Moving from finance to consulting
2 Questions:
- Does having a finance internship your junior year of college hurt your chances of getting a full time consulting interview?
- Is it better to work at an industry coverage group vs a product group if you wanna consider consulting later on?
How to Switch from Investment Banking to Consulting?
From WSO member @breakingbankers"
Having a highly regarded finance internship does not hurt chances of landing a consulting gig full time. The technical skills you get - with modeling and valuation - help in certain situations with consulting engagements. In fact, as part of the recruiting team at MBB, I can say for sure that having a finance internship at a bulge bracket helps separate those who get interview offers versus those who didn't.
From WSO member @ebbitten"
There are two common pieces of advice for switching careers, specifically into consulting:
Does Product Group Matter for Consulting?
From WSO member @breakingbankers"
Product/industry doesnt matter, unless you are looking to apply for a specific function in consulting. Off the top of my head, if you wanted to do the corporate finance BA role at McKinsey, for example, it would be more helpful to do M&A instead of ECM.
Recommended Reading
Consultants and bankers really do not get along.
I have a finance major, I mad networked with Deloitte consulting to land an interview with them. The manager who glanced through my resume raised his eyebrows and said "you look more like a finance guy".
Also, during one of the networking session, one manager was bashing finance in front a group of engineers saying how "everyone can do finance, its not hard"
So they obviously aren't the biggest fans of people in finance.
so I would tailor your resume to make it look more "consulting-ish" emphasize the quality you developed at your internship that will go well with consulting, teamwork... problem solving... good analytical skills.....good presentation/communication skills... all that BS consultants love.
Disagree completely with the above. Close to half the people I know at MBB from my graduating class (and that's a fairly big sample since I work at one) worked in IBD or, less frequently, in S&T the summer before senior year. It's a very frequent transition and as long as you have a good story for why consulting no one is going to rake you over the coals for working at a bank.
If you're talking non-banking finance, that's a different story and I can't help you there.
Having a highly regarded finance internship does not hurt chances of landing a consulting gig full time. The technical skills you get - with modeling and valuation - help in certain situations with consulting engagements. In fact, as part of the recruiting team at MBB, I can say for sure that having a finance internship at a bulge bracket helps separate those who get interview offers versus those who didn't (working at a BB beats working at small, non-business firms in terms of perception and actual relevance to the consulting job)
Product/industry doesnt matter, unless you are looking to apply for a specific function in consulting. Off the top of my head, if you wanted to do the corporate finance BA role at McKinsey, for example, it would be more helpful to do M&A instead of ECM.
Bankers would probably be better consultants than consultants are?
In general, from the bankers I've met compared to the consultants I've met, I feel that bankers are probably in general stronger in terms of the skills you need. Bankers are better at excel for sure. Well - they're faster. I know Alt E,S,F but the hot keys that bankers run are pretty amazing when compared to my coworkers and I who are still all struggling to only do keyboard.
I feel that a a top tier consultant and top tier banker (MBB vs. GS/MS/BS) - should be about even but once you go to the next level of say like JPM banking vs. OW, I think you'll start to see a disparity.
I think you'll develop the powerpoint skills.
Public speaking should be a wash ?
I think everyone will learn how different clients work at about the same rates?
dude, dunno what firm you work at, but keyboard-only is standard at most firms I know of... maybe the bankers started it, but everyone regards that as a must now.
as for the rest of your post - sure, bankers may have the excel chops, but consulting involves a lot more than just building models in excel. the fields are not comparable, although some of the skills are transferable.
and honestly, the caliber at MBB is, despite whatever bullshit goes around on these boards, not very different than the caliber at OW or Monitor. they draw from the exact same candidate pools. often the only difference is that someone at Monitor might have screwed up one case in their McK final rounds, it's not like they're less talented or subhuman...
Now Deloitte and Accenture may draw people who aren't quite MBB level, but they also don't really recruit to compete with those firms (never saw them on campus, nor did my friends at other top 5). Not bashing them, just noting that there is a difference in the AVERAGE talent.
2x post
Absolutely agree.
As a follow-up question: is it easier to move into a BB with an MBB internship, or the other way around? This is for undergrad. Thanks in advance!
it is easier to get into BB with MBB internship
because the number of BB summer analysts is a lot higher than the number of summer mbbs
larger BBs sometimes have like almost 100 summer analysts
Thanks 7S!
I agree that consulting internships are considered more selective/prestigious. My only concern is that I would like to shoot for a top BB FT. In that case, would you recommend a mid tier BB, so I can show my interest in banking, or should I go with the MBB internship for the name?
how about transitioning to consulting after your MBA, if you pre-MBA experience is finance (IBD) oriented?
or what about moving to a consulting-related area after you finish your analyst stint doing IBD?
If you wanted to play in the NBA, would you start practicing soccer because your school had a bigger soccer stadium? Dumbass kids these days...
Hahah SirBankalot: thanks for the analogy. In that case, would a mid term BB internship be enough to land me a FT interview with a top BB? Anything else I can do to boost my chances, in addition to networking?
From Finance to Consulting -- seeking advice (Originally Posted: 06/19/2014)
Dear Mighty WSO fellow monkeys,
I am seeking to switch career path from finance to consulting. I am rarely so sure about something in my life. But this time I feel that this is really something I want to do. And I am currently fully committed to the career switch project.
Background: non-target Master in Finance (top 20-50) six years working in a bulge bracket Bank (currently doing regulatory risk projects under corporate strategy team, five years product control/price verification before that) CFA charter holder
Looking to join top management consulting financial service practice. However, I don't know many consulting folks. I am looking to speak to consultants at all level who currently working for MBB to learn more about the firms, the teams and the culture etc.
Any advice/comment is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!
There are two common pieces of advice for switching careers, specifically into consulting. The first is to network your ass off, cold call, reconnect with UG alumni/family/friends/family friends/friend's family, really anyone who has a chance of getting you into that first interview. From there on out it's more focused on how well you can perform the cases and if you're a good fit for the firm.
The second road is business school, definitely a longer and more expensive path but should be looked to after you exhaust your network. If you've done good work at a BB, have a good GPA and good GMAT/GRE you have a shot at a very good b-school. From there you'll get another network as well as OCR. You might be a tad but on the older side but if you can convey your passion for switching careers you have a shot.
Thank you for the advice! I am currently focusing on the first route you suggested here. Hopefully won't need the second route.
I'd strongly advise against going to b-school. With 6 yrs experience + Masters you would be in interviewing for a post-MBA role already. Dropping the money on b-school just for an interview w/o a guarantee seems crazy. Everything else above is credited.
Also, be willing to look beyond MBB. The second tier firms (Deloitte, etc.) do pretty much the same work and will still open a lot of doors.
Thank you Tred1 for bring up the second tier firms. Will keep that in mind. Any chance you know any id on this forum who are currently a full time consultant that I can speak to? Appreciate it!
I think you're going to have to go Big-4 and work in the Financial Services Regulatory practice. Once in the door, try to re position yourself onto a S&O team. With 11 years experience, Masters, and CFA, you should be aggressive about getting a Senior Manager / Director title. Worst case, you come in as a highly paid Manager.
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