IB Analyst to Consulting
Hey all - currently an IB AN1 at a non-NYC EB group looking to move into consulting after his first year finishes + bonus gets paid out, and would love to hear any insight on if anyone else on WSO has made the move in the past. Specifically:
1) What's the lateral hiring cycles for MBB like? Are they relatively unstructured throughout the year or do they hire at certain points?
2) Is consulting lateral recruiting networking-based and should I focus on reaching out to people at offices I'm interested in, or is it much more of a traditional resume drop system?
3) If I go into consulting after completing a full year in banking, would I receive credit for a year in consulting (eg. start as a BA/AC 2)?
4) How easy is it to be pigeonholed into being staffed on private equity diligence projects given I'm coming from a finance background?
5) I enjoy the work in banking but my main factor is just looking for more wlb predictability (eg. not having to cancel plans all the time on Saturday nights) - how is consulting for more wlb predictability?
Thanks!
Ah, the classic investment banking to consulting pivot – a tale as old as time in the high finance jungle. Let's swing through your questions one by one:
1) Lateral Hiring Cycles for MBB: - MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) hiring can be somewhat seasonal, with peaks often after bonuses are paid out in finance, but they also hire on a rolling basis as needs arise. - Based on the most helpful WSO content, MBB firms do have structured recruiting cycles for undergrads and MBAs, but experienced hires are often more ad-hoc.
2) Consulting Lateral Recruiting Approach: - Networking is key in the consulting world. It's not just about who you know, but who knows you and your capabilities. - Reaching out to people at the offices you're interested in can be beneficial. It's a mix of networking and traditional applications, so cover both bases.
3) Credit for Experience: - This can vary by firm and situation. Some firms may give you credit for your experience, while others may place you at the entry-level. - Based on previous WSO threads, it's not uncommon for lateral hires to negotiate for a higher starting position, but it's not guaranteed.
4) Risk of Being Pigeonholed: - Your background in finance might make you an attractive candidate for PE diligence projects, but consulting firms value diversity in project experience. - Make your preferences known early on to avoid being typecast, but also be open to leveraging your strengths.
5) Work-Life Balance Predictability: - Consulting can offer more predictability in work-life balance compared to banking, but it's not a 9-5 job either. - Expect some level of unpredictability with client demands and travel, although it's generally more manageable.
Remember, the jungle is vast and full of different paths – make sure to choose the one that suits you best. And don't forget to enjoy the ride, or as we say in the monkey business, the swing!
Sources: Lateral hire from another consulting firm to MBB, Lateral to better bank and recruit off cycle or stay at UBS and recruit on cycle?, Q&A: MBB, BB S&T+IB, Top MBA, US/Global, Q&A: Lateral to MBB
I wonder if one could expect a slight decrease in salary if they move from IB to MBB...?
Of course lol
Right and the OP still want to shift knowing the salary decrease.
Ex MBB, so will do best I can:
1. Lateral hiring cycle is more just apply whenever you see a posting. In years where there’s so much demand, they’ll hire laterals. In tight years like 2023, they probably won’t.
2. Definitely do network. It’s not as structured as on campus recruiting. If you get a referral and are a legit candidate you should be able to pull an interview assuming the firm is hiring.
3. You will definitely not get credit for the full year. And that’s a good thing- if you start as a BA2 you are competing with everyone who has been in consulting for a whole year. And you’ll only have 1 year to show readiness for the next level. This makes it harder to succeed in the ‘up or out’ environment. There have been previous threads about how the increased counsel outs have been especially tough on laterals.
4. You won’t be pigeonholed, but if you’re having a hard time getting staffed, your IB experience will give you an edge over other similarly tenured analysts. If the market is very good you will have a lot of say in your staffing.
5. Consulting is typically very intense during weekdays but from Friday nights to Sunday you’re free. So you can make plans for Friday night and you’ll be fine, but don’t expect to make plans for Wednesday happy hour or Monday night football with the boys. A lot of bankers see consulting as chill WLB but it has its challenges of its own (travel, arguably more mentally stimulating during the day, the hassle of jumping from project to project and literally doing completely different work, the staffing process, etc…). Like I remember Friday at 5 pm being told I had to fly cross country at 7 am Monday morning…
Thank so so much! This is super helpful. A couple more questions about your experience/MBB experience:
1) Another motivation for me to move to MBB from IB is medium-to-long term geographic flexibility (given IB opportunities are largely focused in T1 cities and my desired living location is not). At McKinsey/BCG/firms without a office-based staffing model, does your office heavily affect your projects and career trajectory?
2) Say if I tough it out for another year and finish 2 years as an analyst, would I be able to enter as a Consultant/post-MBA equivalent?
3) Did you find that Consulting helped open a lot more doors regarding CorpStrat exits? I'm definitely interested in CorpStrat long term, and while I know I can probably achieve getting into CorpStrat through IB I've heard that generally MBB lends itself to a wider breadth of CorpStrat exits.
4) In regards to wlb, what's the PTO culture like at MBB? Are you able to take multiple weeks off each year? My IB group is a bit old-school culturally, where the unspoken rule is no PTO until after your first year and after that only one week a year, and I was wondering if that type of mentality also carries over to MBB.
Hey! I made the move myself and am very happy ~2 years into MBB. Feel free to PM if helpful to chat
What level are you and how have your hours been? Do you focus on one industry?
I’m nearing the end of my AC/BA/Associate program and joined with <1 year of IB experience so had my tenure clock reset to 0. Have worked across many industries and functional areas incl. CDDs and “normal” consulting projects (sku rationalization, operational efficiency). Hours have typically been ~50-60 with the higher end of the range on CDDs and the lower end of the range on other projects. What this really means is that M-W are full work days, TH ends around 7 and F ends at 4 or 5 with no weekend work.
I'm also considering a similar move, and had a few quick questions:
- Does leaving IB prior to completing 1 year or completing 1 year make a difference?
- I read above that I will not start as a 2nd year analyst after completing 1 year, will I receive any credit for that stint or will it be the same as entering post-college?
- Are the hours and culture substantially different compared to IB?
- Given I'm an international student, will this be a huge issue in consulting?
Thanks to everyone in advance!
Leaving before vs. after 1 year does make a bit of difference in that you’ll likely lose 0.5-1 yrs of experience when making the move. I was ~8 months in when I switched and my tenure got reset to 0. While this feels bad initially, it actually sets you up nicely in the long run as you are now effectively being benchmarked against folks with 0.5-1 yrs less of rigorous professional experience and it sets you up to succeed vs. being thrown in and having to be evaluated against people who’ve being doing consulting for the same amount of time you’ve been in banking. The specifics around how much tenure you retain / lose is very firm, office and case dependent so hard to say specifically what might happen but I’d go into the process expecting to lose ~0.5-1 yrs.
I’d say the hours and culture are significantly different. I’m at Bain and I absolutely love the culture. Great group of intelligent, motivated and thoughtful people who are generally highly empathetic, fun and relatively easy going. I genuinely have a lot of fun at work (most times), have a lot of friends / mentors from work and have learned a lot. The hours are also different in that in my experience they’ve been ~50-60 with a few weeks above that and several weeks of 0 work or very little work when I’ve been unstaffed (which isn’t really viewed as a negative against you at Bain since a staffing team is responsible for staffing you vs. you finding a project yourself at other firms). What the hours effectively translate into is a M-W that are somewhat better than IB, TH that is better, F that is way better and no weekend work so infinitely better than IB there. Overall, culture was the primary reason I switched and the Bain culture is a perfect fit for me. Hours wise, I’m very happy and view this as an added benefit.
I don’t think being an international student should be a big issue. Several folks I know who made the move from IB to consulting were international students as well. Standard procedure is that if you can’t get H1B or another Visa then they will move you to an international office (e.g. London, Mexico City, Paris, etc.)
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