Hi all,
I am thinking of breaking into management consulting,but not sure about my education/background fit I am 28,just got a Fulbright Award for masters study in Management Information Systems (either Carnegie Mellon MISM or Berkeley MIMS),previously I had a professional chess career for around 15 years (won several tournaments and titles etc. on both national and international level),then worked for a year in UN AIDS agency as an IT specialist,then worked for 2 years in my home country as an Organizational Capability specialist in BP(different projects in technical development) -can someone evaluate if I have any chances for top 10 mc companies upon graduation?
Thanks.
Yes.
Yep.
You will have to show that you're not a typical back office IT guy, and have the ability to make business decisions and socialize. However, your experience at BP should show this sufficiently to most people.
....
What else can I add to my profile to strengthen it? Which MC companies will more likely value my experience ?
how much does a pro chess player make?
you ll laugh if I tell you...+ no exit opportunities and inevitable decline after 35-40
lol I really want to know now... i guess there is no ESPN and Sports Illustrated covers and not a whole lot of $12M Nike Shoe deals huh?
exactly..the world champ and top5 make something around 300k a year...sometimes less.
$300K combined or each? hahahaha this is golden...
Now I'm a consulting hopeful as well (so take what I say with a grain of salt) but I think you have a great background, definitely smart enough to dig down and solve business problems... if i was to borrow from some of the other posters... be ready for the cases, have some decent people and presentation skills, and convey your will to do the work and you'll be fine
one of my main concerns is that the universities I am heading to (need to chose one from UC Berkeley,CMU and GWU till the end of march) are non-targets for Consulting (( and the MIS program is associated mostly with tech/it consulting jobs as I read hundreds of posts on different topics for MBB and best placements names matter (Ivy,Stanford etc) I have found lots of materials on course preparation,but still have a feeling that the most important thing in my case will be to pass the screening with non-MBA masters from non-Ivy university...
I am not completely sure, but I would imagine that CMU and Berkeley attract their fair share of consulting firms. I went to a tier 2 state schools, and even we had Bain and Deloitte show up for on campus interviews.
If you start networking early, I don't think the focus on your degree will be a major obstacle either. As long as you make a great case for yourself when you conduct "informational interviews" etc you should come off as an intriguing candidate.
thanks!
any more feedbacks?
At the end I am going to George Washington University Business School - MSc in Information Systems Technologies... Non-target school, but I will do my best to get place in top10 MC firms...Not many chances though...
I don't think those schools are "non-target."
I think you have a very unique background that you can definitely use to your advantage. For example, your chess background reflects critical/logical reasoning and maybe even, composure/ability to work under stress. Both of those qualities are important for consulting. Definitely do a lot of networking, I think you can gain more from it than others with traditional backgrounds - if I were a recruiter (which I am not, so take this with a grain of salt), I would be intrigued by your background and I'd remember you when it comes round to resume screening. Also, the fact that you have a big brand name like BP on your resume will definitely help. In short, i think your chances are pretty good! However, make sure you explain very clearly (in the cover letter, interview, networking events) why you want to go into management consulting.
Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback!
Could you advise what is the best way to do networking when you are placed in non-target (GWU in my case)?As there wont be any info fairs in my school,what is the best way to get in touch with consultants?
Yep.
I've screened hundreds of resumes, never seen "professional chess player" Fulbright scholar.
That, combined with decent academic credentials, will get you an interview. The rest is on you.
No problem!
I suggest tapping into your alumni network and just cold-calling. There are a few threads in this forum that focus specifically on non target recruiting - they have some pretty good tips.
Also, this may sound kind of crazy and I'm just throwing this out there, but Georgetown is only a few blocks away. Maybe you can crash some career events there, I know most of the big consulting firms do on campus recruiting at Georgetown and you can usually find out the schedule online. At worst, you'll get kicked out.. and at best, some consultant/recruiter might be impressed by how ballsy you are. You wont be able to get into georgetown's on campus recruiting program, but you'll be able to make contacts and follow up with those consultants/recruiters later.
I actually thought about that - I may even take some interesting courses at GT (professional certificate program in business administration or something) to strengthen my resume and get access to Georgetown career fairs,though not sure it will work for non-degree student but can be a good try )
as a result I got screened out in almost all top10 consulting firms...
just an update
Marcus,
I had a non-traditional background and ended up starting at one of the M/B/B at 30, so it is in fact possible. Your profile is interesting enough and top MC firms value diversity more than you think (I was the only guy in my office with a graduate degree in humanities and some of the partners loved it when I was going through the recruiting process).
You will probably not be able to secure a place in the more in-demand offices (NYC, Silicon Valley), but I think that if you target offices in other cities (e.g. Pitt, Atlanta, Cleveland) and you have good grades, you stand a chance. What you need to show these guys is that you want to be in their office. Reach out to consultants in the offices that truly interest you and have coffee or a beer with them. Be interesting and see what happens. In most offices, if a consultant puts in a good word for you, it can get you through the CV screening and from there on its all about how you perform during interviews ...
Feel free to PM me if you need more info.
Marcus care to update where you are now?
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