Question about fit for management consulting profession

Advice career Interview
New answer on Sep 01, 2020
8 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Feb 11, 2020

Hello all, I really appreciate some advice on whether I should continue to pursue management consulting.

For the MBA On-campus recruiting, I only applied to the top three consulting firms and one top corporate strategy position. I got some interviews and some final rounds but did not convert them into offers. Some of the rejections were due to the under preparation for casing skills and some were due to yet perfect final touches. Since the rejection, I had become a bit desperate and I applied for a local consulting firm, which was not in my target at all from the very beginning. Still, I did not get the offer. I am very confident in my academics and capabilities but right now I feel management consulting is just not very intuitive to me. On reflection, I like the people, dynamics and learning trajectory in consulting. Even though I work hard, I do not have a super aggressive personality.

I am still having interviews for positions other than management consulting. I would appreciate it if some experienced consultants can share their thoughts.

Thanks.

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Anonymous replied on May 27, 2020

Dear A,

Well, consulting is not for everyone. This is a great job opportunity and if you fill that it's not your fit than there are many other options which you can explore as a MBA candidate.

Wish you good luck,

Best,

André

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Nathaniel
Expert
replied on Feb 13, 2020
McKinsey | BCG | CERN| University of Cambridge

Hello there,

Speaking from personal experience, there's different skillsets required for a management consulting firm, and they require a mix of personalities to form a strong team. I can share your feelings of seeing that most people that appears to managed to get into the firms somehow shared the traits of super-aggresive, extrovert person.

In reality, there are concentrations of other personalities as well.
And it gets expanded nowadays due to the recent addition of new business lines like data science, statistics, etc.

Coming from engineering background, it was a struggle for me as well to get familiar with the business & management topics used in the case interview. What I did back then is trying to get the core undrstanding on how to solve a case, like understanding the governing formula of F: M x A in Physics instead of just memorizing the derivatives formula.

That helps me a lot in solving different types of cases and avoid the tendency to memorize frameworks. Of course, it takes time as well in my case.

Hence, I would suggest to rethink your priority and if you think that you would still like to pursue management consulting as a career, then do not let yourself be held by these "delayed success".

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,
Nathan

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Feb 12, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

I think the question you should be making yourself is, what do I want to do next, when I finish my MBA?

  • If you decide that consulting is your passion, you should not be let down for the fact that you did not crack the interviews in the 1st try. Is very normal! You can still apply to other T2 companies and, given that you would have cleared that this is your focus, dedicate time and resources to prep.
  • If you decide that it´s not your thing, then drop it. However, let it be because you don´t see yourself in the job, not because the fact that you did succeedd the first time.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Feb 11, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi, if you are eager to consulting I recommend to apply to the other big companies, especially the tier2 (OW. ATK, RB, S&). It will be important to work on the negative feedback received and arrive ready for both fit and business case.

Ps. You do not need at all a super aggressive personality :)

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Anonymous replied on Sep 01, 2020

Hi,

Based on your description, it seems that you are feeling this way because you didn't do enough preparation, in which case rejection is to be expected. It'd be very rare (and in a way unfair) if you get MBB offer without doing your fair share of homework. Before jumping to a conclusion whether consulting is for you or not, you should give it a proper chance, i.e. do your best in preparation. In the process you would have a better idea. If you hate solving cases in your preparation, then the job might not be for you. Echo other experts that you don't need to be an aggressive person to be in consulting.

Best,

Emily

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Luca
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Feb 29, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello,

Getting an offer from MBB is not easy and sometimes you need also a bit of luck. It's already a good achievement to pass the CV screening and reach the final round.
Why don't you apply for tier-2 companies? There are really good companies that can have plus even compared with MBB.

Best,
Luca

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Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Feb 12, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi Anonymous,

which are your long-term goals? As in a case, without knowing your goals it is difficult to help with suggestions. For many careers, consulting is not the only road, although for many is a fast one.

In terms of getting an offer from a consulting company, I helped hundreds of candidates and I think I never saw someone who was structurally unable to get offers in consulting so far that he/she was willing to work hard and smart. I think you probably have to:

  1. Understand what are the real problems in terms of your fit and/or case performance
  2. Get the right material to fix the problems
  3. Work hard and smart to get to the level needed for an offer

Please feel free to PM me for more info.

Best,
Francesco

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Feb 12, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

You should set the goal to prepare and dedicate time for prep. That's the basic logic you should follow to achieve something. I doubt anyone here knows your personality better than you to give you advice. Moreover, with such a broad question you are just giving the responsibility to other people to decide on your future.

Best

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