Trying to break into consulting from a non-quantitative background
Just seeking some advice from you guys here-- I just graduated from Northwestern this past June, and right now I'm doin Teach for America for the next two years. As you can tell from the name of the post, I'm trying to break into the consulting field afterwards. I majored in History during undergrad, with the original intent to go to law school after TFA. Needless to say I've had a change of heart. TFA had a resume collection for internships at Deloitte recently but I was unsuccessful. Any suggestions as to how to frame my experiences and make my resume / apps more attractive? Clearly I am not the "typical" applicant. Thanks!
Can you provide more stats? What was your GPA? I generally think that if Deloitte didn't interview you now despite the TFA push, then MBB at this point will be impossible. You may need to go via (top) MBA, which could be a challenge as well if your hard stats (GPA, GMAT) are not great and you haven't gotten great experience by then.
I'm a second year corps member (interesting side note: TFA interest on this forum has definitely increase from my perspective) and am in the process of interviewing with several consulting firms. Now the thing to realize is that the TFA resume drop is based solely on stats and you are likely competing with a large pool of more qualified/more experienced corps members (not to say that you aren't). The key to working TFA to your advantage come primarily through utilizing their network. On TFAnet.org you can search different companies and it will give you the results of all alumni in a particular company (including email). It is then your responsibility to email/network/whatever you need to do to get them to pass either your name along or your resume up. The resume drop by itself is like shooting in the dark--you might get a hit, but not without a lot of misses. Also you say you went to Northwestern--undoubetdly your alumni network is strong, utilize that. That being said, if your coming from an atypical path recruitment-wise be prepared to do the networking work and the follow-up work. I was able to get 4 interviews at top tier firms solely through utilizing my 'summer off' to network and learn more about the industry--which is where most people go wrong.
And just because Deloitte passed you over this round doesn't mean to say you won't be succesful in the next resume drop or that you won't be successful in securing a full-time offer. I didn't get an interview with Deloitte but did get MBB, Booz, Oliver Wyman and Huron. And I'm coming from a non-target liberal arts college with mediocore stats. If you want to know anything else feel free to PM me.
Cheers
I'm a 1st year Corps Member, and didn't get a hit from Deloitte either. I did interview with a MBB firm, and some Bulge Brackets last year though, so I'm not entirely sure how Deloitte made their interview decisions lol. That said, I wouldn't sweat it too much, especially considering the real summer resume drop is coming next week. I will say it's all in the grind though, and from now until the application deadlines in the next coming months you gotta network harder than a Junior with a bum GPA.
Smith, look for a PM soon BTW.
thanks for the input guys.... @m2, my GPA was a mediocre 3.5...I actually never set my sights on MBB, as I figured those would be out of reach anyway. I was thinking more towards boutique firms such as Marakon , katzenbach, kurt salmon...do you think that these smaller firms would be any "easier" to land an interview with?
@smith, that's some great advice...i'll definitely be sending you a PM soon.
@better, good luck to you, i'll definitely be in the next resume drop too. hopefully with better results. Did you hear back from GE at all, or did you just submit it for Deloitte?
I know at least two people who didn't get interviews with Deloitte but did get them with all three of MBB. My sense - and keep in mind that this is based on a sample size of 2 - is that Deloitte may be a little bit less open to unusual backgrounds than MBB. Either way, you could get an MBB interview, but your GPA's not going to help you. But I studied liberal arts bullshit in college and it didn't hurt me.
Smith gave you good advice - your application doesn't sound like it will get through a 10-second resume screen without someone to stick up for you.
Quisquam dolores quidem nihil reprehenderit accusamus expedita reprehenderit. Consequatur autem quia officiis et commodi. Sit quia aut harum similique veniam ut non quaerat. Fugiat reiciendis suscipit sit facilis.
Et earum repellendus qui asperiores sequi sit excepturi soluta. Sequi dignissimos sequi quo commodi repellat quam et a. In maxime dolores aspernatur qui perferendis aspernatur voluptatibus aut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...