From startup to management consulting

Hi there,

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1) Does anyone have experience making that move from a no-name startup to a large consulting firm, and if so, advice on how to structure the pivot?

I sort of made the opposite move. Both are feasible – I hired several people in my first startup that ended in consulting after that.

It is totally fine to move from a startup to consulting. The main issue from your description seems the lack of brand name of the startup. But you can compensate for that with a strong referral.

Overall, you need 3 things to land in strategy consulting: a great CV, a great Cover and a referral.

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1) CV

The key elements they will look for and that you can optimize are:

• University brand
• Major
• GPA
• Work experience
• Experience abroad
• Extracurriculars and volunteer experience

The fact you don't have consulting experience is not a problem if you structure your CV correclty.

Red flags include:

• Low GPA
• Lack of any kind of work experience
• Bad formatting / typos
• 3-4 pages length
• Lack of clear action --> results structure for the bullets of the experiences
• Long paragraphs (3-4 lines) for the bullets of the experiences with irrelevant details
• Long time gaps without any explanation

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2) COVER LETTER

You can structure a cover in 4 parts:

1. Introduction, mentioning the position you are interested in and a specific element you find attractive for that company
2. Why you are qualified for the job, where you can report 3 skills/stories from your CV, ideally related to leadership, impact, drive and teamwork
3. Why you are interested in that particular firm, with additional 1-2 specific reasons
4. Final remarks, mentioning again your interest and contacts

In part 2 you can write about experiences that show skills useful in consulting such as drive, problem-solving, leadership, teamwork and convincing others.

It is important that in part 3 you make your cover specific to a particular firm – the rule of thumb is, can you send the exact same cover to another consulting company if you change the name? If that’s the case, your cover is too generic.

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3) REFERRALS

To find a referral, you should follow three main 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

You should prepare three main things before the call:

• Your own pitch. 3-4 lines should be enough
• 3-4 questions on the personal experiences of the person. Avoid to ask questions about the company
• A closing question for the referral. It should be an indirect request to avoid being too pushy

You can find more information on networking and referrals here:

▶ How to Get an MBB Invitation 

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2) Is startup experience appreciated and should it be emphasised or de-emphasised?

Totally fine to emphasize it - there are several overlapping areas between the two worlds. Just be sure to have a clear answer for why not another startup given your experience - they most likely will ask you that question.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hello,

Startup experience is great! It all depends on how you frame and present your experience. I would hone your story by thinking about the times when you've been able to demonstrate leadership, be entrepreneurial, and work with people in your current role. Even if it isn't a strategy-focused role, there will be plenty of crossover in useful skills for consulting.

Hi there,

People make moves to strategy consulting from far more “random” places! Ultimately, you have to demonstrate that you are smart, capable, and hardworking, regardless of the role.

Make sure to do the following:

1. Aim for strategy-related work (even if some are your own initiatives)
2. Build your resume up (ideally get it professionally reviewed)
3. Network extensively when you are ready to apply

Good luck!

Not sure what exactly you want to get out of this question…

Your resume is what it is. You can try to present it at the best light, and you can network to make sure you get a referral and an interview.

Some people think about intermediate roles they need to get to make their way up to MBB. If that is what you are assuming, stop right there. It doesn't work like that. The sooner you apply, the better your chances. Having another role before applying to MBB will only move you further away from MBB.

So stop making plans and get ready to apply NOW.

P.S. Startup experience is well regarded.

Hi there, 

you can have chances, it seems now it will depend on how you wrap your experience through CV and cover letter. I would recommend eventually to spend an hour with a coach to help you shape those documents, considering only 5% of CV passes. 

I am happy to give you quick feedback if you want to send the CV to me. 

Good luck,

Lucie

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