Seeking Advice on Career Path

Question

Hello,

I have recently completed my MBA at a top European school. Following an internship at a Tier1 firm in the region (unfortunately, no return offer for the majority of the cohort), I've transitioned to a small niche consulting firm where responsibilities and salary are lower than MBA level and the role is primarily in operational support. I accepted it due to personal reasons that are not applicable anymore.

I'm concerned that remaining in my current role might impede my career progression. Therefore, I'm contemplating resigning and starting recruitment for consulting roles in Europe, leveraging my prior industry experience there. I believe that European consulting experience could strengthen my prospects of returning to the top league in the ME better than staying in my current role.

Should I stay in the firm or leave and at what stage (time duration, event (once I get an interview), etc.)?

What do you advise?

Thanks a lot for your support.

Answer 1

Hi there,

if you want to pursue a career in consulting, then gaining experience in “niche consulting” is still better than no consulting experience. Of course you shouldn't linger at this firm for too long if your ambitions are MBB but it sounds like you just recently started if you only “recently” finished your MBA.

Given the current economic environment, I would not recommend quitting your job before you haven't found a replacement. Just start recruiting on the side to test the waters and see what interviews you can get. I personally think your chances would be better if you actually had some consulting experience to leverage (meaning having worked at your current firm for 1+ years).

However, if you do end up getting an attractive offer even when you have been at your current firm for less than a year, I don't see a problem in taking it if it matches your criteria. In that case though you should aim to stay at that new firm for at least 2 years or else your CV is going to turn into patchwork pretty quickly which becomes harder to explain.

Best of luck

Answer 2

I don't see why you need to quit in order to apply to consulting firms.

I would apply to consulting firms and remain at the current job in the meantime.

Recruitment for consulting is not easy right now, and I don't think you want to be explaining in 6 months not only why you were at a niche consulting firm but also why you don't have a job anymore. Moreover, consulting firms will not be impressed by the fact that you believe not to be able to do both things at the same time.

Answer 3

Hi there,

I would personally stay in the role while you recruit. Not only is that a safer option, but it looks better while applying + networking.

That said, some people need the fire and urgency behind them to actually take action (e.g. some may never actually look while they have a job).

It's a personal choice, based on how YOU operate. I would personally not quit, but that's me.

Answer 4

I would recommend that you start applying while still in the current role.

Unless you have a very strong reason to leave immediately, having an income and the mental stability a job gives you will help with the recruitment process.

What you need to do as a first step is to identify all the firms that you want to target (reach out for a template for this if you'd like), then the target office and role.

Then you need to start having conversations with the recruiters from each firm to understand what role they believe would suit you best and when to apply.

You can also leverage this guide on how to build an application strategy:

Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

In parallel, you should start actually doing cases and preparing for the personal fit interview. A couple of resources below to help you with that as well:

Best,
Cristian

Answer 5

Hi there,

Q: Should I stay in the firm or leave and at what stage (time duration, event (once I get an interview), etc.)?

I don’t see reasons why you should leave your current firm from what you shared. Unless you have specific reasons to leave now, I would prepare the applications for the other firms while keeping your current job, and leave once you have secured an offer.

Good luck!

Francesco