Required Networking in Consulting

Obviously, networking is required to place in IB. Just knowing technicals/having a good resume isn't enough.

I have always wondered what it is like in the Management consulting industry. Obviously, networking is required, but is it as intense as IB? Has anyone experienced both IB and consulting recruiting and can you speak on how each industry views networking differently? Or do you need to network the same amount?

 

Networking is very important. Junior staff are often charged with going through the resumes of applicants. If they know you, they are more likely to pull your resume out. If you leave a good impression with a senior employee, they may tell the recruiting team to keep an eye out for your resume. This is how you get a foot in the door, then it’s up to you to crush the case.

 

Completely agree with this, but there is a bit more nuance IMO.

Networking is 100% necessary for non-targets to get their resume even looked at.

For target school students, it's not necessary in the sense that your resume WILL be looked at. There are going to be many students who don't network and get MBB interviews simply because they applied and have strong credentials. From there, they have a good a shot as any.

Networking comes into play to give you the edge when they pick out those interviews, as Making Gravy said. I think it is particularly helpful for borderline applicants.

I also think it's important note that networking is not a decision maker past the first-round. The vast majority of the decision comes down to your interview performance, not whether or not you networked.

 
Most Helpful

The higher your ambitions in any field, and the higher the prestige of the firm you're trying to get into, the bigger the role networking plays in helping you get in. Applicant's, to not mince words, are a dime a dozen. If an insider is willing to be in your corner and fight with you, your odds improve significantly.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

Networking is huge. MBB care more about grades than banks, so if your GPA isn't a 3.7 (or maybe even higher) with strong work experience, you're going to get rejected if you don't network. At my MBB first round (including the McK problem solving test), everyone I knew had a GPA over 3.8 or had really strong connections. That could be family connections or really substantial networking, but nobody with non-stellar grades got invited just from submitting a resume.

If you have family connections, use them. If your grades suck, hopefully you have connections at lower-tier firms, but you should ask asap.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 

My concern is more ECs than GPA. I have had a job, nothing amazing but still a job that isn't just starbucks barista or something each summer and my GPA is alright (not 3.8+ but above 3.6) and my finance/econ GPA might be even be higher than 3.7 and closer to 3.8 territory. I'm mostly worried about lack of ECs and the fact that I've messed up in a few classes (got Bs in retarded classes like "Geography", "Marketing", etc.) even though I've done well in finance and my quantitative classes.

However, and I might sound cocky, I do think that I'm an intelligent guy, I work hard and never give up even when I don't do as well as I hoped I would. Plus, even though I don't really have much in terms of ECs, I actively trade and I do a lot of reading in order to make up for my deficiencies in terms of academic credentials. I think I can still be a valuable asset to any consulting firm and can compete with the HYPS grads, but the question is how do I get there? I don't know that many people/don't have much family aside from a couple in consulting and I don't have that many alumns from my school going into consulting. Therefore, since I'm very shorthanded and in case my family contacts don't work, what's the next best way to get my foot in the door?

Pretty women make us BUY beer. Ugly women make us DRINK beer.
 
Al Bundy:
Therefore, since I'm very shorthanded and in case my family contacts don't work, what's the next best way to get my foot in the door?

If your family contacts don't work out, go through your school's alumni network. You probably have far more connections than you realize: it could be someone as obscure as your dad's old college roommate is a partner at Monitor or something.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 

One can network for several reasons: 1. To learn more about consulting in general, a firm/office/practice area in particular, etc. This indirectly helps by making you better prepared, and could directly help should one of these people have a direct role in recruiting 2. To meet people who directly influence who gets interviewed to increase one's chances of getting an interview. This typically involves participating in every on-campus event held by a company and becoming buddies with those people. It can work -- firms like people who have done their homework, seem decent, etc. Of course, if you annoy people it's also a quick route to getting dinged before the fact 3. To meet people who can pass your CV along to people who do influence

1 does not directly help you get an interview/job(unless one of these contacts is in recruiting), so may not be helpful 2 may not be available to you if you are non-target 3 works if people are willing to vouch for you. For them to vouch for you, you have to be a diamond in the rough. Otherwise, they won't, because it can undercut their credibility with others (of course, if the firm has a recruiting bounty in place, they they might be willing to take chances). If you aren't, they might still pass it along but would be candid with recruiting about what they think of you (to maintain their credibility). So if you are all that, then great. If not, no harm done, but merely having contacts -- unless they are super-senior in the firm and no one wants to say no -- will not necessarily help

 
bbjhva:
Have you tried focusing your search on a different office, in a totally different location? Eg, Europe or Asia? That might be a way to go seeing as NA might not be working out. Esp Asia could work out, firms are definitely hiring there.
'

I actually PREFER to work in Asia, but for the locations I'm interested in, they don't take junior summer analysts. I have relatives in Asia that have worked for McK/BCG, but I can't use them till next year because they only take people on for FT, not summers. That's why I really, really want a legit internship this summer + get my GPA as high as possible so that by the time i re-submit my resume to them next summer, I'll have good work experience, GPA and a reference so I can at least secure an interview easily and maybe land a FT right out of college. It's gonna be tough though still to get something over there, but right now, I'm focused on having something for this summer.

Pretty women make us BUY beer. Ugly women make us DRINK beer.
 

if you can get referred then sure why not. don't get your hopes all high tho and its just the nature of consultants to care about GPA.

im sure GPA alone is not a good indicator but it does create a perception of who you are from a recruiters standpoint. a 3.1-3.2 is really low, so again get connected and see how it goes. I wudn't get my hopes too high tho and focus on my MM IBD job

 

Yeah, but i'm talking about at least a couple years after graduating to the point in which it's generally okay to leave GPA off resume. Through balls hard networking, I was able to land an MM IBD internship this summer as a sophomore.

 

It's almost impossible to lateral as an analyst to MBB, and I'm not sure how supportive your potential bosses will be of you moving to consulting. Consulting is probably not as useful buyside connections.

Since you are still a sophomore, there's still time to boost your GPA for FT recruiting. Meanwhile, try to get a consulting internship after your junior year, even if it's a boutique/2nd tier (It'll be very hard to get a MBB internship with FT MBB recruiting.

 

A) Avoid starting every sentence with "I." It does not reflect well on the writer.

"I hope this email finds you well. My name is XXX, and I am a FELLOW graduate of XXXX and currently work ("WORK NOT "WORKING") in YYY (City) with PQR, and have x years of total work experience. I am committed to building a career in the consulting industry and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to meet with you on an informational basis IN ORDER TO learn about your experiences as a consultant at McKinsey's XXX office.

If your schedule does not allow for that, we could have a short conversation over the phone. I am happy to work with your schedule. Please let me know what particular day/time would work best for you.

In order to help you learn more about my background, I have attached my resume and included a brief self introduction below.

Thanks for your time. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you. [As a PS, I would write one paragraph describing your career trajectory. It should show how your trajectory leads to consulting.]

SOME OF THE CHANGES REFLECT MY PERSONAL PREFERENCES, SO I'M NOT SAYING THAT THE ORIGINAL PHRASING WAS NECESSARILY WRONG. JUST MY 2 CENTS. OTHERS MIGHT BE ABLE TO IMPROVE ON IT. FOR EXAMPLE, IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO ADD A FEW WORDS BEFORE THE "I AM COMMITTED TO..."

B) Yes; see above.

C) That is where the brief bio after your signature kicks in. It allows you to keep the email short (so that people actually read it) while allowing you to put all that extra info.

 

The email's fine. Don't overthink this too much - the reader isn't going to spend half an hour parsing it, he/she is just going to scan it to answer, "what does he want?" My only nit would be changing "connecting with you over a cup of coffee or a phone conversation" to "connecting with you over a cup of coffee or over the phone." The answer you get to your inquiry will depend on whether the person wants to talk to you, not on what they think about your phrasing.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 

What Matrix said is true, but only partially. Some people are particular with writing wile others are not. Since your email is the only thing that they can base their judgement of you, I´d say spend those extra minutes making it flawless.

For some "interested in consulting" is the same as "committed to"; for me there is a difference, especially if you back it up with your attitude when/if you get to meet with him. It is all subjective.

Let's not start a discussion about the importance of being a wordsmith in cold emails. The simple incontestable fact is that you just don't know if this particular reader cares. And you don't need to read the email attentively to be able to tell how well it is written.

 

Thanks Ash_Nash and 2x2Matrix... these are excellent tips.. I guess I am over-thinking :) Although I don't want to mess up at such an initial stage, right? ;) I liked the tip on keeping the email brief and including a bio below tge signature. That way you keep your message brief and still provide enough details/context. Thanks both.

 

She will just refer you, so even if she takes a break from work that might not be an issue as long as she does it after you submit your application.

The other option would be to send her an email along these lines

a) Thanks for telling me about X opportunity. Saw that X opportunity is being advertised online b) YYY told me about your sickness and I am sorry to hear that d) It wouldn't be fair of me to bother you with my application at the moment. e) I was wondering if you could put me in touch with a colleague putting me in touch with someone who could do ZZZ for my application in case you take some time away from work? f) Thanks for reading, I wish you a XXX recovery.

This is just an idea on how you could approach her. Other users might have additional tips. Good luck

No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well.
 
Yohoo:
She will just refer you, so even if she takes a break from work that might not be an issue as long as she does it after you submit your application.

The other option would be to send her an email along these lines

a) Thanks for telling me about X opportunity. Saw that X opportunity is being advertised online b) YYY told me about your sickness and I am sorry to hear that d) It wouldn't be fair of me to bother you with my application at the moment. e) I was wondering if you could put me in touch with a colleague putting me in touch with someone who could do ZZZ for my application in case you take some time away from work? f) Thanks for reading, I wish you a XXX recovery.

This is just an idea on how you could approach her. Other users might have additional tips. Good luck

That's a difficult situation OP. I think Yohoo has a pretty good plan of action.

- Currently under review for Senior Monkey position. Will networking with alum help any?
 
bears1208:
Thanks guys. I've gotten a lot of conflicting opinions but think I might take yoohoo's advice.

Let us know the result. Silver nana for Yohoo?

No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well.
 

Yes, try everything. But one suggestion I can give you is that even if you don't get a top consulting job- move to a large business center Sinagpore, Shanghai, etc, take a small job and keep trying. Eventually opportunity will come for you, but it helps to be PHYSICALLY there.

 

Thanks for the input. That's what I'm thinking too. I love my country but honestly I don't want to spend my 20s there. My short 5 months in the states make me realize there is a whole new and exciting world out there and I would love to build a career in SEA/Greater China. But have you ever heard of a phone informational interview??? Plus, should I just contact a consultant or someone in HR or both? I am also concerned about how persistent should I be (I don't want to come across as an annoying, stalkerish applicant)

Thank you again!

My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil - JP Getty
 

Yes, I have heard of phone informational interviews. And first-round interviews done through phone. Nowadays I've even heard of second-round interviews done through skype. But of course to actually get the job, you'd have to be there in person and they're not coming to where you are.

Consultant. Contact professionals. I've come to realize that HR only works if you have a skill that is in great need. There's a lot of threads on how to approach people for job/internship leads. Look them up. It's hard to define "too persistent". Of course you don't want to come off as any of those things, but you don't want to give up too easily/early either. That said, its better to overshoot - its better to look desperate than not try enough.

I really like your tenacity and story. Going to the states, being adventurous, being proactive, etc. It's impressive especially for a girl (no offense you know what I mean). If you can make professionals in industry feel the same way about you as I do, then I think you may get lucky...

 

Thank you for your kind words. That really means a lot. I guess at the end of the day, everyone who is on this forum has one same goal: how to have a better life and a fulfilling career, and that's all I want too, a better life for me and my family.

Turns out McK is recruiting in my country (the office is brand new and it was actually some sort of a spinoff from the Singapore office). I will take the PST in early October and now I'm nervous as hell. Mental math is definitely something I worry about the most (due to time pressure) but here's hoping I can do well enough to land an interview.

My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil - JP Getty
 

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