Nontargets that break into consulting

I'd like to hear from people with consulting experience on what their observations of nontarget coworkers were (MBB and tier 2). Was there even a noticeable presence of nontarget individuals, and if so what were their backgrounds? I ask because as a nontarget student I did pretty well regarding recruiting for high finance but had zero luck with consulting (despite networking, etc.).

 
equity_player:
What were your credentials? School (don't have to give exact school, but something similar) GPA, work exp ec's?

Share some of this so it can be helpful to other people from non-targets looking to break in.

This was for junior summer internships

  • Large non-target state school that is decent but not great by any means (one of UConn/Penn State/UMaryland)
  • Regional BB PWM internship, corp strategy internship at a very prestigious company
  • 3.68 gpa, dual major
  • Great EC's

I got interviews for various FO roles throughout the boutique/MM/BB level both through online apps and networking. Every consulting firm however, even tier 3, would not even consider me for an interview

 
Newflyer:
When I say non-targets, I mean not Ivy or MIT/Caltech. The idea that you have to have an Ivy degree to get into MBB is just patently false.

Just to play devil's advocate, this doesn't make Amherst a non-target, does it?

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 
2x2Matrix:
Newflyer:
When I say non-targets, I mean not Ivy or MIT/Caltech. The idea that you have to have an Ivy degree to get into MBB is just patently false.

Just to play devil's advocate, this doesn't make Amherst a non-target, does it?

I don't really know, I'm not up on the top LAC. I wouldn't be offended though, it seems like the definition for target is very slim here and people wrongly think you have no shot if you didn't attend one of maybe ten schools.

 

There are some, more present at analyst level rather than post-MBA level. Associates are overwhelmingly target B-Schools.

The non-target analysts that make it tend to have similar credentials to targets (save school brand name), e.g. very high GPA, prestigious internships (regardless of field, e.g. high quality non-profit work is viewed the same as BB finance).

On the recruiting side, networking tends to play less of a role in MBB, all firms generally high bar for raw intelligence that they look for first, and then figure out candidate EQ/RQ qualifications. So in your case, I would guess GPA was a limiting factor in your application.

Analysts in consulting are typically much more standalone, and generally have less of a safety net than banking, so recruiter / partners in MBB need to have high level of comfort that the person they hire is not likely to screw up, either on work or in front of clients.

 
freeloader:
There are some, more present at analyst level rather than post-MBA level. Associates are overwhelmingly target B-Schools.

The non-target analysts that make it tend to have similar credentials to targets (save school brand name), e.g. very high GPA, prestigious internships (regardless of field, e.g. high quality non-profit work is viewed the same as BB finance).

On the recruiting side, networking tends to play less of a role in MBB, all firms generally high bar for raw intelligence that they look for first, and then figure out candidate EQ/RQ qualifications. So in your case, I would guess GPA was a limiting factor in your application.

Analysts in consulting are typically much more standalone, and generally have less of a safety net than banking, so recruiter / partners in MBB need to have high level of comfort that the person they hire is not likely to screw up, either on work or in front of clients.

Great insight, appreciate it. That makes sense, I figured my GPA was on the lower side for consulting. SATs are ok but nothing to boast about either.

In your opinion would I have any chance at MBB/tier 2 for full time? I have heard FT is a little easier than summer recruiting in the consulting world, and this time around I would have BB SA experience. On the flip side my GPA will likely be even lower (around 3.5). I have a couple of people at MBB who said they would be willing to forward my resume come FT.

 

The lowest-ranked school represented @ my large MBB office among the pre-MBAs is Brown. For OCR, we have strict GPA cut-offs at 3.5; you need a 3.6 to be in the running, pretty much. At least at my office, then, I don't think you have a great chance of getting an interview especially if that GPA is trending down.

However - if you can get someone to submit your resume along with a recommendation, and your resume is at least decent, you'll probably get an interview. Make sure these folks who said they'd be willing actually intend to attach a rec - otherwise, your resume is getting chucked in the general pile, and everything I said before applies.

Good luck!

 
Severus:
I'd like to hear from people with consulting experience on what their observations of nontarget coworkers were (MBB and tier 2). Was there even a noticeable presence of nontarget individuals, and if so what were their backgrounds? I ask because as a nontarget student I did pretty well regarding recruiting for high finance but had zero luck with consulting (despite networking, etc.).

I can't speak for MBB, but I am doing an internship with a Tier 2 this summer. I had done zero networking, had a few good experiences on my resume like you, and a very similar GPA from a non-target state school. Applied online and then put a 110% into all three rounds. Is your major GPA higher? That's one thing that I think helped me get my foot in the door, as I had 6 semesters completed at the time of application and a 4.0 in my major. At my office, I'd say the majority went to a top 20 undergrad, and almost all MBAs (with the exception of a few local hires) went to a top 20 program.

I'd say try networking and look into listing your major GPA. Once you get the interview your resume/GPA won't matter anymore.

Also, for what it's worth, at some firms the acceptance rates for SAs can be MUCH lower than FT rates.

"Buy gas. It's a sure-fire commodity with no risk except for the sure risk of fire." - Stephen Colbert
 

I wouldn't give up hope. Networking is really crucial at these companies if you don't have a traditional pedigree. If you can find someone in the firm who is willing to fight for you, you can at least get an interview. After you land the interview, its probably 90-95% case/fit performance and maybe a 5-10% emphasis on your resume. I think if you kill the cases, they don't have much reason to reject you; and once you make the decision rounds, they are serious about hiring you because they wouldn't bother wasting the partners time if they were not.

Of course, the biggest battle is finding that connection.

 

I went to an extreme non-target and interviewed with Deloitte, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Accenture for strategy consulting. Every interview I got was a direct result of alumni connections. I had a 3.9+ GPA in Finance, entrepreneurial experience, worked my way through school, and solid EC's. From my experience consulting puts a higher value on your pedigree. It is easier to justify your fees and strategies to a client when you say they come from ivy brains.

 

I know a guy that's a junior partner at McK that went to Western Michigan University for undergrad. That's about as non-target as it gets. Now, he pulled off a 3.85 gpa in mechanical engineering, and was president of a major fraternity. He landed a highly competitive 2 year rotational program at one of the big auto manufacturers that got him exposure to finance, engineering, supply chain management, etc. After that he went to Kellogg for his MBA, and then to McK as an associate. He's been there since.

The context of this conversation seems to focus on BA gigs right out of undergrad. If MBB is your long term goal, and you don't have an ivy undergrad, you can get the pedigree you need from the right MBA program (assuming you performed well enough as an undergrad).

 

Hate to veer off topic, but whoever threw monkey shit at me for that, what the hell? That was clearly constructive feedback. Do you disagree, or were you just feeling squirrely?

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

At MBB there is more variety than one might think. There are traditional targets (Ivy, Stanford), broader targets (UVA, Duke, Georgia Tech, Berkeley, MIT), and then a trickle from other schools outside of those. A significant number of people come from broader targets, with a solid contingent from traditional targets. Every once and awhile people outside of that get in, but it's pretty seldom and they tend to know people.

 

Out of undergrad, I'd consider Georgia Tech a non-target. I went from an equivalent school (engineering school as well) to a Midwest MBB office.

Bain hires a couple ACs from us each year BCG has one day of first round interviews for us and another borderline target each year, hiring ~1/yr from us McK interviewed several for BA (generalist) that I know of and actively recruited for operational group on campus, but I'm not clear on how many get offers each year; my sense is GPA, 1600 SAT and strong first rounds (I later saw my applicant file). One of my preferences was a small office with serious problems hitting its hiring targets; I was nonetheless a waitlisted, last minute decision round interview (interviewed and got the offer in mid-November, others in my starting class had offers from 1-2 months before that).

Bain and McK are more open to non-target applicants partly because of their larger undergrad entering classes. BCG has traditionally been very hard to get into out of undergrad.

To add my 0.02 on defining target schools - Midwestern offices of all three firms target UofM, Northwestern, and UChicago pretty heavily. I think these schools (especially Northwestern, which gets a lot of love from BCG/McK Chicago) have stronger placement into MBB than many lower-tier Ivies.

 
signposts:
Out of undergrad, I'd consider Georgia Tech a non-target. I went from an equivalent school (engineering school as well) to a Midwest MBB office.

Bain hires a couple ACs from us each year BCG has one day of first round interviews for us and another borderline target each year, hiring ~1/yr from us McK interviewed several for BA (generalist) that I know of and actively recruited for operational group on campus, but I'm not clear on how many get offers each year; my sense is GPA, 1600 SAT and strong first rounds (I later saw my applicant file). One of my preferences was a small office with serious problems hitting its hiring targets; I was nonetheless a waitlisted, last minute decision round interview (interviewed and got the offer in mid-November, others in my starting class had offers from 1-2 months before that).

Bain and McK are more open to non-target applicants partly because of their larger undergrad entering classes. BCG has traditionally been very hard to get into out of undergrad.

To add my 0.02 on defining target schools - Midwestern offices of all three firms target UofM, Northwestern, and UChicago pretty heavily. I think these schools (especially Northwestern, which gets a lot of love from BCG/McK Chicago) have stronger placement into MBB than many lower-tier Ivies.

Can say with absolute certainty Georgia Tech places well to MBB, particularly Bain.

 

I went to grad school at UChicago, undergrad at Michigan, and I can confirm that the Chicago offices of McK and Bain recruit heavily at both. Bain is actively involved on campus - they recently hosted a case competition with the UC consulting club, specifically for non Booth students. Booth has their own recruiting channel obviously, but McK and Bain are looking at undergrads and grad students from other disciplines as well.

 

What are we considering placing well? I know Bain does on-campus interviews and I know for a fact that BCG and McK didn't at least from 2007-2009.

Excluding operations analysts (which McK might hire more of from GTech, I'm not sure), I don't think they quite average 1/year with each of BCG and McK.

I would personally use on-campus interviews as a cut-off, which is why I would say non-target (1/3) or, at best, borderline.

 

Some of you guys seem clueless.

MBB recruits at a wider range of schools than wall street. MBB has info sessions at probably 50 schools in the nation...whereas wall street will look at maybe 15 max.

A non-target for MBB is like a school outside the top 50............

A lot of this has to do with the consulting business model. Banking is focused in NYC with a few auxiliary offices whereas MBB tends to have more of a national presence. Obviously, having a strong presence in numerous cities cuts down on traveling cost.

That being said, you will get a lot regional hires from the South and midwest which Banks may consider "non-target".

The Georgia Tech post is a prime example.

 
Lord Blankfein:
Some of you guys seem clueless.

MBB recruits at a wider range of schools than wall street. MBB has info sessions at probably 50 schools in the nation...whereas wall street will look at maybe 15 max.

A non-target for MBB is like a school outside the top 50............

A lot of this has to do with the consulting business model. Banking is focused in NYC with a few auxiliary offices whereas MBB tends to have more of a national presence. Obviously, having a strong presence in numerous cities cuts down on traveling cost.

That being said, you will get a lot regional hires from the South and midwest which Banks may consider "non-target".

The Georgia Tech post is a prime example.

I believe that this varies significantly within MBB. Bain has significantly broader representation in their AC classes (Georgia Tech/Emory in Atlanta, Rice/UT Austin in Texas, IU in the Midwest) than BCG in associate classes (the examples above each average MBB is definitely more exclusive than BB banks about recruiting (from what I know, many schools in the Boston area have BB interviews on campus but not MBB).

I know of many state schools where BB banks recruit a pretty consistently pipeline each year where BCG has 0 recruiting presence on campus and would only invite candidates to first rounds in very unique circumstances.

Regional targets tend to place disproportionately well with MBB versus banks given the geographical spread of entering classes (Northwestern and U of M in the Midwest come to mind), but I don't know that it is true that MBB casts a broader net. I know of significantly more schools where at least a few BBs recruit consistently that have very inconsistent placement into MBB than vice versa.

In that context, I don't think OP's experience is unusual. This all, of course, depends on what s/he defines as attending a non-target.

 

Someone who recently spoke with a consultant was saying that it's near impossible to get an interview if you're not from a target school. However, the guys who run firmsconsulting.com (former partners at MBB) say that all applications get reviewed, and a good cover letter, resume, and achievements will get you the interview regardless of your school. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to copy the comments over from the other site, but see the link below and scroll down to the comments section to see what was said. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

http://firmsconsulting.com/2011/06/22/maxs-tips-for-bbm-applications/

 

Great responses everyone, wish I could SB you all, especially those of you with some experience. I figured MBB would be a real long shot. Tier 2 and 3 sound a bit more feasible. What about a place like Deloitte S&O or AT Kearney for my updated stats? Any chance?

Nontarget 3.43 cum gpa (dual major, one of which has a high gpa and the other really low [BB SA (front office) BB regional PWM Corp strategy at a top f500 company Great EC's

 

I would be shocked if you didn't get interviews with Tier 2 and 3 firms. Frankly, depending on how non-target your school is (and I assume it's not that bad based on the internships you've landed), you should be able to get a first round from some MBB offices if you network with some entry level folks. Your GPA/SAT probably gets you dinged on an auto-screen, but if someone's willing to pass the resume along directly your internships might make up for it.

Even with Deloitte S&O or AT Kearney, trying to get your resume looked at through an analyst is probably a good idea because of your GPA. Overall, I think you are on the right track looking at non-MBB firms with bigger footprints, but I wouldn't necessarily give up on the MBB route. An online application or career services resume drop won't do you much good, though.

 

As a Michigan undergrad, would you guys suggest I study vanilla Econ or Honors Econ (Game Theory, Econometrics, honors thesis)? I'm leaning towards honors econ because the coursework seems more interesting, plus the honors thesis sounds like a great opportunity. Does MBB put any weight to stuff like an honors thesis/original research?

 

Non-target schools definitely have a header time getting into the pipeline. Using case preparation platforms and understanding networking strategies can be the best way to get on someones radar or even land an interview.

One of the case prep platforms that offered more insight into not just the interview process but the obstacles a non-target candidate faces is "Consulting Confidant:" a case prep platform that sets up mock interviews between candidates and consultants from top firms such as BCG, McKinsey, Deloitte, etc.

The program was tailor made by a BCG alum who knows the ins and outs of consulting recruiting and how the navigate the process from various perspectives.

Hope this helps!

 

Things undergrads from non-target schools can do:

1) Network your ass off with university alumni and upperclassmen (who will be moving into fulltime analyst/consultant roles)

2) Start a consulting club. Great for skills, personal experience, and meeting consultants at target firms

3) Get a spotless GPA (3.9 and above is preferable)

In your position, I'd focus heavily on #1. At a school like UW (without personal experience), your best bet will probably be boutique/local firms that recruit regionally there and the occasional top-tier strategy consulting firm that has a strong alumni base from your school (again, back to #1).

Good luck.

Kevin www.managementconsulted.com

 

You've got a strong double major, but you do need to get your gpa up. Kevin made some great points. You have some work to do, and should definitely be casting a wide net. Look at as many different consulting opportunities as you can for the summer, and start implementing the things you can do now to position yourself better for not only a possible internship, but a full-time opportunity when you graduate.

Here's some great advice written by a McKinsey guy

5 things strategy consulting firms are looking for http://www.gottamentor.com/viewAdvice.aspx?a=159

Andrea www.gottamentor.com

Gotta Mentor Connect to the Advice & People You Need to Achieve Your Career Goals
 

hey i just graduated from UW with a degree in fin. we are obviously not a target school for any top consulting firm so you have to try pretty hard to get out there. by the numbers i can tell you that i only know of one person in the '09 class that got into bain, none at bcg/mck.

uw, like the other average bschools cranks out middle managers. you will have absolutely no trouble getting interviews with accenture, deloitte, and the rest. however, if you have your sights above that mark, yes it will be extremely difficult to even get noticed. at the very end of the day it is risk aversion on the consulting firms part. who is more likely to be hard working motivated candidate out of two people with identical resumes but different schools? if they going to look like an *** and hire someone bad, they can save face by saying he/she went to HYP.

also, another problem you will face is the fact that we are from seattle which is decent from the tech side, but we have little to no presence in banking/consulting.

anyway, work your ass off, get good EC's and maybe you can get interviews! i wasted my time getting a good GPA which seems to have been the wrong move. good luck!

 

OP it might be tough/impossible breaking in as a non target finance major. At my school, stem kids murder econ/poly sci kids in recruiting and I'm pretty sure this applicable to most schools that aren't top tier ivies. You could be competitive if you double majored Finance/Math or Finance/Comp Science though (if your program allows this).

 

MBB formula: 3.9+GPA 99th+ percentile test scores Work experience Leadership experience Kill the cases Be personable (social skills matter a lot more in MBB due to the client facing nature of the role)

I am also a Non-target -> MBB, it can happen. And as for on the job? Did not feel that the target people were any "better" or "smarter" than state schoolers/non-targets. Everyone at these places is top-notch, school really doesn't matter.

 

What about post-MBA recruiting? Undergrad is non-target (Top 50 public), MS is semi-target, MBA is MBA business schools">M7 (1YR now). How much will undergrad prestige (or lack there of) play a role in my recruiting experience?

"Just go to the prom and get your promotion. That's the way the business world works. Come on, Keith!" - The Boss
 
The Boss:
What about post-MBA recruiting? Undergrad is non-target (Top 50 public), MS is semi-target, MBA is MBA business schools">M7 (1YR now). How much will undergrad prestige (or lack there of) play a role in my recruiting experience?

Grad Prestige trumps undergrad prestige, it shows improvement if you go from non target undergrad to a target grad school. However, your first job may be influenced by your undergrad which will play a role in recruiting post mba

 

Agree on the formula at a high level:

GPA needs to be higher the more non-target your school is - a 3.6 at HYPSW = 3.8 at a semi-target = 3.9 at state school non-target. Test scores should be on-par with averages at targets. Leadership is a must, as is networking.

Basically, the same stuff you need to get hired from anywhere else, just done better.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 

Target vs non-target only really matters on getting your foot in the door. Network as much as you can to help get your resume pulled out of the pile. If you can get into the interviews, it's all about how well you perform in them.

 

Undergrad prestige means nothing when you're at an MBA business schools">M7 MBA. Just making a positive impression and attending events will outweigh anything that could be held against you re: your undergrad or potentially less prestigious job pre-MBA.

Other than a few banking(ish) burnouts, very few people who enter MBB post-MBA did anything on that level pre-MBA. Lots of tier 3 and no-name boutique consultants and engineers.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 

I know many students from non-target schools that have landed positions at MBB. A great example is the U of British Columbia (which was not originally a target school for MBB in Canada). They started running a consulting class, coaching their students on case interviews etc., and flying the top students to Toronto to interview with the firms. The firms have hired a number of these UBC students.

Another example - an undergrad from the U of Manitoba (has anyone here heard of that school?) landed a job at McKinsey Toronto. I can all but guarantee you that McKinsey does not recruit in Winnipeg.

So the question is - how do you get your foot in the door? Think of it like this. The firms are looking for top talent, and they know that top talent exists outside of their target schools. The firms have a limited amount of time, and resources, to spend recruiting, so it makes sense that they select certain schools to recruit at. And they will also keep going back to schools that have produced good talent.

The firms can't entertain your application unless they know you exist. But you don't want to just submit your application online, since then you'll be part of a huge pool of applications that may never land on a consultants desk.

What you need to do is this - think of your application as being made up of 3 parts. Your resume + your cover letter + your networking = your application. So, you need to network. Use LinkedIn / your network to send out some cold-emails. Ask the consultant for some time to chat about their profile, and their firm. You would be surprized at the response you get - you will receive a few hits.

If you want to know more about networking, let me know.

 

Yeah - it's supply and demand. Places like Boston where there are many strong schools are more likely to be able to fill their needs with minimal recruiting effort outside their local area - vs. cities like Atlanta, Houston or DC, where they probably can't fill their spots just looking within a couple hours of the office. Boston and SFO are especially insular - if everyone went to HBS or Stanford, probably harder to break in from a random school than if most people went to very well-known schools, albeit less concentrated in a couple.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 

I come from a similar background. Remember, don't have an inferiority complex going into the interview, and don't try to justify your school v HWS. If the question of why you picked "XYZ" school comes up, say its positives, and NEVER say "oh, I chose it coz I didn't get Wharton".

Also, remember that it is truly all about the case. You need to nail it. Simple as that. If you don't, it doesn't matter if you are a 4.0 from Wharton. Well, not usually.

 
boondogle:
Thanks for the replies. How much should I focus on fit questions? And how important is this test they said they'd give me before the interview?

Also interviewed with McK coming from a complete non-target. During the interview, they actually asked me what I thought of the test they gave me a few weeks before the interview. I was surprised by this and asked if they knew how I did, they said no, that it's simply pass-fail. Didn't know what else to say - said I thought it seemed like a reasonable way to screen - of appropriate difficulty.

Anyway - just have your pitch ready. Each interview started with "Tell me who you are in 2 minutes" or some variation of that. And of course the cases...

 

The test can be big if you do really well...it's definitely more than pass-fail. I was told I did very well, and this helped make up for a stumble I had in one of my cases.

I was also from a non-target, and I got an offer.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 
petergibbons:
The test can be big if you do really well...it's definitely more than pass-fail. I was told I did very well, and this helped make up for a stumble I had in one of my cases.

I was also from a non-target, and I got an offer.

Interesting... good to know. I wonder why they said they didn't know. I interviewed for an international office so it might be different. Although I wouldn't think so...

Congrats on the offer!

 

Just get into the best consulting firm you can get into. But I will say MBB is unlikely since they are into prestige. You don't have to get a job at a top consulting firm to get into a top 5 business school. It's what you do there that counts. Good luck!

 

Thanks so much for writing back to me, really am grateful. Do have a follow up question: how do you recommend I go about contacting some of the tier 2 consulting firms; I'm sure competition is still very high there, and so far they don't have too much information beyond "submit your applications here" - I am weary of requesting an informational interview via their 'contact us' option. Any suggestions?

And also how do top 5 B-schools consider corporate experience - say in communications or public affairs?

 

I most definitely will @turtles. In fact since I last posted, I sent a cold-email out to a consultant who's worked at Mck for an informational interview and he was happy to do so...so hopefully that might lead somewhere!

Btw, do you know if the majority of consulting firms are willing to hire someone who has no prior internships in consulting. I'd take the summer after I graduate as an internship for it, and do all the hard rounds in impressing enough to stand a chance of getting hired, but as an international student, I'd have to finalise in March itself on paper who will be my employer for August to get the necessary paperwork from the gov't.

And also - what are your thoughts on working for a large corporation with progressive experience as a route to top 5 b-school

 

Accenture, Deloitte, IBM go to a variety of schools for different things. For example, Accenture may go to one school only for consultants in its supply chain practice and a different school only for management consultants.

IBM has a new program called Consulting by Degrees which gives you exposure to all their disciplines, and after a year or two you will be placed into one of them. I believe this is extremely new so how it will turn out has yet to be discovered.

Lastly, from my experience these are all extremely competitive positions. My friends who don't network or pursue opportunities outside of firms that have an on-campus presence see these spots as the best gigs to get. If you have a mediocre GPA/average resume then they probably won't give you a chance unless you know people that are willing to go to bat for you.

This is only my perspective from my school, so could be much different from how it is out west.

 

At MBB you're not hired with a specialization. You're hired as a generalist. So if you want to do Supply Chain you can't apply to become a Supply Chain consultant as a new hire. Only Associates can enter with a specialization (Which, generally, only means they were hired by a specific practice, say, the Corporate Finance Practice. In that case, you are seen as a practice resource, you still get to do studies outside your practice, but practice leadership will prefer to staff you on their own studies.) Only "specialization" is BTO (Business Technology Office), which means you're a new consultant like any other, but you get prioritized for tech studies.

But anyway, 3.1 is fucked for MBB, unless you're hiding an Olympic medal somewhere (no bronzes). Accenture will generally auto-ding under a 3.4 also, so you will need to network to bypass the filter, or apply via on-campus events where they're forced to go over your resume. Maybe tag on an unneeded summer semester to pull your GPA up to something more reasonable.

 

I can say with certainty that Deloitte and Accenture hire at non-targets. It is common that specific practices will hire at the alma-maters of the big guys running the practice. I think this is a big reason they go to non-targets. If you're not at one of these non-targets, you're going to have to network.

Sometimes it can be a bit daunting to get within these big recruiting machines if they're not at your school, but literally all it takes is one contact on the inside (at any level) that can look up the HR contact and get your resume in the mix. From there, it's up to you and your resume.

Regarding low GPA's, especially in a big, competitive campus recruiting pool, it's going to be near impossible from my experience. Still worth a try, but unless you have a connect that is close to the top, good luck.

 
abacab:
Non targets mostly go to IT Consulting in Accenture/Deloitte, not Management Consulting/S&O. Those have very strict target list.

I have to disagree. I have a very close source friend who was just started as a new hire at Booz Allen strategy side. He comes from a "top" 300 program.

- Currently under review for Senior Monkey position. Will networking with alum help any?
 

I come from a non-target, University of Maryland, personally I managed to get a McKinsey interview but it was for a research position (I'm on round 2 now), I have a friend that had really terrific stats he got a Bain interview (didn't get it but if you get the interview you have a shot), and a kid from school last year got into BCG but he also had terrific stats, but to my knowledge applied online.

Hope that helps.

 

Couple of thoughts:

1.) There's smart people everywhere, and the more intelligent recruiters get that. When a bank decides to exclusively hire from Ivies + MIT + Stanford + NYU, they're missing out on bright kids from UVA who were too wise to spend $50K/year on school. When they only recruit from Flagship state schools, they miss out on bright kids from Princeton. When they only recruit from both, they're still missing out on the bright kid at BMCC who F-d up in high school but can solve diffy'qs by observation.

2.) A lot of non-targets on the trading floor came in through the side door. They started at a respectable trading firm ala Chicago Trading Company or Rosenthal-Collins, proved themselves as traders, and then came in. Others got a graduate degree. There's people like me who came in through a different group and fought tooth and nail to get to the trading floor.

3.) Brilliant is brilliant and competent is competent no matter where it's coming from. If you are a student at Sheboygan County Community College and manage to prove that P=NP (or P!=NP), you've just gotten yourself an in at any algorithmic trading group in the country. If for some odd reason you don't, you've just gotten a golden ticket to become the CEO/owner of the next "prestigious" trading firm once you've got enough money saved up for a trading operation.

4.) As a student from a non-target, there's arguably less information about you. The likelihood of us hiring an idiot from UPenn is smaller than the likelihood of us hiring an idiot from even my alma mater. Banks hate taking risks in hiring decisions and they'd rather take a sure B+ candidate than a candidate who could be an A+ or a C+. You've got to overcome that somehow.

5.) Recruiters make mistakes all the time, and it's hard to judge a person's competence or future competence by his background or even how well he interviews. With the stronger candidates we turn down, I'll give them a phone call and say we turn down a lot of brilliant people and they're probably going to prove us wrong- and I hope they give us another call when they do.

 

Thanks for the responses thus far. Unfortunately, I am not a stellar applicant (I am decent, but I'm definitely not ivy league material) and my alumni are worthless. I only found one guy at BCG, and he was basically worthless in terms of setting me up. A huge problem for me is that my network in the US is already pretty shitty because most of the people I know are enigneers or corporate finance guys, and my non-target status will make this virtually impossible.

There is, however, another option. While my network in the US is useless, my family has an extensive network back in their country and has people working in banking and consulting. In fact, one of the people I talked to recently worked at BCG and has offered to connect me with the right people so that I can at least have a shot at an interview (no guarantees on a job of course). The thing is, they don't take juniors and all as interns (I'd have to ask him when I'm ready to work full time, and I'd only be able to work in my home country), so I was wondering what would be good internships for me to take up this coming year (junior year), so that I can maybe work for one of those firms later on in another country? I'm basically ruling out banking/consulting altogether (I don't think I'm even going to apply), so are there any other fields that I should apply to that might help me out?

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

A couple years in your home country would definitely expand your skills enough so that you could make an external or internal transfer to an office in the US. MBA would also help. Some firms also offer short-term transfers to international offices, which you might be able to take advantage of.

In terms of what you should do, F 500 corpfin/marketing/strategy, something research-oriented if you're in economics or the hard sciences...what you should target really depends on what's feasible given your school and profile, as well as your interests. See what you can get through OCR, and who is in your network.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 

that's very impressive. congratulations.

how did you go about getting an interview for the winternship? from what i've read on this site, it is nearly impossible to break into MBB without being from a target. it seems harder than breaking into banking if you're from a non-target.

i'm from a non-target school with a large representation in nyc. spent some time at a BB doing project management, then moved to a pre-launch startup doing lots of different things on the client side (sales, bd, user experience, relationship management, marketing). i'm thinking of my next move, and am curious about consulting, but probably focused on the sales/bd/growth strategy side of things.

thanks in advance for your reply.

 
suo1528:

that's very impressive. congratulations.

how did you go about getting an interview for the winternship? from what i've read on this site, it is nearly impossible to break into MBB without being from a target. it seems harder than breaking into banking if you're from a non-target.

i'm from a non-target school with a large representation in nyc. spent some time at a BB doing project management, then moved to a pre-launch startup doing lots of different things on the client side (sales, bd, user experience, relationship management, marketing). i'm thinking of my next move, and am curious about consulting, but probably focused on the sales/bd/growth strategy side of things.

thanks in advance for your reply.

MBBs are probably a bit more lenient about the recruiting cycles at the non-US offices then in the States. Here the offices are somewhat more open to non-summer internships, if you're able to catch their attention through your CV and networking.

From my experience, standing out in some way or another is really incredibly helpful. They get so many cookie-cutter type-A CV's that these are nothing special. But if you have the stats AND something to catch their attention, then you're going to be noticed. My CV was nothing outstanding really, besides having a very good GPA in a not totally unknown program. But it was full of stuff like serving in an elite unit, having traveled some unusual countries, having an unusual internship in the corp strat et cetera. Thus you get a shot at an interview, and after that it's all about impressing the interviewers.

Regarding your experience - what MBBs like in their new hires' previous experience is pretty straightforward - something that can be applicable in your work and/or help to sell you to the prospective clients. What is very attractive is the operating experience and resulting industry knowledge at the industries that are currently hot for this particular office (or at least are relatively regular consulting clients). Your start-up experience might sound pretty sexy for some offices that are doing a lot of tech work in particular (like SF). Not sure what the "project management" at the BB had involved?

 

Hello, thank you for being able to provide insight to WSO.

I am a junior at Syracuse University with a not so great GPA. My question to you is what are alternative routes I should begin looking at to get me into MBB. To show you what I have been doing, for the summer I have applied to the Yale, UVA, Columbia and U of Chicago summer business programs, and internships at the World Economic Forum and IBM (Corporate Strategy). Do you have any advice regarding this, or any insight on what I should be doing besides getting my grades (considering prolonging graduation) and network up? Do you also think my recent certifications will help (IFRS certified and Microsoft Office Specialist)? Management consulting is something that I learned about very recently but I haven't felt this passionate about any other job, so even if it will take me 5 years after grad lay your suggestions on me. Thank you!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
 
WhoSteen:

Hello, thank you for being able to provide insight to WSO.

I am a junior at Syracuse University with a not so great GPA. My question to you is what are alternative routes I should begin looking at to get me into MBB. To show you what I have been doing, for the summer I have applied to the Yale, UVA, Columbia and U of Chicago summer business programs, and internships at the World Economic Forum and IBM (Corporate Strategy). Do you have any advice regarding this, or any insight on what I should be doing besides getting my grades (considering prolonging graduation) and network up? Do you also think my recent certifications will help (IFRS certified and Microsoft Office Specialist)? Management consulting is something that I learned about very recently but I haven't felt this passionate about any other job, so even if it will take me 5 years after grad lay your suggestions on me. Thank you!

Internship at the IBM strat would be really nice to have. MBBs love big brands and selective internships, this would be a big plus for you. Note that IBM corp strat and IBM business consulting are not the same thing - the latter is considered 3rd tier in the consulting world (still better than nothing), while the internal corp.strat should be pretty selective and unusual to have.

MS Office certification is not really useful, I'd even consider leaving it off the resume (it's like being certified in high school maths or something). IFRS sounds more interesting, some accounting knowledge can be useful - depending on the project, and it might also signal your interest in business etc.

If you can't break in right now, instead of postponing graduation you might consider doing a 1 year Masters - anything economics/finance/accounting/management/etc related at a target or a semi-target. Gives you another shot at recruiting and time for another internship (which not only looks good on your CV but also gives you business experience - helpful during the interviews).

Another possibility (possibly in conjunction with the Masters) is applying to one of the less "attractive" MBB offices outside of the US - they might be less picky (less competition). For example, I hear that the Middle Eastern offices (particularly the Gulf) are currently recruiting a lot internationally, they don't have enough people. That is provided that you're prepared to spend 2-3 years in a 3rd world country, transferring pre-MBA is not going to be easy.

If all that doesn't work for one reason or another, a long-term plan would getting the best job you can that will help you get into a top MBA a few years down the road, and work from there.

 

What are you studying? I would recommend talking to professors and see if they have any contacts. Try using your alumni network and see if you can find someone who currently works at a consulting firm. Talking to family and friends is worth a shot as well. Anything you can do to set up an informational interview.

It won't be easy, but starting a conversation with someone in the business is the biggest step.

 

First off Brofalfa Sprouts is absolutely hilarious and simultaneously awesome. Second I am studying finance with a marketing minor. I have tried going through the school's alumni center, career services, job search database, etc. and it is mostly garbage. Serving tables is my "rent raker" for the time being but I also use it for networking my tail off. So far I have kissed a lot of frogs but am yet to find my prince so to speak. I have tried countless J.P. Morgan, Goldman, and Morgan Stanly contacts (Investments are a major passion of mine as well) with nothing brought to fruition. I did however meet a regional telecommunications manager for B.C.G. who I have been keeping in touch with. He says that he will send me some jobs(mostly operational) but that the associate consultant role is a tough fish to land and they do mainly recruit from the northeast. On paper it sounds like I may have a slim opportunity but I want to explore every option available which is what lead me here to seek advice. Another post I was reading said to try cold calling and walk ins. Brofalfa in your opinion should I attempt to cold call or is this just asinine?

All advice greatly appreciated.

 

No harm in trying to cold call, but don't be surprised if people are dismissive or ignore you. Smaller or lesser known firms with undeveloped recruiting programs may be more receptive. If your BCG contact is willing, see if he can put you in touch with some associates to talk to. They won't be able to get you a job, but you can certainly learn more about the work/lifestyle from them. Plus, if you establish a good rapport with someone, he or she may offer to help with a cover letter or your resume (though obviously don't ask for this the first time you speak).

I'm a senior at a school in the northeast, and I can tell you that consulting recruiting is extremely competitive. The firms also tend to prefer people with a more liberal arts background rather than business. I don't want to sound discouraging since anything is possible, but your chances of landing an entry level offer with a firm that doesn't recruit at your school are really slim, even with outstanding grades and extracurriculars.

Are you completely set on strategy consulting? If you are, it might be worth checking out what Management Consulted has to offer. I've never used their services--a bit expensive in my opinion-- but I asked them a career question and found their advice very insightful.

 

Agree with Brofalfa. As a non-target myself, the only reason I was let in the door (despite summa cum laude grades and a prestigous internship) were my contacts at two firms. This telecommunications guy is your Moses. Setting up as many informal telephone conversations is key. I haven't met a consultant that doesn't love talking about how great they are. Network to get a hold of these people and "ask" them about the industry. Pitch yourself in the process.

 

Without seeing your resume, it's hard to determine if you would grab the attention of the firms... but based on what you have written, it sounds like you have a decent profile (and good sense of humor.)

With that said, I would start doing some aggressive networking - just like the others have mentioned above. With regard to how...

LinkedIn is your friend here - run a search on your target firms, and you'll see who is a part of your extended network. Try using "In Mail" to send them a note - write a short summary of who you are (short - as in a line or two, don't oversell yourself), and express your interest in the firm, and that person specifically. Ask them to set up a call to chat, and share your availability (so - "I'm available Mon, Wed and Fri from 2 - 6pm") The idea here is to make it easy for them to say YES. If you don't see many connections to the firms on LinkedIn, drop me a note and I'll give you a hand.

In summary - cold-calling (or cold-emailing) does work. I'm willing to bet that if you sent out 10 messages to consultants, at least 2 or 3 would respond.

What's your plan with regard to a conversation when you get these folks on the phone?

 

Honestly, I'm new to this website and love it. I am both impressed and appreciative of the response time plus the quality therein. I really thank all of you for your input.

I did talk to my friend today and he gave me a recruiter’s email that he plays hockey with on a regular basis. I also looked up the recruiter for the only BCG office near me, which is in Miami. My friend said that he would forward my resume along to his friend and some other recruiters that he knows and I was going to attempt to go "after dinner phone salesmen" (more or less) to the recruiter in Miami.

In regards to the conversation that I will have; as your wait staff says, "flattery will get you far", and I intend to use “buku” amounts of that (subtle and effective as opposed to clingy first date). I plan to do this while gathering information; as well as, showing the vast amounts of interest I have for the firm and their culture. So for example after getting them on the phone and explaining who I am again, have a conversation about the firm, their story, and just find out a little bit about them; not only as a BCG employee, but as a person. Then I was planning to state the fact that I realize you and the firm are among the best and look for the best, I can contribute with perseverance, logic, and strong work ethic, but would like to know how to better position myself to become more like “you”.

I thought that a mentor seeking approach would work well, or should I use more of an elevator pitch strategy like with the In Mail? I’m open and ready for all the feedback I can get.

Looking forward to some pointers.

 

Don't oversell yourself, especially during an initial conversation with the consultant. So I would not take the elevator pitch approach. You aren't trying to land a job with this call, nor are you trying to convince the consultant to ask for your resume. You just want to learn more about them, and the firm.

And you provided a high level summary of how you will approach this meeting. What you need to do is prep for this meeting like it's a "reverse interview." So you need to develop an approach, or "interview guide" and treat the meeting like you would a client interview. Put simply, you need to develop categories for discussion, and a few leading questions per category. You'll then go into this call and, after the ice-breaker topic / chat, you will say something to the effect of - "There are actually three areas I'd like to touch on during our call. The first is A, the next B, and the third, C. So tell me, ....

Based on what you said, it sounds like your categories would be A) Learn more about the firm, B) Learn more about the person and C) talk about how you are a good fit.

Do you see the problem here?

Try coming up with a more targeted approach for your reverse interview. Perhaps A) I'd like to learn more about BCG, and more specifically, the industries and functional areas that the firm has been growing within. B) I'd like to learn more about you personally, why you chose Consulting, and your journey from school to now, and C) I'd like to discuss the profile of candidate that BCG is looking for (although this category is a little wishy washy)

That would be a good approach for this call. And when you lay it out like the above, you are establishing an agenda for the meeting - exactly what a consultant would do with a client. During the meeting, you will move from one category to another, demonstrating you can follow the agenda and get the info you need - again, what a consultant would do with a client. You get the idea.

 

I apologize for taking some time to respond, the two jobs while in school train is going full steam ahead. Yes, I like that strategy the best. I thought that the elevator pitch would come off as not genuine and a real conversation would show the extreme interest that I have for the firm. I feel like I will be able to handle the call very well. I have been reading articles for a while now on BCG’s endeavors and I think demonstrating this ,plus showing that I do have the capabilities of an associate consultant ( following the agenda that I put together, etc) will hopefully add to my case.

As for the “cold email” I’m trying to piece something together in a line or three that will sound genuine but not overly pushy. I was thinking “Hello, hope you are doing well. My name is ------ and I’m an undergraduate from --- with a passionate interest in consulting. I’m looking to learn all that I can about the industry and its workings. (Consultant’s name here) after reading your profile and accomplishments (LinkedIn) and thought you would be most able to assist me. I am available to talk -------. Looking forward to hearing from you. Phil”

Your thoughts ladies and gentlemen....Still love all of the feedback by the way.

P.S. I am going to be sending out my resume to my friend either tomorrow or Monday

 

It seems like you're overthinking this a bit. Obviously you shouldn't just enter the conversation saying, "uhh...so how's consulting?", but you don't need the entire thing planned out either. Speaking with confidence and genuine interest is the best way to have a fruitful conversation (and of course make a good impression), and having canned responses probably won't help with that. Think of some basic but thoughtful questions you want to ask (how did you decide consulting was the right fit, what have been your favorite and least favorite engagements, etc), and be prepared to speak eloquently about yourself and your interest in consulting if asked.

I personally would hold off on the flattery. Maybe that's just my personality, but I'd be afraid it would sound insincere. No need to stroke their ego or praise their firm directly...the fact that you're showing interest already does this. Just thank them profusely for taking the time to speak with you.

Hope this helps!

 

My take on your e-mail content plan - I would suggest you make it a little more specific than "I'm looking to learn all I can about the industry and its workings..." To me, that makes it sound like you really don't have much knowledge on the subject, and you're hoping I can take my time to bring you up to speed.

Assuming you have already done some research on your own (which I'm sure you have), you should state something like "I am hoping to learn more about the 'xyz' BCG office, and your project experiences."

 

Well this all sounds great, but I think I have decided to just take a job offer I got from Burger King. You know they give you the tools to succeed. No I have sent my resume to my friend and am awaiting his response. I also have an email prepared to send the recruiter from Miami.

Interesting opportunity though I served a gentleman from Morgan Stanley Nyand he told me to go try and network at the hotel he is staying at. I plan on doing this tonight.

Now he said to be ridiculously aggressive/blunt. What is your opinion on that? I was more on the side of the "casual bump into" scenero.

Phil keeps trying and trying and trying and trying. (energizer bunny has got nothing on me)

 
jared992:

What kind of consulting gigs could one expect after graduation from a solid state school with a 3.9 GPA? I am looking for what is realistic rather than what could be achieved with a lot of luck/networking etc.

Assume:

-Finance Degree (possible double major-maybe MIS)
-Solid SAT Scores 2100ish
-A Jr. internship (not necessarily consulting related)
-Decent work experience
-Well developed interview and problem solving skills

Thanks in advance

Unless your state school is one of Berkeley/UVA/Michigan you are probably best off targeting a combination of Deloitte/Accenture level firms and in-house strategy groups at major corps nearby. I was in a similar situation after undergrad, ended up in-house right out of undergrad and will be going into a post-MBA position at an MBB.

 

I think some other decent state schools will take 1-2 kids (for example, I think a couple of kids from the University of Illinois wind up at the Chicago MBB offices every year). Obviously, the number of available slots is low, so odds are against you, but if you are exceptional, I think it's possible. Even if on campus recruiting isn't available, the number of graduates of most state schools means that there is probabably at least one person in the MBB offices closest to your school that could get you a first round interview if you network.

 
JMeister:

On a side note, do SAT scores really matter?

For MBB, absolutely. For others, probably. SAT and gmat scores are generally viewed as a good measure of raw quant skill and analytic ability. Just one piece of the puzzle though.

@"jared992", Your background should put in the running for most employers at your school. If you have the resume/cover letter and networking skills to match your GPA, you should get plenty of interviews. Check with career services to see who comes to campus and how many they've hired the last few years. If a firm you're interested in doesn't recruit on campus, you've got to decided whether to take what's available or work your butt off networking off campus.

 
NoName:

It really depends on which school. I am graduating from UT Austin this semester and MBB usually takes around 10-15 students every year. Don't discount state schools just because they are state schools!

Was going to note this but, unfortunately, UT Austin is another one of the "exceptions" to the state school rule...I think UT Austin may place better in MBB than all other state schools...or at least close..

 

Et cum iure dignissimos dolorem cupiditate. Harum et cum perspiciatis voluptatem sed.

Ut architecto nulla assumenda. Non hic consequatur ut accusamus ad.

 

Voluptatum recusandae ipsa pariatur omnis ab reiciendis. Accusamus qui praesentium omnis ut. Voluptate fugiat quia ipsa cumque omnis.

Voluptatem error voluptas reiciendis. Omnis id non eos dolore possimus voluptatem voluptate.

Sit id voluptatibus impedit molestias porro. Nostrum neque consequatur saepe.

Non iure quam sed ut. Sunt voluptatum quaerat excepturi incidunt est ducimus est. Quia fuga ut qui aut delectus autem dolorem. Consequatur voluptatem consequatur tempore dicta labore. Aut officia dolore consequuntur dolorem odit. Harum a nemo quis.

 

Esse quos repellat voluptas quae. Neque quod accusamus et deserunt eveniet quae quae. Nisi quos sit maxime debitis quaerat excepturi. Eos dolorem error iste quis.

Eos voluptas assumenda voluptatem et doloribus repellat. Voluptatibus dolor velit modi sunt. Autem non consequatur ipsum et temporibus minima.

Corporis quia necessitatibus odio aliquid. Qui sint illo nemo soluta fugiat sed sequi commodi. Incidunt expedita vitae aut enim voluptatem officiis esse. Magni quod laborum facilis qui porro reiciendis. Iure ut ducimus consequatur quia ut tempore.

Voluptates id vel ut nesciunt. Quas magnam in sint voluptatem nemo accusamus. Itaque excepturi in voluptatem tempore eius veritatis placeat. Quia et doloribus in minima distinctio ab totam. Laborum molestias est sunt provident.

fight for MBB

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • Cornerstone Research 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.7%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $368
  • Principal (25) $277
  • Director/MD (55) $270
  • Vice President (47) $246
  • Engagement Manager (99) $225
  • Manager (152) $170
  • 2nd Year Associate (158) $140
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (108) $130
  • Senior Consultant (329) $130
  • Consultant (586) $119
  • 1st Year Associate (538) $119
  • NA (15) $119
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (145) $115
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (342) $102
  • Associate Consultant (166) $98
  • 1st Year Analyst (1046) $87
  • Intern/Summer Associate (188) $84
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (547) $67
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”