Breaking In - Junior finance major at Texas A&M
I need advice.
I am a junior finance major at Texas A&M (kind of a target school but not really?). My gpa is not great: 3.2 and I will be interning either at a mortgage company or the finance department of a large healthcare company this summer.
The question is how do I break into management consulting with a low gpa and coming from a respectable state school but a non target and with no related experience? Do I just have to network (strong alumni network) like crazy or is there something else I can do to increase my odds of landing an offer after I graduate?
For inquiring minds: I want to go into consulting because the more I think about it the less appealing a job in banking and other finance fields sounds(though they are still options). I like the idea of have a wide range of possible projects available as well as the strong relationships I have heard consulting builds.
.... A&M is a target? Network your ass off. Off-cycle internships.
Not sure what you mean by "kind of a target school"... who comes to OCR?
Either way, networking only gets you so far in consulting firms with the top firms (MBB + booz/ow/monitor/parthenon/lek/etc) if you don't have the requirements. The vast majority of people starting at these shops had high GPAs, usually with a bare bones cut-off of 3.5... but usually 3.7/3.8/3.9+. Another factor most top firms use as a screening tool is SAT scores, so if you have a 1500+ M/V be sure to put that on...
It will be exceedingly difficult to break into these top shops just with networking. However, there are a ton of firms outside the big names I mentioned above, and not all of them are as selective. Cast a wide net, and focus networking more on the less selective firms. Accenture hires a few candidates with 3.5 GPAs, however these candidates 1) networked a TON, 2) did well on the cases, 3) attended a target school so they got the offer via OCR. Look at your OCR list for consulting firms that are regional and smaller, network hard with them, ace the interviews.
Definitely apply to the all the firms you can, and network with everyone, but focus on the firms that give you the best chance of breaking into consulting.
... dead no chance
Netwok network network to land an interview.
Meanwhile practice cases like a demon, so that once you get an interview you blow your interviewers away.
I try to be realistic in the sense that I probably won't be able to get into the top firms off the bat. So I will focus the majority of my attention on boutiques and hope for some alumni connections to come through. I would assume networking could actually be even more vital for smaller firms. While I'm doing my internship over the summer I will be practicing cases in a lot of my spare time.
By kind of a target at a&m: I mean that we had accenture and Bain here for OCR last semester. But generally the best firms still don't have us as a target.
1) managementconsulted.com
2) "networking" does not mean "cold emailing people and asking for a job" especially with your shitty stats
3) Are you a URM?
Xepa: 1. I have that website bookmarked 2. Even with my "shitty" stats I know what networking entails. Thanks. 3. No I am not.
Consider CPA firms consulting departments like PWC, EY, Baker Tilly, look to other players like IBM, Accenture and the like, you don't have a great shot at MBB/OW/Parthenon, but that doesn't mean there aren't decent options out there.
Thanks futurectdoc I'll look into those.
Here's my take: MBB and most other management consulting firms hire undergrads and then mold them into the employees they want. They provide basic business training, but just like in IB, new undergrads are merely cheap labor. After 2 to 3 years, and probably a trip to a top B-school, these former undergrads may become valuable employees...but whether they are or not doesn't matter to the firm, the money has been made. Since these firms have a certain level of prestige, they are able to be picky about hiring...and this is why you're not going to get a job there. It's not that you're not talented, they likely would be able to make just as much money hiring your vs. some 3.9 from Harvard, maybe more...but there's no reason for them to deviate from their profitable model that already works.
I would advise you to stay away from lower tier consulting firms. If you go to one of these firms, you're going to end up doing SAP build outs in South Dakota...and it's not going to help you get a good job in management consulting. Once you've put that label on you, you're lucky if b-school is going to change anything. Find a job that interests you and pays the bills. Then see where it goes. You might hate it. You might love it. Either way, you're probably going to end up happier and with better experience to leverage into working in management consulting or b-school in the future. Getting into top-tier consulting from undergrad is usually a ticket to success, but since your chance of getting there is slim, I think taking an alternate route outside of consulting will leave you more successful/happy. I can tell you from looking at my alumni, the people that went to work for lower tier consulting firms after undergrad are not doing as well as the kids who took the chance on a job outside of consulting.
Wow, I'm not good at short posts.
I appreciate the detailed post! I have been considering options besides trying to go straight into counslting. But I'm looking for the best path that will get me there sooner rather than later. So any suggestions for what to do initially would be great.
A&M is a target if you're: 3.7+ Finance major Engineering major Have the right internships.
A&M is also the target for every BB IBD desk in Houston (and what little are in Dallas), MF and HF in Houston/Dallas, and building a small presence in NY. All three of the MBB firms recruit at A&M, you just have to apply on the careers site and be invited to the presentations when they visit ( my year, Bain and BCG were in the MSC, McKinsey was in the Hilton). Only consulting shops I know of that don't recruit at A&M are Oliver Wyman and ATK. That said, you may not get a look with the wrong major or low GPA.
Better get into the Horizons program in the fall, but your GPA is on the low side for that.
Sent you a PM
Check out the IBM CbD program, very easy to get an offer in the grand scheme of management consulting programs, and you can get your MBA and switch to a better firm after that
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