Can you go from an HR department to Human Capital Consulting?
Is that doable? If I'm at a major firm's HR department (Bain/BCG/McKinsey/Deloitte/PwC/KPMG/EY) can I go to B school and then use internal contacts to get into the Human Capital Consulting? I know I've heard stories about people making the jump from back office to front office, but I didn't know if the things you handle as an internal HR person would correlate at all to the front office side of it?
No offense, but if I sat in a top MBA admissions committee member..I wouldn't touch an HR applicant with a ten foot pole.
I'm not expert on MBA admissions, so take this with a grain of salt, but I can't imagine that you would automatically be disqualified from consideration because you work in HR. I've met MBAs at top programs with all sorts of backgrounds (elementary school teachers, military, peace corps, engineers, the list goes on).
I would imagine that crushing the GMAT is going to be huge for you to demonstrate that you do have strong quantitative ability, but if you're able to do that, I see no reason why you couldn't put together a pretty strong application.
lol wtf? so, what you're saying is, "no offense OP, but if I had any experience admitting mba candidates into top programs, which, don't get me wrong, I do not, I would consider you a shitty applicant. No offense of course."
It is absolutely possible. While I cannot comment on the MBA portion, I can comment on moving from internal to consulting.
I moved from an Internal HR Role at an organization (strategic HR projects) to People & Change at a consulting firm after 2 years, although I was not within the firm in question. The key was being projects focused and delivering key projects. Try to get as much experience with delivering projects as you can. Workforce planning, succession planning, HR Strategy, Organizational Effectiveness (my background), organizational design, and change management.
Within the firm, I have a reputation for the quantitative so I have been invovled in multiple supply chain projects (for my operational and financial modelling, and cost analysis), many org designs, in partciular those requiring forecasts for demand changes in the business and how the new designs respond the demands, financial process effectiveness projects, a small LEAN project with Operations and was just bid on a Strategy project because of my experiencing facilitating in a particular industry.
I won't say what I've done is all that common, but keep a great attitude, work on your skills, and help people in your competency and others whenever you can. You never know when they'll be on a project needing another person and call on you.
Oh, and lastly remember in some sectors people costs are their biggest cost, so it can really help you have someone who knows how to improve workforce productivity. In my current business case people costs are 87% of their costs, so any improvement to their productivity has a huge effect.
TT
What area of HR do you work in? If you do comp/benefits, you can look at Mercer/Aon/Towers/Willis. If you do Org Transformation/Talent/Workforce Analytics you can look at the big 4 consulting firms.
More importantly, you may want to reconsider getting an MBA if you're paying out of your own pocket, especially if you want to do Human Capital consulting. Big 4 consulting firms do sponsor MBAs for Human Capital consultants, but it's not necessary to make it to Partner as it generally is for a strategy consulting firm (except OW). You may want to try going right into HC Consulting now and then if you want your MBA, wait a year or two and you'll most likely be able to get firm sponsorship.
At a Big 4 consulting firm, I saw a recruiter (not even an HR person with true HR experience), make the jump from recruiter to entry-level HR consultant. I wasn't around to see how she worked out in the position, but it proves it's possible. I'd also say it's probably a lot more possible in Big 4, than in MBB. I'd give it a shot without the MBA, first. Then, I'd consider perhaps a part-time MBA. Full-time MBA admissions could be tough (though I think InterestedinVC may have overstated your hurdle).
Here's a plan to pursue a position without an MBA. I am going to guess in HR you've worked with a lot of client service professionals in the area of your firm that you want to work. I would pick one you've had an especially good relationship with, and ask if you can get their advice on making this transition. Do not flat out ask for a position, just advice. He or she should be the best gauge on whether you can pull this off and whether an MBA is required.
Good luck
It's possible to move from BO HR to Human Capital Consulting without the MBA. Quite a few folks I work with in HCM are from a strict HR background with specialties/previous experience in Comp & Talent management. Their backgrounds tend to be very useful in a client facing role- MDs know this, and therefore support transitions if the demand is there. You have to be more than simply adequate at your HR generalist position though as you are moving from Cost Center to Profit Center.
If the underlying motive here is you are trying to leverage a non-consulting offer now into consulting in the future, spend a year learning about operational HR, get good, network, and then transition.
TylerT is right on - it's definitely possible to make the switch to FO and the keys are 1) project impact 2) operational skills (ie expertise, particularly benefits/comp), and 3) quantitative skills. "HR Generalist" doesn't necessarily mean "admin".
I moved from an internal HR role (2 yrs) with renowned global nonprofit to HR Consulting (2 yrs), and I'm finishing up the MBA application process. My experience is that almost all programs reserve a few spots for human capital-type profiles and that the key points mentioned above (and by TytlerT) are the key to differentiation. You'll need a strong GMAT (at least avg for the school), well reasoned story, and demonstrated impact.
My advice for the transition (MBA or not) 1) Network and gain strong insight into target role(s) 2) Identify possible mentors/advocates 3) VOLUNTEER - take on 5-10 hrs/wk to demonstrate your value while building your skills/experience
I've been pushing to get out of the BO for 3 years. It can be an uphill battle and some have the attitude that HR is for low-talent admins (see first comment). However, human capital costs are critically important and business-driven HR is the future.
Agree, it is absolutrly possible in case you are motivated.
I would say to make this transition successful you should be smart, intelligent and a good networker. Of course, scope of work you were doing in internal HR matters a lot.
BR, Mark
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