How long covid 19 will affect the MBB recruiting process?

covid19 MMB recruiting
New answer on May 05, 2020
9 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Apr 19, 2020

Hi,

here in brief my situation: I'm attending a one year MBA program that it will concludes at the end of 2020. Before the lockdown came I was planning to prepare my application for one of the MBB offices in Italy. Now i'm wondering if it worth to procede rather than wait for normalization after COVID-19 stroke.

Two key questions:

- How long covid 19 will affect the MBB recruiting process?

- Does attending an MBA program would help in order to deliver "better" applications and maybe being noticed in time soon? (I'm attending it at the Bologna Business School)

Thanks in advance

(edited)

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Antonello
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replied on May 01, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi,
unfortunately, nobody now is able to predict the precise effects on each business. The 2 true facts today are that interviews are taking place regularly but online instead than face to face, and that many new consulting projects are being paused. Therefore if this lockdown continues for long it can cause a shrinking in new hires.

Best,
​Antonello

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Anonymous replied on May 05, 2020

Hi A,


No one can say how long COVID-19 will last, because their sub studies also show that second or even third wave of the pandemic and shut down is possible. Therefore, all the forecasts are now highly subjective. After it finish (hopefully in June), we will be able to give you more define answer.

Regarding your second question, MBA is, of course, a benefit.


Hope it helps.

Good luck!

Best,
André

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Luca
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replied on Apr 26, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello,

No one can really know about the new hiring targets until we won't see which will be the impact of the corona virus on the economy. So far consulting companies are trying to move forward with the hiring process using the videocalls.

Even if a global crysis doesn't mean that you don't have projects (think about cost cutting or restructuring process and about all business plans that have to be reviewd) it's likely that they will slow down (but not freeze) the recruitments at least until the next year.

The MBA is a good plus, but the real advantage there is to leverage the alumni network and MBA events to get a referral.

Stai attento ad aspettare troppo prima di applicare, è vero che ora molte aziende stanno rallentando ma d'altra parte quando ricominceranno a pieno ritmo con i processi di recruiting ci sarà una pipeline di candidati enorme. BCG sta continuando a portare avanti il recruiting (su linkedin puoi vedere diversi post che fanno leva proprio sulla situazione relativa al covid).

Scrivimi pure se vuoi discuterne nel dettaglio la questione,
Luca

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Clara
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replied on Apr 20, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

None really knows yet, as with any other sector / industry. What seems clear by now is that this is truly harming economy, and in the next weeks we will see whether we are heading to a global economic recession.

If this is the case, and we indeed face a global recession -even if not as hard as the previous one-, this will have an impact in consulting. Why? Simply because there would be less clients, less engagements with the usual clients, and an overall freeze in spending.

This, for sure, will impact recruiting, reducing the classes of BAs and Associates for a couple of years.

Regarding the MBA, for sure now is a good moment -investing in education in crisis times is the best use of your time-. However, balance the equation, since we are taking about a huge investment in time and money.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Vlad
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replied on Apr 20, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

1) It will last for at least 1 year, most probably 2. It's not about covid but the economy that is getting worse

2) If you have on-campus recruiting (i.e. if its a target university) - it will increase the chances. In other cases, you'll be in the general pool

Best

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Francesco
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replied on Apr 20, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

please find my answers below:

2) How long covid 19 will affect the MBB recruiting process?

It depends on what you mean by affecting recruiting. McKinsey is currently not hiring MBAs as usual in Italy, but BCG it is still recruiting them. Moreover, McKinsey is hiring in Italy for specific practices (ie Implementation). If you mean going completely back to normal, nobody knows but probably 6 months – 1 year.

2) Does attending an MBA program would help in order to deliver "better" applications and maybe being noticed in time soon? (I'm attending it at the Bologna Business School)

I believe BBS is not a target school, which means you should not have campus recruiting. Your best bet is to find a strong referral. You can find more on referrals at the following link:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Best,

Francesco

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Anonymous updated the answer on Apr 20, 2020

Hi

I think we can assume that only a little volume of consultants will join MBB in 2020 (except consultants already with an offer or a contract signed) .

I assume that hiring process will restart after the lockdown (probably in early September for most locations). MBB need to hire even with with a flat growth situation to compendate natural departures (around ~20% a year for typical MBB offices) but hiring plan for 2021 will be probably lower than 2019 for example. Thus, competion may be even stronger than it used to be.

David

(edited)

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Ben
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replied on Apr 25, 2020
Ex-McKinsey EM | Experienced interview coach (1,000+ sessions) | Discount on 1st session | LBS MBA

Hi there,

Of course, nobody knows how long the COVID-19 situation will last for. However, it is likely that consulting firms, espeically MBB, will come out stronger than other sectors (like travel, leisure and startups in general) from the crisis. Companies will be looking for a range of engagements to battle the impact of the crisis, from supply chain redesign, to cost cutting and restructuring to due diligence work for PE client to pick-up businesses in distress at bargain prices.

Having said that, less consultants will leave their jobs for greener pastures in industry or startups, as these will be scarce, hence the number of offers will decline. As recruiting for 2020 start dates is pretty much over, it's unlikely that firms will recruit any more this year, beyond specific needs.

For 2021 start dates, I'm confident that MBB firms will engage in their typical recruiting cycle in September - October, but it would also be much more competitive. So make sure you are well prepared. I'm afraid that the situation for the Big-4 and 2nd tier firms could be more challenging.

Best of luck!

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Thomas
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replied on Apr 21, 2020
150+ interviews | 6+ years experience | Bain, Kearney & Accenture | Exited startup| London Business School

Hi,

Good question and providing an answer to this is definitely tricky. My take is that it will last a few more months and that you can expect a lower September intake than usual. Additionally, the competition will be more fierce both due to a large backlog as well as due to a limited number of spots. Do keep in mind that some regions are more affected than others. So I would recommend you to research the geographies of some of your target companies to understand where they perform well.

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Antonello gave the best answer

Antonello

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