Consulting after industry experiences - how hard is it?

Question

Hi all,

I am a double master's degree holder (no target school) young professional with two years rotational program in a fortune 500 and one rotation in M&A. I recently quit the fortune 500 because of strong internal politics and the firm is restructuring now. I am thinking now to go to MBB or M&A in banking or startups.

My resume has not been screened in most consulting companies, so I started to network aggressively with people working in consulting companies to referral me. I managed to get interviews with BCG, AT Kearney, Monitor Deloitte, and Roland Berger.

Regarding Bain, EY Parthenon, Oliver Wyman, people recommend me are too juniors to manage referral me an interview, and because I come from two no - target schools. Recently I failed in Roland Berger, because of a lack of preparation, structure, business sense and maths calculations.

My questions are:

- Could my two no-target schools be a barrier to secure an offer?

- What should I do next if I failed to secure any offers from these companies?

Best regards,

Anonymous

Answer 1

Hi,
I would focus now on the interviews you are going to handle, working on the negative feedback by RB.

Feel free to text me for any tips on the set-up of a structured preparation plan.

Best,
Antonello

Answer 2

Hi there,

I come from the industry sector too and my goal was enter in consulting. My suggestion is to apply for a top 30 MBA. The selection process for MBA is not like consulting and they really appreciate a "different CV" (not from consulting, banking etc..) because MBAs love to increase the diversity of the class, of course is still a demanding and structured process. Then after an MBA (target school in your CV), I recommend to apply for consulting firms that are strong in the industrial sector or even are working for your employers.

Actually this is what I did to enter an MBB firm.

Answer 3

Hi Anonymous,

for a proper suggestion, it would be useful to know which is your career goal. For many people consulting is an intermediary step as they look to do something different in 2-3 years (PE, own company, corporate role, etc) and there may be ways to reach that also without consulting.

In case your only goal is to receive an MBB offer, given your background the best option in case of rejection would probably be an MBA from a top business school; besides giving you a new option with MBB this would also help to create a lifetime network for other job opportunities in the future.

Best,
Francesco

Answer 4

Hi,

Being graduated from a non-target school will decrease your chances to be invited for an interview, but it seems that you already managed to secure some interviews (well done!). As you have done it already, networking and securing referrals are key to increase your chances.

You can also consider applying to other consulting companies (maybe the boutique ones as well). If you need any support regarding the preparation, you can let me know.

Best,

Deniz

Answer 5

Hi anon!

I think the key to answering your questions is in your Roland Berger feedback!

I also started in industry - two non-target university degrees and with three years' experience in retail management in merchandising, and am now a Junior Associate with McKinsey.

If you've been getting your CV through the door via referrals (just because you had a referral doesn't mean your CV still doesn't get screened!), then I wouldn't worry about your non-target schools - they're not the barrier.

On the other hand, the four pieces of feedback you've received from Roland Berger (preparation, structure, business acumen and maths) are all crucial to passing the interview and case study portions of your assessment - the good news is, you can work on all of these by practicing case studies. I did most of my prep on PrepLounge and used expert help as well - would be happy to help!

All the best

Kay

Answer 6

Hi,

I think you should focus on achieving an outstanding level of preparation for consulting interviews. It requires a bit of effort but it's totally manageable even if you have an industry background.

High motivation, highly structured approach and complete accuracy are essential to success.

Best,
Francesco