Helping You Land Consulting Jobs!

Wow, it’s my great luck to find this blog.
I am a student in China, now working as part time in ATKearney’s Shanghai office, you tips are super useful !

Steward.du@gmail.com

great site and great tips, congrats! Just curious, why did you leave McKinsey?

Jonas – thanks for your comment. I’ll be answering that question in a post today, actually, so stay tuned.

Hey Kgao, thanks for your comments on my post about
MBA’s in the Internet industry
You have very interesting content here, I’ll be sure to keep an eye here.

Kevin-

I’m surprised that the Mckinsey Mind and and the McKinsey Way are books on your recommended reading list. Their signal:noise ratio is very low, unless you meant them as a meta-lesson from consulting:

Come up with a few bland ideas (“be able to say ‘I don’t know’”), wrap them in am impressive-looking cover and a few hundred pages, and then reap several hundred thousand in fees (aka book sales).

I agree on the signal:noise ratio. These definitely are not books to memorize front and back.

However, I think the insights on McKinsey culture and the thinking process – data-driven, hypothesis first, 80/20, boiling the ocean, etc – are concepts that may seem obvious to us now but certainly were new in my pre-consulting days and will be for most applicants.

Having that knowledge will at least familiarize yourself with the industry and may come up in the course of recruiting and interviews.

PS. I wouldn’t mind those several hundred K in royalty fees :)

[...] is a real-life friend (win a prize if you can now guess where I went to school) who worked at McKinsey in New York for 2 years, also working in tech and sales & trading [...]

Always notice the Stanford connection and wondered if we overlapped, but your site has the flavor of someone not over, let’s see, 45.

Interested in making the alumnus connection if/when you’ve a moment.

Nice site, crisp writing and design. . .and I agree re the McKinsey books, but did enjoy Collins’s.

@Harry – thanks for reaching out and for your readership of MC. Feel free to email me. I’m always happy to get in touch with folks of shared background and interests.

I have purchased the kit from Merger&Inq. site, how should I email you my receipt? Thanks.

Hi kgao, I want to say thanks for all the work you’ve put into the articles and into this site. Not only is it very clean and organized (which I like), the articles are really insightful and have been a central part of my understanding and trying to find consulting jobs.

I just purchased your Bible last night – thanks for your quick response, BTW! I’ll probably be booking a few “interview sessions” with you to discuss the job process and prep for interviews after I read your book.

Thanks again!

Clare – thanks for your comments. No problem about the Bible, sorry there was a minor technical issue. I look forward to working with you, don’t hesitate to email me!

[...] About [...]

Hi: I’m interested in a career change to work in strategy mgmt consulting. I have applied to McKinsey, BAH, ATK and other leading firms for opportunities in the arabian gulf and unfortunately was turned down. I wonder could you take a look at my resume and tell me if I stand a chance at trying again with these companies; especially with McKinsey (they rejected me three times over a one year period)? Let me know please. Regards

Nedal, thanks for your readership of the site. I’m happy to take a (brief) look at your resume and provide you some thoughts. Simply provide your email through the contact form and I’ll reach out to you.

Wow. What a great site!!! I will spread the word!

Jonathan – thanks! Any help is appreciated.

Starting from this blog, I now understand the power of blogging and online social networking around the globe. It is a great tool, and this wonderful and helpful blog just raises the bar.
Great job Kevin… keep it up since I assure many people are enjoying it and benefiting from it, and many will.
I will spread the word to any person with the slightest interest in Management Consulting.

Hi Kevin,
Brain said he is not offering resume editing service currently and referred you to me. I heard you also have finance people to do a finance resume editing right? Just want to confirm.
Let me know. Thanks

Hi Leo – absolutely. Thanks for reaching out. I’ll put you in touch with our resume team and you can go from there!

Kevin: I am certainly impressed with your site. I have over two decades of global industry experience. I am interested in consulting career. I was wondering if you would take a look at my resume (not consulting focused) and advice. I am interested in understanding how your firm could help me achieve my objective.
Thank you in advance for the help.
Best,
Abhay

Hi Abhay,

Sure, we have also served many clients with a background like yours. Many people who have worked in a different industry for a long time are not sure how to present themselves to consulting recruiters; this is where we can help. If you have more specific questions, please feel free to contact products@managementconsulted.com.

Do you know if McK hires experienced peope from the industry?

Hi AJA,

Yes, McKinsey hires experienced people from a variety of industries. Please see McKinsey’s Experienced Hires page for more details.

Hi Kevin,

I am utterly confused about what employers want to see on my resume these days, with HR, my friends, alumni telling me different stories. I have written 20 iterations of my resume, and I am a one of those 2009 lost-generation graduates from a state school, who is overqualified and under-qualified at the same time.

I was wondering could you just take a quick look and tell me what is blatantly wrong. I’ve been job searching for 1.5 years, and I know something is wrong with my resume. The recruiting window is closing, and I have a stack of business cards from all the career fairs I crashed and the cold-calls I’ve made. I don’t want to waste a single opportunity if the problem is something that could be in control.

All I can offer right now is a thank you card as an unemployed student.

Thanks,
James

Hi James,

Sure, we can take a look at your resume. Please send it as an attachment to products@managementconsulted.com, and we’ll describe what we could change if you decide to sign up for our resume service. Please also include details on your past and current jobhunting efforts so we can better address your concerns.

Hi Kevin,

I am a sophomore at a top school (HYP/stanford/MIT) strongly considering consulting. I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer.

1. How hard is it to move up the ranks of MBB?
i.e.:
What percent of these hires make their way up the firm?
What percent of hires (of the ones that want to stay in in consulting) make it through to a top B-school, Engagement Manager/Principal/Director?

Also:
2. What are typical GPAs (Mostly 3.9/4.0 or are 3.5-3.7 applicants successful?) and extracurriculars for MBB undergrad hires?

Thanks a lot! Your website is super-informative. Keep up the good work!

Thanks!

How can I get into an Top MBA program with 3.01 GPA and Low GMAT score. I have experience as a military officer with the marines. Is it reaslitic to shot for a top school and if not what should I do?

Hi Ron,

First, I would recommend you re-take the GMAT since there is nothing you can do about your GPA. I can’t tell if you have a realistic shot since I haven’t seen your resume, but it is possible that you have a chance if you can demonstrate impressive leadership experience in the military.

Hi there,

This is a fantastic website, full of useful information. I have particularly found the “exit” options interesting to read. My plan is to work for a good strategy consulting firm (post-MBA – applications in progress) and work as an entrepreneur after a stint in consulting. I believe it is a really good way to get to know the challenges of running startups before you start your own. Therefore, I wanted more information from you about how one should go about doing this? Are there any industry specialisations that I should consider? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Can I contact you directly by e-mail?

Thanks,
Abhi

Hi!! Kevin,
My brief background:
B.tech from top 10 Engineering Colleges of India.
1 year of experience in a prestigious automobile firm in India.
Masters from University of Florida in Industrial Engg.
After my Master’s I came back to India & started my own consultancy which guides students in preparing for GRE & TOEFL exam & also help them in getting their visas.

I have a problem & will be very grateful to you,If you can help me in solving it.I have got a call from a recruiter through email .He asked me the following questions:

1) What’s my current CTC?? As i am the owner ,what should I specify??
2) What’s my position in hierarchy of the company?? what should I specify??
3) What’s my reason for change ??

Thanks
rakesh

Hello All,

I’m currently in my first year of an MBA program at a top 25 school. For the past few months I’ve been on the internship hunt and of course the major consulting firms (BCG, Bain, Deloitte, etc) have gotten plenty of my attention. I’d also be very willing to consider smaller, boutique firms in a few cities (namely Charlotte, Atlanta, Columbus, etc) but have had difficulty identifying them. Does anyone know of any sources that break down consulting firms by city???

Thanks,

Eugene

I am writing to you as I am out of work right now and my resume has not landed me with job interviews. I am also stuck with the famous conundrum of whether I should be making a career change into finance as I just completed my MBA or whether I should stick with IT, with 8 years of experience. I would prefer switching to finance and need your help in developing a resume for that. In addition to that, considering the dire state of finance industry, I would like to continue applying for IT analyst positions and feel that my resume might need some work on that as well. In short I would probably need two different resumes. Would your service be helpful for something similar to that?

hi kevin,

this is the first time i have visited your website and i am quite impressed the way you have given inputs on consulting practice.

Kevin,Recently i have been admitted to the program: MS consultancy Management in Consultancy developement centre ,India .Please let me know what are the prospects after i complete this course and what would be my starting salary.My current domain is software testing and quality assurance.

you can also check out the website http://www.cdc.org.in where i have been admitted to know more about the profile of CDC.

wish to hear from you soon.

regards,

dhawal sarwate

Vik –

Thanks for your post. We’d love to help. If you want 2 resumes, we charge separately for each one – both will take around the same amount of time to complete on our end. Another approach is to purchase and receive one awesome general resume – action-oriented, specific about results – and then add in IT specifics for IT jobs. You wouldn’t be the first to take that approach.

Please contact us at products@managementconsulted.com for more info!

Dhawal –

Thanks for your post. Unfortunately, we’re not experts on every international market, and honestly the best read on your prospects should come from actual placements of graduates in the course prior to you. The course directors should be able to give you the best information, and I’d recommend touching base with them.

From our side, if you want to work on consulting skills, focus on the ability to use a data-driven approach to come up with high-level business insights. Develop curiosity – and have fun!

Best,
MC

i have completed my engg. from iit roorkee with gpa of 8.75/10.
currently i am working for oracle. i want to join some good bschool in usa but before that i wish to work for some big consulting firm like bcg mckinsey etc.please give me some advice regarding the application procedure, their requirements etc

regards

I would like an honest answer. How can someone break into consulting if they a) did not go to a top-tier business school (e.g., Harvard, Stanford, Univ. of Chicago), b) did not score over a 700 on the GMAT, c) do not have specifically-relevant past professional experiences?

I recently graduated with my MBA from Case Western Reserve University, a respectable school but not Harvard. I noticed the top firms recruit at the very top-tier schools, little elsewhere. Submitting a resume through these firms’ websites feels like sending them directly into a blackhole. Any suggestions on getting noticed, talked to, interviewed?

Thank you.

Would Management Consulted able to help me:-
1. I am a final year student for a part-time MBA program of an average Business School (in terms of ranking and etc) – Manchester Business School.
2. My engineering undergrad degree was from a new & still not established it names, local university at my home country.
3. I am working as an engineer and very technical position in the oil & gas industry for 6 years, no managerial experience.

Ron – you’ll be fine. Top B-schools covet military officers, especially those with combat leadership. Hopefully you were a grunt who led some jarheads in battle – if not, you’ll need to get your GMAT up.

Hey,I am interested in a Management Consulting career in one of the Big 3.I am going to be started my MSc in Engineering Management from University of Southern California this fall. Can you help me with the course selections as to get into consulting after its completion?I have done my B.Tech

Hello, I have about 15 years of recruiting experience. I am looking to do more..I would like to get started in a Management Consulting career. I am also starting my MBA in International Studies or Human Resources. I would like some input about how I could get started.

I am an MD working with Bain for about two years. What will be the best strategy next, stick with Bain or move 

what is with all the peop

what is with all the people posting ‘networking’ comments here out of sheer desperation? look, management consulting isn’t something you can just waltz into. McK, Bain, BCG find people early (21-22yrs old, out of UG) or after an MBA from a top school (no older than 28-30). if you’re 27 and at some useless MBA program, IT IS TOO LATE FOR YOU. you are no longer competitive with those at the top of the heap. if you don’t figure it out early in life, you’re not going to get in the door. dont want to be rude but that’s the way it is. pedigree matters.

if you think i’m being too general and you’re special, look at it this way: you’re 27 or 28. you have a degree from a top 100 school (not terrible, but nothing special) and an MBA from a school not in the top 10. 

that would mean your undergraduate education, your professional experience, and your graduate education are all unexceptional. it means you NEVER SHOWED THAT TYPE OF CAREER/EDUCATION POTENTIAL to anyone. why should the consulting firm believe different?

what makes you more desirable than a 21 year old fresh out of Princeton, with so much more time and potential to rack up more prestigious accomplishments (with the experience at McK/Bain/BCG playing a big role in defining their success, and adding to the perceived pedigree of the individual)?

sorry, but earning 6 figures at a young age at a non-ibanking job happens for very few people:

1. traders – pedigree/education doesn’t matter if you can make $$

2. private equity – arguably more competitive than consulting requiring ivy league caliber degree, plus ibanking work experience is almost a prereq unless you get in directly out of undergrad (rare)

3. web startup guys in California – usually need an engr/compsci degree from a respected school. easy to network online if you don’t have a great degree (need exceptional programming skills tho)

not to be discouraging but that’s the way it is. if you’re not happy doing what you’re doing by your late 20s, id say drop the hunt for the big $$$ and do a job you’d do even if it didn’t pay you (ie something you REALLY, really love). you’ll be happier

what is with all the people posting ‘networking’ comments here out of sheer desperation? look, management consulting isn’t something you can just waltz into. McK, Bain, BCG find people early (21-22yrs old, out of UG) or after an MBA from a top school (no older than 28-30). if you’re 27 and at some useless MBA program, IT IS TOO LATE FOR YOU. you are no longer competitive with those at the top of the heap. if you don’t figure it out early in life, you’re not going to get in the door. dont want to be rude but that’s the way it is. pedigree matters.

if you think i’m being too general and you’re special, look at it this way: you’re 27 or 28. you have a degree from a top 100 school (not terrible, but nothing special) and an MBA from a school not in the top 10. 

that would mean your undergraduate education, your professional experience, and your graduate education are all unexceptional. it means you NEVER SHOWED THAT TYPE OF CAREER/EDUCATION POTENTIAL to anyone. why should the consulting firm believe different?

what makes you more desirable than a 21 year old fresh out of Princeton, with so much more time and potential to rack up more prestigious accomplishments (with the experience at McK/Bain/BCG playing a big role in defining their success, and adding to the perceived pedigree of the individual)?

sorry, but earning 6 figures at a young age at a non-ibanking job happens for very few people:

1. traders – pedigree/education doesn’t matter if you can make $$

2. private equity – arguably more competitive than consulting requiring ivy league caliber degree, plus ibanking work experience is almost a prereq unless you get in directly out of undergrad (rare)

3. web startup guys in California – usually need an engr/compsci degree from a respected school. easy to network online if you don’t have a great degree (need exceptional programming skills tho)

not to be discouraging but that’s the way it is. if you’re not happy doing what you’re doing by your late 20s, id say drop the hunt for the big $$$ and do a job you’d do even if it didn’t pay you (ie something you REALLY, really love). you’ll be happier

P.S. – i tried the consulting/ibanking route, found them mind numbingly boring and exhausting, respectively, and switched to trading where i am now very happy

I had an interview yesterday that I felt went well. The hiring manager indicated they could definitely utilize my experience, but that my skills were a better match for another group in his Business Unit and offered to send my resume to the hiring manager. Should I perceive that as thank you but no thank you? What is the best way to follow up? I spoke to three people during the interview, should I follow up with a thank you to each person?