Deloitte S&O to M7 to MBB?
I have recently been accepted to several M7 MBA programs (Booth, Kellogg, Columbia), and have a couple questions about MBB recruiting. My background pre-mba is 1.5 years at Deloitte S&O and then 2 years in a F500 corp. strategy role.
1) How much of a regional aspect is there to MBB recruiting at the M7? I do see a disproportionate % of M7 grads go to MBB offices near their school, but is that just self selection or is it because it is easier to get an offer in the offices near one's school? Basically, if I want to end up in NYC long term, how much am I shooting myself in the foot if I go to Kellogg or Booth?
2) How will MBB evaluate my career path to date (Deloitte to Corp. Strategy)? Do I get points for having prior consulting experience, or will they question my commitment to consulting long term, since I left Deloitte early? My story would be that I went into industry in order to really learn that industry firsthand and in-depth, and now want to move back into consulting so that I can focus on the highest leverage problems that companies in that industry face.
Why did you actually leave Deloitte? If you want to go back into consulting after bschool, seems like it would have made a lot more sense to stay at Deloitte and get the tuition sponsorship. Your story would be more tight if you had at least stayed the 2 years and got promoted to consultant. I would think that this might raise red flags of whether or not you could cut it (maybe mitigate by references / letters of rec from managers at Deloitte).
That being said, I've also been told by colleagues at my firm that if you leave consulting to try something else and want to come back after b-school you'd generally have no problem doing so.
Congrats on the acceptances by the way. Do you think leaving consulting for some industry experience made you a more competitive applicant?
Left Deloitte for several reasons related to the opportunity in Corp. Strategy. The company I joined is thriving in a tough industry and my group has amazing access to the c-suite. Also, I really wanted to continue working in that industry and didn't feel that I would be able to do so consistently at Deloitte. Finally, the offer came with an all expenses paid move to NYC, which was very appealing.
I did receive the top rating at Deloitte and can put that on my resume (and back up with paperwork), so I hope that would mitigate any thoughts that I left for performance reasons. Could probably get a few good references as well, although that might be a bit awkward, given that Deloitte competes with MBB. Certainly could get recs from my Corp. Strategy colleagues, many of which are MBB alums.
To your question, I do think that leaving consulting for industry made me more competitive. The exposure I have had to senior execs in my current role was definitely a focus of my essays and interviews. I also think it rounded me out and put me in a different bucket from my white male consultant peers.
1) It's a bit of a combination of both. Self-selection definitely plays a role, but at my MBB, the Chicago office runs recruitment at Kellogg and Booth and the New York office runs recruitment at Columbia, so it is a bit easier to get offers at those offices. With that said, there are definitely a number Kellogg and Booth people at other offices, so it's hardly impossible. Personally, I wouldn't anchor my decision around this, because I think that, if you work hard enough, you'll be able to make MBB NY happen out of Kellogg and Booth, but it'll be a bit more of an uphill road.
2) I think it'll be pretty neutral. There are certainly several people at my MBB firm that previously worked at Deloitte or other consulting firms before business school, and there are also people who left my MBB firm to go work in industry and then came back to MBB after business school. I don't think your career path is the most compelling on paper, relative to other M7 MBAs, but it's not a dealbreaker either. Make sure you have a clear story on why you left for industry and why it wasn't for you. I would be a little more specific than saying you want to work on more important problems.
Thanks very much for your thoughts. Definitely will work on tightening up the story a bit. Any advice on ways to improve my profile (either before or during b-school)?
Generally speaking, your profile's probably pretty set. I think setting yourself further apart will come down to being able to articulate what your longer-term goals are beyond MBB and what specifically you're looking to get out of your time at MBB.
For example, "I wanted to go to business school and pursue consulting, because at my F500 job, I didn't see a near-term path to learning how to manage others and lead a team, so even though I'd like to go back to [Industry X], I want to develop my managerial skills more first." sounds a lot better than "I wanted to go back into consulting because it offered faster career/pay progression."
Tbh MBB expects that you'll go back in and grind for 2-3 years before they spit you back out, as is the case for most post-MBA hires, so not being seen as a potential lifer is probably no biggie.
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