Applying in (Eastern) Europe vs. US -- differences?
Hello fellow primates (to quote the forum's introductory email),
I'll be applying to McKinsey, A.T. Kearney, Roland Berger and a few other companies in Eastern Europe (I'm from there.) I've been reading this great forum for a while, and while a good part of the information seems valid irrespective of geography, it still seems understandably US-centric.
Could anyone highlight any major differences between applying to a European branch of a big name consultancy vs. applying to a US branch? Anybody around that has applied to/ is working for a (Eastern) European branch?
Probably not relevant for the question above (feel free to skip the rest of this message), but a quick about me: -- top 10 undergrad in US, majored in Engineering. GPA 3.0, bleah, too much partying, not included on the resume. Made up w/ research work, hopefully. -- 6 years of experience, transitioning from a software engineering position to a program management role (highlighted PM work on the resume) -- worked (my derriere off) for two brand names, Fortune 10 kind of companies in the past couple of years
Hope I stand a chance...
Looking forward to getting advice. Thanks a bunch!
Lesser competition for places for sure, but McKinsey and A.T. Kearney will still want to see an ivy league school on your CV and some impressive extra curriculum activities. I am not so sure about Roland Berger-I presume they are less picky about the school brand name and generally easier to get into. Its pretty much the same criteria everywhere-they have universal recruitment policies all over. Good luck with your applications.
Berger are just below MBB and quite above ATK. Generally you will need to have been an excellent student (I.e. Top 10%) and the 'partied too much while at uni' types don't get in / fit culturally.
I am also not sure about the lesser competition than in the US point. Remember, apart from London there isn't much IB here so top students all go for consulting. Standards in CEE are lower than in Western Europe, but again, you need top credentials.
"the 'partied too much while at uni' types don't get in / fit culturally." - Dear God, can you BE more stereotypical with this statement? You are not doing anyone a favor with this overbearing attitude, not to mention that it is absolutely not true. When you decide to say something as obnoxious as this, take a pause, take a deep breath, and think. Its too late now, you already said it. Now re-think it and hopefully you will understand what you said. Good luck.
Sorry what? I fail to see how my comment was not appropriate. All I said is that you need to be a very driven personality to succeed in strategy consulting environments and that you're unlikely to get in / progress if you're not that type. So relax, stop flaming me, and try out this shiatsu thing ok?
I didn't think you would get it.
As an experienced hire, your GPA doesn't matter. They'll focus on the skills/knowledge you can bring in, experience and types of deals you were exposed to.
When I was at MBB they were lots of party types, but they also had high GPAs.
US vs. Europe (Originally Posted: 01/28/2015)
I've spoken with several European bankers (primarily located in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, but have all worked in the US at some point) and they have unanimously agreed that there is a greater emphasis on the prospective candidates intangibles in Europe rather than the name of the school they graduated from. They also claimed that the opposite is true in the United States - there is a greater emphasis on the name of the school the candidate attended. Would you guys agree or disagree with this?
DACH (German speaking area) is probably the most non-target friendly region. However, in other countries such as France and Italy, school name is even more important than the US.
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