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What are the easiest routes to become a top management consultant?

management consulting MBB
New answer on Oct 31, 2019
5 Answers
1.6 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Oct 28, 2019

I know it is not easy, but some insights into how to directly take the path towards a top management consulting career would be great!

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Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 28, 2019
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi,

can you give us a little more info about your background? I try to help:

- if you just got an offer, you will soon know how promotions work in MBB: your performance will be assessed every 6 months by a Partner committee, which collects the feedback of every manager, principle, and partner who have worked with you in the period. The main areas of assessment are problem-solving, team working & leadership, client engagement & relationship, and entrepreneurship. The weight of each of these points will depend on your role (e.g. client relationships become increasingly important with your career advancement.

- if you are getting graduation or you have recently got it, Preplounge is a great platform to prepare your consulting career.

- if you are a bachelor/high school student: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/help-needed-5216

Best,

Antonello

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Francesco
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Content Creator
replied on Oct 31, 2019
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi Anonymous,

the answer may depend on the country but in general:

  • Analyst roles: top bachelor/master from leading school, ideally in Business or Engineering
  • Associate roles: 2-3 year of work experience plus top MBA
  • Experienced hire: relevant experience in consulting (or more rarely in selected industry) with possibility to show major achievements

It always help to have referrals; you can find more on referrals here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Best,

Francesco

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Deniz
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 31, 2019
5+ Years at BCG & Kearney Dubai & Istanbul | 400+ Trainees | Free 15-min Consultation Call

Hi,

There is no "easy" way to break into top consulting companies, but the main prerequisites are as follows:

  • Graduating from a target university
  • Having min. 3.7 GPA
  • Showing relevant work experience (in top consulting/IB/industry companies)

In addition, you should also network with existing/former employees of your target offices in order to increase your chances.

Best,

Deniz

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Giacomo
Expert
replied on Oct 28, 2019
Bain & Company | MBA | Real Case Simulation

I think there are 3 main ways to enter a top management consulting firm (MBB):

- Directly from a top tier bachelor or Master of Science (Europe), very strict and difficult selection process and you enter as Analyst/Associate consultant

- Top 30 MBA, after a valuable work experience. You can enter a MBB as consultant/associate role

- Successful Start-up experience (not common path) but nowadays is getting very common expecially in the digital practices. Depends on the work experiece you got, but normally you enter ad senior analyst/Associate consultant.

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Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 28, 2019
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience

It is still easiest to become a Management Consultant by going to a top 15 MBA program in USA. It is 'easier' to get into MBA schools now as application rates have been declining year on year for a few years now so the compeition levels are lower. If you are determined to get into MBB or consulting in general there is no better route with higher odds (of course I say this with no background information on you :) )

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