Advice for lateraling from IB to MBB as an Analyst?
Coming up to a year with one of the boutiques in London (Evercore / PWP / Lazard) and increasingly feel like MBB consulting would be a better medium term career path for me.
Have only a vague interest in Private equity as a long term career and would ideally like to move to an operating / strategy role within a seed stage startup at some point. I feel like a few years at MBB would set me up better for this and give me the credentials to move to a more established series B / C company further down the line should it not work out.
Would really appreciate if anyone on here has seen this move before or made it themselves and had any advice.
1. When and how should I reach out to the firms? Cold messaging Alumni from my university seems to be the only option open to me atm.
2. Are either of Mckinsey, Bain and BCG more / less receptive to ex bankers?
3. What level should I expect to come in at after two years of banking experience?
4. Is the interview process similar to what I can find online about the graduate interview process?
5. If I want to avoid Private equity DD projects and maximise variety of experience and travel are any of the firms better for this in London?
Sorry for the long list of questions but am feeling fairly clueless about this move so would appreciate any and all advice!
Analyst 1 in IB-M&A, way too quiet in here. What about these resources:
More suggestions...
Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.
Background: I recruited for both PE and MBB consulting after a short stint in IB.
1. I recruited for MBB during undergrad for internships and retained some of my connections there but had to build some from scratch as I changed locations. My advice is to attend their available e-conferences (sustainability, LGBT, etc.), ask questions, connect with speakers on LinkedIn. MBB recruiters are also very responsive so what I'd do is try to connect with people on LinkedIn who work at these firms and ask them for the email of the recruiters. I found that everyone was willing to take a call with me, hear my background, provide advice on timelines.
2. Where I am located (North America), Bain only hires once a year while BCG and McKinsey have bi-annual cycles for experienced hires. I also noticed BCG and McKinsey were more receptive of experienced hires, especially McK. They reserve more spots and have more streamlined and dedicated recruiting resources for them.
3. Same level as you would be if you had done 2 years of consulting.
4. Same as intern/full-time process. The cases were a little harder.
5. McKinsey - less PE and global staffing model
Thank you for taking the time to respond, really appreciated and helpful.
Can I ask what your thinking was applying to both PE and MBB and how you ended up deciding which was best for you?
Sure - just DM me
Thanks for your response! I was wondering if you know the timing of the two recruiting cycles for McK and BCG? Do they usually happen around April and December?
They probably vary by location and in my location at least, BCG and McKinsey's experienced hires recruiting timelines were different by a month or two. You need to reach out to a recruiter to confirm timelines.
Can anyone provide a rough breakdown of hours for Consultants / Associates at MBB in London?
Am interning in IB this summer but not sure I can face 9 - 12am 4 days a week full time...
(Are your weekends largely free to yourself as well...?) Thanks!
experience varies wildly depending on the type of case and the intensity of your case leadership, but the hours are on average much lower than banking. in most cases, weekend work is not expected or even necessary.
you're in a good position to recruit for mbb given the prestige of your bank (all of them will be receptive). cold messaging alumni probably your best bet. you'll likely come in as a fresh entry level post-undergrad? but unsure about this, worth it to negotiate with the recruiter to try entering as a senior analyst. interview process is going to be very similar if not the same (you may have to play some sort of problem solving game that students do not). all 3 have enormous offices in london so the work will be very varied.
I would just network with alumni from your college to try and get a referral. It shouldn't be hard given the pedigree of your bank. McKinsey is the most open to experienced hires, particularly with IB backgrounds.
Just wanted to clarify an earlier post that said you’d come in at the same level as if you had done 2 years of consulting. That’s not true. You will possibly start as a fresh undergrad role, and absolute best case a Sr BA/Associate.
I'm at a London MBB, and did ~2+ years in IB, at a significantly worse bank than you. Joined as an "Industry hire", with very similar motivations to you.
1) That + just applying online tbh.
2) BCG likes them, but shoves you into the PE focused team a lot of the time. Know ex bankers from my start class in both Bain and McK.
3) Minimum two years of experience you will get some seniority, but lose at least a year. Most likely come in as a 2nd year analyst equivalent.
4) Exactly the same process
Feel free to DM me...
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