MBB - Apply for Associate Consultant, or Consultant? Profile Evaluation
This got long quickly, sorry - abbreviated stats at the bottom
I’m a little unsure if I could apply for Associate Consultant, or Consultant. My work hasn’t been the most quant-heavy, but I’m leaning toward consultant. I'm a 3rd party Project Manager for Hospital Capital Projects – new construction, remodels, and major equipment swap-outs - basically a consultant for a niche industry. I'm in one of the top 5 largest US cities
Basically I consult with the client user group to determine needs, evaluate scope and create budget with architects, engineers, and any other required specialists. I create the budget, schedule, define risks and expectations, and oversee/manage the project from start to finish. I've been doing this for the past year. Before this I managed construction projects in another industry for 2.5 years.
I have a BS and Masters of Architecture from a non-target, large State School – 3.11 GPA
I recently scored a 650 on the GMAT – Q44 V35 – not awesome or anything so I might try again for 700+
I went through one of Bain’s case studies they have on their website, and the answers came pretty easily for me – almost seemed like common sense. I haven’t done any prep for cases, so I will probably study the Victor Cheng material.
Can anyone at one of the MBB's provide some insight how I might be viewed?
tl;dr - Masters of Arch, BS Arch, 3.11 GPA, 650 GMAT (Q44 V35), 3 years project management experience
At Bain you could probably start at Senior Associate Consultant with your work experience, but I don't think you can start as consultant, which is post-MBA/PhD. As always, you need to get the interview. Your stats are far from impressive, so you have to leverage your experience. If you are serious about the change to consulting, don't take the interview process lightly. The video case on their website is representative of the format, but the interviews are definitely more difficult. Further, the cases at the interviews can be of very different character, so invest in doing 50+ cases over Skype. The answer might come to you intuitively, but if you can't arrive at the answer in a data-driven and structured manner you are toast! All in all: Write a killer cover letter, get the interview, practice like crazy, kill it at the interviews, get the offer :D
Thanks for your post. Is there a particular time of year that I should apply? I haven't been able to find anything about timing for experienced hires.
I would hesitate to waste the time applying, you have virtually no shot with your current resume. Your best bet would be to attend business school and apply through on campus recruiting.
Care to elaborate?
Would bumping my GMAT to 700+ make any significant difference?
Several reasons, I'm really not trying to be rude.
Best bet would be apply coming from business school.
Great feedback. Knowing where they will pick on me helps me plan how to mitigate my weak areas.
I've also done projects for big box stores, international oil & gas related firms, credit unions, national food distribution firms, national real estate development firms, and private smaller clients. I learned a bit about each client and their respective industry as I worked for them, which is actually why I thought consulting would be a good fit for me because I enjoying learning something new with each assignment.
The other points are a bit out of my control, aside from the GMAT. However, I have applied to MBA's in Round 2, so we'll see what shakes out in the future.
Thanks again.
Anyone else have any input? Other weaknesses? Other ideas how to leverage my strengths?
You have to apply through their website. You can do this all year. Of course, they might have some internal dates for the process, but then you will just have to wait for the interviews. I applied in May (also through the website and not through campus recruitment) and had my first interviews in August. However, I am in Europe, so it might me different here :)
In addition, I'm pretty good at describing my thought process and reasoning behind making decisions. I have a lot of experience from working face to face with seasoned professionals twice my age, so I'm a confident presenter/speaker.
But, I understand I need to get in the door first.
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