M/B/B Consultant Answering Your Questions
I've gotten a lot of useful - and not so useful - information from this site over the last several years, and I'd like to give back by contributing some real content.
Am finishing up a stint at one of the M/B/B firms and would be happy to answer any questions regarding management consulting - getting in, the job itself, and exit opportunities.
I will not respond to PMs; if you have a question, everyone will likely benefit from the answer.
More about me:
- Went to non-Ivy target school
- Studied undergraduate business
- Main focus areas in terms of content have been industrials and earth materials







What's next for you?
What's next for you?
Will be taking the private
Will be taking the private equity route following the end of my two year gig - have always been drawn to the principal investing side and figured it's time to do it before business school.
What are exit ops like for
What are exit ops like for people with 2~3 years of Post-MBA roles at MBB if they go into a F500 firm? Salary level/ seniority would be helpful. Would it be a faster career progression than joining F500 right out of MBA?
Also, is 3 years of F100 corp. fin rotation experience Pre-MBA good enough experience to be competitive for post MBA MBB roles ? (Assuming out of M7 MBA)
Difficult to pin down what
Difficult to pin down what the opportunities are for F500 firms - the answer as always will be it depends [e.g., types of work you've focused in, intrinsic skill set]. From what I've seen, most folks have either embedded themselves in a upper tier strategy position - essentially lateraling over to assume a similar responsibility within the internal consulting organization - or have found programs that may lead to minor P&L responsibility once the individual has gotten some experience within the organization.
First, if you're at an M7 MBA, have decent work experience, and have done a good job networking on campus there's no reason you shouldn't be in the mix for at least a first round interview. After that it's all about your performance. To answer your question specifically, I think 3 years of F100 corporate finance falls under the "decent work experience" bucket.
If you're really set on a corporate role, there are some amazing rotational programs that may actually accelerate your progression within that organization further than lateraling from M/B/B after two years.
Appreciate it. Do you mind
Appreciate it. Do you mind giving me some names of the excellent F500 rotation programs out of MBA?
These are more anecdotal -
These are more anecdotal - i.e., someone explaining to me what someone else in his or her business class has done - but I've heard that within the Pepsi rotational program you can be managing a nine figure P&L within two to three years after business school, Schlumberger will send you all over the globe to ensure you get the full spectrum of company opportunities, GE across the board puts a high premium on development.
Not going to pretend to be an expert here having never sought out these types of roles - my intuition would be that most F500 companies have some sort of prestigious fast track type role, you just may need to get creative in terms of tapping into specific networks to get in the mix.
Just to preempt any of the
Just to preempt any of the following questions:
- Went to non-Ivy target school
- Studied undergraduate business
- Main focus areas in terms of content have been industrials and earth materials
What are the key skill
What are the key skill differences in associates vs analysts?
A good analyst should look
A good analyst should look and feel like a good associate - most partners would tell you they would prefer to staff a high performing analyst over an associate most times.
In general associates are tasked with less "raw" analysis [e.g., data cleaning, model creation] and are tasked with the "softer" roles [e.g., interviews, market research, leading client teams]. The best place to be in my opinion is a high performing analyst that can act in a standalone role which bridges the two types of skill sets. Don't be too quick to say you want to get out of Excel and PowerPoint; trying to change client mindsets is similar to herding cats, so every now and then it's relaxing to just sit down and crank out some analysis without having to talk to anyone.
1. How was it? 2. What was
1. How was it?
2. What was the non-useful advice you got on here?
3. What advice do you have to applicants hoping to work at MBB aside from the usual stuff?
4. How much worse are the 2nd tier consulting firms in terms of work experience and exit ops?
PrivateEmpire: A good analyst
A good analyst should look and feel like a good associate - most partners would tell you they would prefer to staff a high performing analyst over an associate most times.
In general associates are tasked with less "raw" analysis [e.g., data cleaning, model creation] and are tasked with the "softer" roles [e.g., interviews, market research, leading client teams]. The best place to be in my opinion is a high performing analyst that can act in a standalone role which bridges the two types of skill sets. Don't be too quick to say you want to get out of Excel and PowerPoint; trying to change client mindsets is similar to herding cats, so every now and then it's relaxing to just sit down and crank out some analysis without having to talk to anyone.
Thanks for the insight, good sir.
1.) Loved it - obviously
1.) Loved it - obviously experiences will differ but I found that I was given an increasing amount of responsibility over time and was able to develop a very real toolkit; there are some less than fantastic parts [e.g., significant travel, useless work purely for packaging our ideas to the client, lack of follow through on client side] but overall believe I made the best choice coming out of undergrad
2.) There was a thread recently that talked about how negativity surrounding many of these topics doesn't make any sense - every job that folks are talking about on these forums will have it's downside [see above] and you will likely work long hours, some of which will suck; I just don't enjoy the threads that dissect all of the potential negatives. If you manage to secure a M/B/B role, you need to own that experience - in my two years I don't think I was ever told "no" when I asked to do something, but that requires having a perspective about what you want to do.
3.) I think there are only two differentiating factors once you get into the actual interview process [and frankly once you get into the job]: intellectual curiosity and confidence. To take the latter first, you will never get anywhere at the M/B/B level if you are unable to take a slightly ambiguous idea and state it confidently as though you have no doubt. You may never be able to get to a perfect answer but you can get to the most "knowable" answer at the time. On the intellectual curiosity point - if you don't actually enjoy case interviews [i.e., you want to know how the case turned out, you think about alternative perspectives an hour after the interview ends] you can still get the job but I'm not sure you'll enjoy it. Having a thirst for learning and being a student of business are a baseline for success.
4.) If you are at a 2nd tier firm, there are few opportunities that are definitely out for you. That being said they will be harder to achieve, because doors won't open quite as easily. You need to know what you want, seek out connections early, and excel in our day to day job so you can get as much responsibility as possible early on. Can't comment on work experience as I've never worked for one - would be happy to hear others' perspectives.
Great thread. Quick
Great thread. Quick questions.
1. How often do you see people working at boutique consulting (this might include "no-name" ) firms get hired into MBB?
2. How did you build mentorship with your boss(es)? What has been the biggest lessons/help/opportunities that you got from them?
3. Have you ever been in a team where there is a member/boss you just cannot get along with? How do you overcome that?
4. How have you seen yourself grow over the past 2 years?
Thank you so much again. Loving this!
My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil - JP Getty
Thanks in advance! 2
Thanks in advance! 2 Questions
1) What's your opinion on MBB Post MBA - as far as lifestyle, hours, exit opps, learning experience vs. a business analyst.
2) Did you meet anyone who did the following: BB IB --> PE --> M7 B-School --> MBB? Can you answer the questions above relating to these kinds of career paths?
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"The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed."
What was your sales pitch to
What was your sales pitch to transition into PE? Did you do a few due diligence's while at MBB?
Thanks a lot for starting
Just one question. How long
Check out my WSO Blog
So currently I'm a first year
Quarterlife: Great thread.
TheBlueCheese: Thanks in
Is it possible for somebody
Bismarck: What was your sales
greymn: Thanks a lot for
TheKing: Just one question.
extrememonkey: Is it possible
Thanks for doing this! I have
OP- Can you comment in detail
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"The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed."
Hi, thanks a lot for sharing
Nothing personal, just business.
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Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
kingfalcon: Thanks for doing
TheBlueCheese: OP- Can you
korlanok: Hi, thanks a lot
What strategy fund have you
This is great - thanks. My Q
What are your thoughts on
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."- Benjamin Franklin
Bismarck: What strategy fund
Western: This is great -
Thanks, PE. That answers my
lasampdoria: What are your
What can we do to improve
What can we do to improve
emrullahkoyunlu: What can we
Where have you had the
Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
yeahright: Where have you had
Do you have any experience
Amazing thread PrivateEmpire,
BikerGuy: Do you have any
Art13: Amazing thread
Thanks for offering the
PrivateEmpire: Western: Thi