All questions tagged MBA - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

I would be absolutely shocked if they do not. I also know that they are hiring in some reasons.

However, their intake might be somewhat reduced.

You may not be seeing positions posted for a few reasons:

1. They have decided not to recruit specifically in your region
2. They have decided not to recruit specifically at your school
3. They just have not posted yet

Hello!

Don´t worry, since it´s not a big deal. Just don´t include it in the CV in the education section, mention only the MBA. BTW, is it from a target school? In this case, really none would care.

In undergrads is different since there are so very little data points, but your case is different.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hello!

I don´t see them contrarictory honestly :)

First, regarding your experience, 5 years + Ivy MBA is perfect for the associate position in MBB (called like this in Mck, changes for the rest, but is the post-MBA recruitment program-. For sure you will have plenty of chances to interview.

I would also leverage your in-campus recruitment mechanisms -particularly now that you have mentioned Ivy, since these mechanisms have among the highest ROIs when recruiting.

Furthermore, don´t forget to leverage the partner whith whom you have been already talking for a referral, to bost your possibilities.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

1) There's a HUGE list here (14 casebooks, scroll down to item #12):

https://www.firmsconsulting.com/quarterly/case-interview-examples/

2) Most of the coach-created cases (including smart Eduction) are very good. Check out all of them here!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases?language=en&style[]=expert-case&sort=real-case-desc&page=1&perPage=20

3) I like the following MBA casebooks

• Ross - great firm overview, industry overview, key concepts, and the cases aren't bad (they also include proposed frameworks)
• Stern - EXCELLENT industry overview, cases not just good but really clear and easy to follow
• Columbia - awesome in late stages when looking to focus on certain areas. In their table of contents (and in header of each case), they lay out not just industry and case type, but firm (BCG, Bain, etc.), concepts tested (breakeven, brainstorming, etc.) AND difficulty across math, structure, and creativity

Hi Anonymous,According to my experience close to everything is possible for those consultants who are clear outperformers. Even if there is no official MBA sponsorshop from a certain office, it doesn't mean you can't get one. But first you need to prove your value to the firm, and once that is cleared you can easily raise this discussion again.

That actually also applies for office transfers - possible for those consultants who are clearly above average.

Quitting doesn't make sense at all - that would be the last option to take.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hi Anonymous,

You might want to post your CV in a sanitized way here to get more feedback..

Robert

Hi,

I can speak for McK: there is a formal transfer process called rebound that allows you to do just that: move once you are on an MBA, without going back to your home office, but directly transferred to the other office when the MBA is finished.

How to do it: the only things to do are to write a memo (they'll give you the template) explaining why you want to transfer. Then you'll have some motivational interviews with HR and a few partners and they'll decide if they want to transfer or not.

In reality, there is much more to it: you to have the ok from your home office (network, asking support for your transfer from partners and sr partners that know you and that have worked with you in the past) and the "pull" from the other office (again, network. Here you ideally already know someone and start from there: ask 1h to talk, explain your reasons, link it to the work you've done together, and ask for help regarding who's better to contact for you to create your own network). Again, you just ask for their support and be sure to write their names on the memo. If you don't know anyone and don't even know anyone that could point you to the right person to approach, simply write to a few partners/sr partners that are from the practice you are interested in: not all of them are going to answer, but most of them will and will be happy to help.

Aim for an in-person meeting if you can, you can create a much stronger bond than during a call.

Good luck!

Yes MBB supports temporary transfers especially if you can provide a strong personal reason which you have. That said you would need at least 1-1.5 years of above average ratings in addition to consistently strong performance in your new office to make the transfer permanent. Another option would be to work with and impress partners that also operate in your 'target' office. This can be an easier/quicker path if feasible

But in light of COVID and relevant travel / visa restrictions - you may have to wait a few months for some form of normality to set in

Hi Maxim,

They do not, and the real reason is that they provide the training themelves - on the job!

You absolutely do not need an EMBA if you're working at MBB.

Hi there,

If you can, I highly recommend you complete the degree in person - so much of the value of an MBA comes from being there (feeling the buzz, casual conversations, guest lectures, events, networking with other students, getting to know professors, etc.)

If you have to complete it online, it will still be viewed positively when recruiting, however, I do agree with the others that there is a strong chance they will know it was just the online course (which is worth less)

Hello!

There is a big difference between the top 2 and the rest.

1. INSEAD
2. LBS

Then you also have:

• IESE
• IE
• Bocconi

Best is to look at rankings, most famous ones being:

• Poets & quants
• Financial Times

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

I've worked with people from both schools and they were all of an extremely high caliber. As such, I don't think that there is a difference in the quality of the education. I also agree with other posters that both schools should give you a great chance to get into MBB. I would therefore recommend looking at other factors:

(1) Visa: Please keep in mind that Brexit could cause troubles. I'm currently on a visa in the US and visa issues are a bigger problem than one would think...

(2) Cost of living: London will be more expensive than St Gallen and I would recommend estimating the total difference over the span of the entire MBA. This is doubly true if you have to go into debt.

(3) CV Optimization: Which school will round out your entire CV better? For example, should you be from the UK, it might make sense to go to St. Gallen.

(4) Industry foci of MBB offices: Taking into account which industries you would want to work with when in consulting can help you decide. For example, I would expect a large amount of finance/banking projects at London MBB offices.

Lastly, you have two great offers - leverage them! GMATClub has several threads on using multiple offers to gain financial aid from the universities and I would suggest at least trying to do so.

Hello!

First things first, PST is now mostly substituted by Imbellus in most locations.

Some points about Imbellus:

• It's a gamified test
• Divided into 2 games, 1h to complete both of them:
  • 1st one is a game about keeping an ecosystem balanced
  • 2nd one is a defense game

It´s fun and there is not really a "way" to prep for it.

My advise would be to be fresh when you do it and pick a right enviroment -during my BCG test in their office there was construction in the patio and the screen was even shaking-.

Then, regarding whether it is or not compulsory, again depends:

• Geographies
• Business schools (target vs. non target)
• Special recruiting programs (ie., if you come from certain recruiting programs that have a selection process before hand, you "save" the test)

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hi Calvin,

Sharing my two cents:

• If you plan to go for an MBA, go for a really good one to increase your chance of getting to MBB later. Peferably a target school, if not, at least semi-target.
• Not sure what are you referring to for "online course"? Are you talking about online course for MBA? I am not aware of any online MBA (excluding situation where offline school forced to go online due to COVID for the time being) that could be as good as the offline target schools to count for MBB.
• If you are going to a good MBA, there is no need for MSc BA. It won't add additional value. The data analytics needed in consulting can be self-studied without paying for a master degree.

Best,

Emily

Hi there,

Given your engineering background, it would be better if you can find a role that involve more business related work.

• Business Analyst sounds good (regardless of IT or not); otherwise a role with project management skills could be good too
• I don't recommend QA role as it would still be very much technical; international experience wouldn't help you as much as business exposure, and you already had international internship anyway
• I don't recommend tier 3 consulting either. Get a tier 2 or just leave it. Between an MBA with a tier 3 experience and an MBA with a business role in a well recognised corporate, the latter might be more preferred actually.

Best,

Emily

Hey,

As long as you get a top MBA, you should just go ahead in my opinion. No need to wait for 1 more year before doing your MBA.

I knew someone with a short working experience but a top MBA, who joined BCG as Senior Associate. Usually after MBA you join as consultant in BCG, but because her prior working experiene is shorter than usual, she starts as Senior Associate (1 year junior than consultant). In this case, instead of spending the 1 year waiting before MBA, she spend the 1 year post MBA in BCG. I'd say this is probably better since she managed to get her foot in earlier.

Best,

Emily

I think Guennael covered everything well, so won't repeat the various differences in expectation.

However, as an important side note: generally PhDs Don't enter at the same level as MBAs - PhDs will usually join as a "Junior Associate" (Mck) / "Junior Consultant" (BCG), and at Bain may even enter as a normal Associate Consultant but with opportunity for fast track promotion.

I just say this to stress the fact that expectations are invariably different, as you will be entering at a different level in the firm.

Hi there,

If you are following the US timeline, the typical full time recruiting interview would start from late Sep. By late Oct many of the big consulting firms would have been done with the interviews and send out offers. So you need to be ready by mid to late Sep. If your intern is during the July-Aug timeline, then starting after the summer intern would be a bit late in my opinion.

Summer internship could actually be a good time to prep. But if you expect your summer time to be very busy, then wouldn't it be better to start earlier if you have time now? Don't leave things to last minute.

Best,

Emily

Hello there!

Some toughts:

• Language: in Europe the local language is required, unless you are an expert in a field. However, hace you considered London? English will be enaugh.
• MBA: for sure an MBA from a target school would position your profile better. However, if the target is Europe, you will have the same language issue -unless you also use the MBA to learn a new language, which seems not very likely-.
• O&G: if this is the industry that passionates you, why not applying directly instead of consulting?

Hope it helps.

Cheers,

Clara

Hello!

I don´t agree with you, at least for the case of Mckinsey. Actually most poeple who come back from MBAs make it to manager - EM, Engagement Manager- and then they leave.

You must differenciate between:

• Returning MBAs: BAs who were sponsored and come back. They start operating as JEMs -Junior EMs- very soon (between 6 months and 1 year). They need to stay at least 2 years to pay their MBA debt with McK, and then they leave.
• Non-returning MBAs: people who were not BAs before. They take longer to be JEMs and EMs but don´t have a time threshold for any debt, so they leave whenever.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara