locations.

General rule is changing from BCG generalist consultant to other roles (technical, expert, …) is far easier than the opposite in my experience.

1) Changing from technical specialized roles (Data Scientist, IT/Digital consultant) to general consultant is quite hard even internally (e.g. from BCG Gamma, BCG Platinion to BCG associate/consultant/PL), unless you are very strong performer and get exposed to a BCG Managing Director and Partner that likes you and “bring you in” - success rate < 1/5 if BCG Gamma / BCG Plat → BCG.

- BCG → BCG Gamma is definitely doable if you have knowledge / get exposed to Pyhton and programming - Succes rate 2-3x compared to the opposite

2) Changing from “expert track” (expert PL, associated director, …) to general consultant is hard unless you perform very well in some cases with BCG Managing Director and Partners and once again get offered the chance to “change track”

2) Changing between industry (e.g. Energy, Industrials, Consumer) and functional practices (e.g. Digital to Corporate Strategy) is definitely doable and the possibility to do so decreases as you increase your seniority and is reduced if you are expert track

- Associate - Generalist → Mid-to-easy to get staffed on different practices during the first 1-2 months. You should carefully and proactively pilot your staffing by talking with Partners in advance to increase the chances to be staffed in the practice you like for the long term. Best strategy → overperform in the first case whatever the practice is and then start talking with Principal/Partners: because of a bit of confirmation bias you will be a star for some time and your success rate in moving will drastically increase

- Consultant → Mid-to-easy see above. If you have partners that like you because you are good, you can be “trapped” in a practice, but there are still global rules that force rotation between practice

- PL → You have to more or less affiliate to a practice, so really hard. I have seen Industrials PL going to TURN (functional) but not much movement. Once again your success rate is only a function of your performance (quintiles) and how much a partners scream/wants you

- Principal → very hard. I have seen one/two cases mostly because of a “dead end” in the practice they were in or because of “career transition” mode (going out of BCG)

PM if you want more details .

Hope this help. Good luck for your interview process!

P.

Answer 2

Hello!

This can vary from firm to firm, so if you are looking for answers in one specifically feel free to add that info :)

Changing is kind of easy, but honestly the usual path is the other way arround, from generalist to specialist. If you were hired as a specialist, usually is because of a certain skillset in that area, so I don´t see it so obvious.

However, once you are inside, it´s about proving yourself and finding the right network that supports that type of change, and then I don´t see any issue why it shouldn´t work

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 3

Hi Jasmine,

This completely depends on both the firm and the exact switch you're trying to execute.

For example, generalist to a specific function/industry is “easy”. But moving from generalist to, say, GAMMA is hard, as is the opposite move.

It sounds like you're talking about the Big 4 and moving from say PwC to Strategy&. This is hard.

Please give us more context so we can better advise…additionally, networking with the firms themselves to better understand their specifics wouldn't hurt :)

Answer 4

In McKinsey, this is a fairly common thing to observe where people often switch tracks formally. This could be be between practices (e.g. from OPS to Sustainability practice) or with regards to role (e.g. from expert track to generalist track).

Often times, the formal switch is done to reflect what has already happened in practice. For example, I used to be an Operations Associate but worked mostly in Sustainability. If I hadn´t left McKinsey, I would have formally left Operations to join Sustainability.

You discuss this with your mentor/PD and the Regional Practice Leader for example. They are always looking to recruit people internally for their cause and if it makes sense for your career at McKinsey, you will generally get support.

Answer 5

Hi Jasmine,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

Generally speaking, it really depends on the specifice change in position you want to do. To provide a more detailed answer, would you be willing to provide more information?
For instance, being a strategy consultant requires a completely different skillset (i.e. it is mainly about your cognitive abilities) to the one of, e.g., an implementation consultant (i.e. it is mainly about the experience in a specific industry and function). As such, I would advise you to keep this in mind - unfortunately, there is hardly any meaningful shortcut to get the job you yearn for.
Lastly, I would advise you to research on people who made the specific change you are thinking about, get in touch with them and ask about their experience. While you will most certainly receive different points of views in PrepLounge, the most meaningful responses are the ones of those who made such changes.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best decide what specific role is made for you, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen