Management Consulted » stanford http://managementconsulted.com Consulting resumes, interviews, jobs, and case studies Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:57:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 How To Break Into Management Consulting By Pursuing An MBA http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/2433/ http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/2433/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:56:39 +0000 Kevin http://managementconsulted.com/?p=2433 This article was guest written by my friend Zeke Lee, a fellow former management consultant (Booz & Co.) and Stanford graduate who offers some great real world advice on the realities of recruiting. Zeke is also the founder of the GMAT Pill Study Method, a great GMAT prep resource for those considering the MBA route for their career aspirations – more on that at the end of the article.

Those of you who follow Management Consulted know the 2 most common ways to get into the industry are through

1) undergrad recruiting at a target school

2) business school recruiting at a target MBA program

Well, let’s say you missed the boat with #1: undergrad recruiting. Your school wasn’t a “target” school or you had no clue what management consulting was until now. How would you use #2 to get into management consulting?

Let’s first take a look from the firms’ perspective.

You see, different firms have different hiring practices between these two options.

As a management consultant at Booz & Company, I trained alongside with the rest of my hiring class. 95% of my class were MBA hires. Booz happens to have a much more “diamond” shaped hierarchy with lots of MBA level hires, but only a few undergrad hires.

Other firms like Bain & Company, on the other hand, hire a lot more undergrads and have a more “pyramid” shaped hierarchy. So a class of consultants will likely include a few more undergrads than MBA hires at a place like Bain.

Knowing the organizational structure of various firms helps you understand which firms have a higher demand at which levels. As an undergrad you may not research much about a place like Booz, but certainly at the MBA level the firm would come into mind because of the greater opportunities there.

Many of my colleagues at Booz were hired from MBA and so I naturally learned how many of them broke into the industry.

Let me give you an example of an MBA hire who leveraged his previous industry exposure to get into a specialized team of Booz & Company.

This fellow consultant (we’ll call him Jim) used to work at Boeing–the aerospace company full of rocket scientists who design the 787’s and 777’s for continental and intercontinental airflights you’ve all been on. Realizing he wanted to branch out of the nitty gritty details of what he was doing at Boeing, Jim decided he wanted a more business oriented career. He tried getting into the management consulting industry but couldn’t even get an interview.

After getting the career advice he needed, Jim took his GMAT and entered a top MBA program.

During a random networking event, he met a Booz & Company employee who actually was not a management consultant—BUT he happened to work right next to the group of management consultants at his office~ These consultants happened to specialize in aerospace! This referring employee told the group that they might be interested in someone like Jim who came from a big-name aerospace company like Boeing.

It’s important to note that Jim wasn’t an aerospace engineer—he had some assistant project manager position. But the fact that he came from a big company with a big brand name like “Boeing”–which also happened to be one of Booz’s key clients–made it that much easier for the referring employee to make the referral. You see, branding is that important.

As a side note, for anybody looking for a job right after undergrad, I highly recommend starting with a company that has a STRONG BRAND name. I would almost say that from a career perspective, it matters LESS what your job title is and MORE what your company name is–at least when it comes time to finding your next job in the early stages of your career. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule but this is generally true. A strong brand helps people associate you with something familiar and makes the referral process much easier–it’s just the way human beings are wired up.

Anyway, back to Jim. So Jim got his interview with the Aerospace team because he came from Boeing, a key client for the aerospace team. His interview was actually delayed over a long period of time because the hiring managers were in and out of town traveling from engagement to engagement. Jim followed up and eventually met in person.

During the interview, Jim shared stories of how he became VP of the consulting society at his MBA program, how he led teams at Boeing and made presentations to 200+ colleagues, etc. Negotiations went on for quite a bit, but eventually Jim got the job.

You see, this wasn’t even through the school’s official recruiting program! Definitely make use of your school’s recruiting channels, but do not overlook random networking events that might point you in the right direction like this one did.

From this story, we can summarize Jim’s progression that you can also follow:
Jim…

1) Realized he wanted to get into management consulting

2) Took the GMAT exam

3) Got into a top MBA program

4) Networked and leveraged the brand name of his company wherever he went so people could identify who he was (the Aerospace guy)

5) Got the interview with a very specialized team (generally less competition) that he had exposure to.

6) Closed the deal

Consulting firms love hiring people with industry experience + MBA. Whether you work at Intel (semiconductor industry), Amgen (bio-engineering), or L’Oreal (luxury retail), getting an MBA can position yourself as a potential hire with the specific industry experience that firms love.

There’s much less risk for the firm to hire you if you already have a sense of who the major players are in that industry and how the competitive landscape looks. Instead of spending the first few months reading reports on what is happening in the industry, you can just jump right into the real work–saving the firm time and money!

Ok ok, I know. There are a lot of assumptions there.

Just because you work at a semiconductor company does not necessarily mean you understand the semiconductor industry in the high-level way that consultants do. This is true. When I was at Lucent Technologies, for example, there were plenty of people who had no clue what was going on with the company simply because they weren’t exposed at that level.

“Huh? Quarterly Earnings? Today? What’s the CEO’s name again?”

So you can’t really say that by working in an industry you automatically understand what is going on.

However, for the purposes of finding a job what matters more is your PERCEIVED understanding of an industry rather than your ACTUAL understanding of an industry. Your mere background of coming from an industry automatically raises your PERCEIVED value as someone familiar with that industry. And it is this PERCEPTION of industry expertise and industry fit that can help you get into a specialized team within management consulting. This is especially true when everyone else is pitching themselves as a “generalist.”

Be careful, though! It’s not as convincing (though still possible) if you try to change industries in the process. For example, if you worked at Intel and want to do consulting in the retail industry, you’re going to be competing with people who already have retail experience and may be a better fit.

Having said that, IF you like your industry and just want to shift over to the business side of that same industry, then the GMAT/MBA route will position you well for a career in management consulting for those who missed undergrad recruiting.

For those of you who plan to take the GMAT exam, I highly recommend you check out a great GMAT prep resource, the GMAT Pill Study Method, especially if you want to maximize your time efficiency when studying. The site’s been getting good reviews around the web and even has a 60-day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. In fact, if you decide to enroll, Zeke is letting ManagementConsulted.com readers in for a generous 25% discount –a great bargain and excellent alternative to Kaplan or Princeton Review.

]]> http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/2433/feed/ 23 How to get a consulting job in a tough economy: notes from recruiting talks http://managementconsulted.com/consulting-jobs/how-to-get-a-consulting-job-in-a-tough-economy-notes-from-recruiting-talks/ http://managementconsulted.com/consulting-jobs/how-to-get-a-consulting-job-in-a-tough-economy-notes-from-recruiting-talks/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:33:04 +0000 Kevin http://managementconsulted.com/?p=1097 Our Recruiting in a Down Market talks from last week covered a lot of useful material that I’d like to share with readers.

The key takeaways for lazy people are:

  • Networking is everything – focus on a few quality channels and be proactive
  • Spread your net wide – you can’t afford to be picky
  • Have a Plan B but be careful that you don’t cut off future options

That said, here is an abbreviated version of our talks. Note that some of this content is from Mergers and Inquisitions.

We’re no longer in the boom years of 2004-2007

Consulting hiring has been deeply impacted. From firm-wide hiring freezes and layoffs (eg, Accenture) to reduced hiring at the Big 3, recruiting is not as easy as it used to be.

However, in the words of Jim Cramer – there’s always a bull market somewhere. Consulting firms focused on corporate restructuring are doing well in these times, and big firms such as Bain and BCG are building their expertise in these areas.

In addition, there are significant regional differences in hiring – but I’ll get to that below.

There are several things you can do to set yourself apart and break into consulting

The key here is to be proactive, rather than reactive. To get yourself in front of people, instead of waiting for them to recruit you. Even the strongest candidates with big brand names on their resumes and 3.9 GPAs aren’t guaranteed interviews, much less offers.

There are a few areas to help you standout in consulting recruiting:

  1. Spread your net wide – consider all boutique consulting firms that recruit. After all, strategy consulting experience is much better than technology consulting if you want to break into MBB
  2. Consider all geographies – large metropolitan markets like New York are always tough, but near impossible in these times. Look to international markets like Dubai and East Asia. If you can overcome language differences and don’t mind the travel, you stand a better chance
  3. Consider adjacent jobs in corporate America and even entrepreneurship – particularly if you’re looking at summer internships

Finally, network, network, network. This is an area where few do well. I’m a believer in 80/20 – so look at your primary channels including:

  • School alumni networks
  • Family and friend networks – be open about what your goal is!
  • Work networks

Network skillfully. See here for some more networking tips. Use the Law of Attraction to your advantage by being open about your goals to anyone and everyone.

I, like many of you, used to think networking was annoying. I didn’t do much of it. I thought it was fake and superficial. But it played a huge role in getting me to McKinsey. Don’t overlook it

Some companies have learned lessons from the last recession, but all of them are getting hit by the markets

Remember when the tech bubble burst? It was painful for companies, their employees, and new recruits. Offers were rescinded, people were fired, everything was a mess.

This time around, companies want to avoid those same mistakes. After all – who wants to recruit for a company that took away job offers and summarily fired people without warning?

Some companies have attempted to adopt hiring policies that look beyond this recession. They want to invest in people for the future, and not worry about cyclical drops in demand now that may leave them suffering from a staff shortage in 3 years.

But let’s face it. The vast majority of firms have cut hiring. BearingPoint even filed for bankruptcy protection.

You’ll need backup options.

Have a Plan B, C, and D…but be careful when pulling the trigger

Everyone has different passions – you may think this is the perfect time to go to Japan and teach English, or pickup surfing in Hawaii.

Be careful – too much time off, and you may never get back on the management consulting track if that’s your goal. It’s tough because no one knows when markets will recover – but if we learned anything from the last recession, we know that the pain won’t disappear immediately.

Business school is a bad idea without work experience. Consider a Master’s program at a top institution instead. It buys time, you learn something you’re interested in, and you get another chance at recruiting.

Anecdote: a friend of mine was unsuccessful recruiting for MBB at Stanford. She enrolled in a Yale master’s program, re-recruited, and received offers to all 3. Masters programs can be a great option, but don’t do it for the sake of recruiting alone

Lastly, consider long-term ramifications of your decisions. If you pursue marketing or accounting, it may be difficult to get back on the strategy consulting train. Entrepreneurship is another option – but unless you’re obscenely successful, you may need to go back to school if you want to work at Bain.

I encourage people to think about their 5-year plan. Does management and strategy consulting play a clear role? If not, start pursuing your longer-term dreams now. If it does, then follow my advice above, continue recruiting and networking, and you’ll get your chance. You can also contact me if you need more extensive help

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]]> http://managementconsulted.com/consulting-jobs/how-to-get-a-consulting-job-in-a-tough-economy-notes-from-recruiting-talks/feed/ 8 Welcome to new readers plus a few questions answered http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/welcome-to-new-readers-plus-a-few-questions-answered/ http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/welcome-to-new-readers-plus-a-few-questions-answered/#comments Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:23:30 +0000 Kevin http://managementconsulted.com/?p=344 Received an influx of new readers in the last few days, thanks to some link love from fellow bloggers. Thanks to Marquis first and foremost, who is both a fellow Stanford grad and fellow ex-McKinsey consultant. He regularly blogs about management consulting and MBA issues and has sensible, smart advice for just about everything career-related.

Check out his blog here.

For my new readers, here are some recommended and popular articles for you to browse:

I’ve been receiving emails from readers of Management Consulted that had similar themes and wanted to address a few to start building my FAQ page:

#1 Why did you exit consulting?

After 2+ years at McKinsey, it was time to move on. I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart – the risk-taking, the ambiguity, the fast pace and the journey of creating something from nothing. I went into my McKinsey tenure with the mindset that entrepreneurship would come after my time at the firm. I spent the next two years learning as much as possible so I could take those skills and start my own company.

It was an incredible experience – there are a few things that really stuck out for me:

  • The caliber of people was unparalleled. It showed me the “benchmark” that I need to meet in order to be successful in business. People were friendly, intelligent, ambitious, and willing to share
  • The training – both on the job and formal – was continuous and applicable far beyond management consulting
  • The responsibility from day one is stressful but immensely rewarding. Nowhere else is a recent college or MBA graduate with limited business experience given 3 months to get to par with senior executives who’ve pored over the same problems for decades. It really teaches you to focus on the things that matter

#2 Why did you start this blog?

I’ve been helping friends/colleagues looking to enter management consulting for years with their resumes, cover letters, interviews, and questions. It’s personally and professionally fulfilling for me. Given that experience (and the experience inside McKinsey helping recruit new employees and seeing how the hiring process worked), I decided to start this blog to share the knowledge accumulated – and am looking forward to meeting others on a similar journey.

It’s an effective avenue for selling my own consulting services. In future weeks, I plan to release case studies, interview guides, and the like. All with the same aim – at helping people become as prepared as possible for a career in the consulting industry.

#3 Can you help me…

I’ve gotten many emails with questions about recruiting; requests to help with specific aspects of applications; and so forth. While I try my best to be helpful, I do have limited time. In addition, even the people I do help, I can barely scratch the surface through email. If you really have tons of burning questions or need my undivided attention, by far the best way is to sign-up for a coaching session with me – I’m flexible about the amount of time needed and when. This way, everybody wins!

Thanks for reading!

UPCOMING POSTS: More detail on each component of the recruiting process

Good luck! Subscribe to my RSS feed here. I offer hands-on coaching sessions to help people break into management consulting and top business jobs – from re-writing your resume to simulated interviews/case studies to thorough Q&A. You’ll learn everything I know about recruiting for and working at the top businesses in the world

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