Joining MBB as Industry Experience Hire, But Had Okay Grades in School

Question

Hello all,

I am currently working as a chartered engineer, in a prestigious multinational company for the past 4 years and with some experience in Green Belt Six Sigma.

I am considering applying for MBB in London, but one thing that i am concern about is i did not graduate with an impressive grades back when i was in university; it was a 2.1 from fairly reputable university in the UK.

Will this be an issue when applying for MBB firms?

Thanks and regards.

Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

so far you don’t have top grades and are not considered experienced hire (unclear in your case - probably won't be considered), you should definitely apply via referral. You can find some suggestions at the second post at the following thread:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/open-house-at-bcg-311#a623

As for your comment to Andrea’s post: you should not send cold messages via LinkedIn, emails work a lot better. Also you should follow a well-defined structure to get replies. If you follow that you should be able to get 30% replies to your messages. If you are unable to find referrals, some experts (disclosure - I am one of them) can provide support on the process to follow.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi,

I can provide some pieces of advice:

In general, for an experienced hire grades don't matter. It is your experience that matters most. On the other hand, I have concerns about your particular case, since 4 years might be not enough to be considered as an Experienced Hire. What is your previous experience? Same industry / expertise? Maybe you got a PHD before?
In consulting companies, there are partners responsible for hiring experienced candidates. It is ok to meet with them and ask your questions including the grades.
I would recommend using a reference to be on a safe side. I provided some recommendations on how to get a reference here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-is-a-referral-really-1103#a2129

Best,

Answer 3

I agree with other reply that 4 years seem too little for being considered an experience hire, even if you have a PhD. Confirm too that for experience hires school grades do not count (because they are not asked).

Would strongly suggest to not apply through website but try to get an interview either through headhunter/recruiter or through referral (current MBB employee who "knows" you and can suggest recruiting to grant an interview). If you apply through online system without any contact to the company there is very little chance to get called in for an interview (because the online system asks all questions including grades, which in your case are not relevant).

Hope it helps,

Andrea

Answer 4

There is not hard and fast rule in terms of experience.

My Experience:

-Under 4 years of industry experience + 2 summers worth of internship experience (did more in 3 months than i did in 6 months as a ful time employee because I only had so much time), very average grades, but extensive and very experience-filled projects over those years for a few fortune 25 companies.

-Applied online for MBB, currently in last stages hoping to make it through

-Also had a lot of extracurricular activites and informal leadership experience

Disclaimer: For me this experience -from what it sounds like - is pretty uncommon and it looks like I had the Grace of God making it this far, but maybe a data point that applying online soley might work and that if you have the experience and can display the proper characteristics, then there's always a slight chance?

My Suggestions:

-They don't care about grades for experienced hires, they care about your fit, ability to learn, problem solve and display their characterstics they look for

-Sell yourself = Strong commuincator + Genuine and legitimate qualification + relentless pursuit to either make it or gain the experiences necesarry to qualify

-I would defintely continue to try and network and reach out for referrals and grow your chances in the best ways possible

Maybe that's encouraging?

Answer 5

Hello!

As an experienced hire, school grades are zero relevant, so nothing to worry about.

Best regards,

Clara

Answer 6

Typically, in depth screening is completed by the ACs / Consultants at the office that you are looking to apply to on... (read entire answer)

Typically, in depth screening is completed by the ACs / Consultants at the office that you are looking to apply to once you have made it past the initial filters. HR will assist... (read entire answer)

Answer 7

Let me take a crack at this (in English) since no-one has addressed this. Top consultancies typically want the best... (read entire answer)

Let me take a crack at this (in English) since no-one has addressed this. Top consultancies typically want the best people regardless of their background. Yes, some roles are... (read entire answer)

Answer 8

This is a great, great question... that I suspect no-one can systematically answer :) Unless you have spent significa... (read entire answer)

This is a great, great question... that I suspect no-one can systematically answer :) Unless you have spent significant time working for or with all three, how can you truly com... (read entire answer)