Lateral from Mid-Tier Consulting Firm
Hi All,
I recently graduated in May 2016 from a target school (think Northwestern, Notre Dame, Emory, etc.) and am currently working as a consultant at a mid-tier consulting firm. I am not really enjoying my job, as most of my work revolves around compliance rather than strategy. While I knew coming in that my firm was not a strategy firm, I thought that the work would at least be more interesting than it is. I started this job in July 2016, meaning I've been here for around 8 months.
I am looking to transition to a strategy consulting firm, but am concerned that this would be difficult. My understanding is that strategy consulting firms (MBB, LEK, etc.) do most of their recruiting at the undergrad level, making it difficult to lateral to such firms. I am wondering if anyone has any insight into how actively strategy consulting firms recruit employees from other firms. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
When you say Mid-Tier i'm assuming B4. Have you considered trying to move into one of their more "strategy-consulting" departments? I would assume this would be easier.
E.g. EY MC > Ey Parthenon and so forth.
There are very few laterals into the pre-MBA role. I've never seen or heard of someone lateraling in from a less prestigious firm.
True for lateraling. However, every year people from ACN, PwC, Deloitte etc. are being hired as entry levels. Usually they come from top unis. You'll lose your 8 months work experience but most probably end up with a higher salary and much higher earning potential down the line. Also, they won't recruit you, you need to come to us. You'll be treated the same as a fresh grad hire again.
I've got 6 years experience at MBB, am on the interview cadre, have led (MBA) recruiting for the office in the past.
I have never seen anyone get hired out of ACN, PwC, or Deloitte with 8 months of experience.
I have seen us hire more senior people out of ACN for specific roles or PAs; I've seen alums of those firms go to b-school and come to us as MBA hires. I cannot think of many reasons why we would take someone with 8 months at PwC over a fresh graduate of a target school.
In my region (not US as well), similar to what Carmbar and Ruhm have said. I have seen people lateral into MBB pre-MBA, but with 'step-back' to their tenure / rank. How many years they lose is firm specific, in my experience.
To the OP, I think that if this is your goal, you need to consider carefully (and start working towards) your choice of path to MBB.
It might make more sense, for example, to aim for a top bschool first before applying (where these firms recruit significantly from).
If you are going down the path of a direct lateral hire, I would strongly urge you to consider what value you bring to the table, and when you should make the jump. These would depend partly on your exposure you are getting in your current role, your goals and time horizon. Apply too soon and the firms may not see the value of hiring you. Stay too long at your current role and you may not develop the right expertise needed for a switch at senior associate/ junior manager role.
Moving up consulting tiers... (Originally Posted: 04/28/2009)
Hi everyone,
I am a junior with an internship lined up at Accenture in strategy consulting. I was wondering how to position myself when recruiting full-time for positions at M/B/B.
If I get an interview, I have no doubt they will ask me why I did not choose to stay at Accenture full-time and why I want to move to another company. The obvious reason is that they have an excellent reputation, but other than that I am not sure what I can say given that what I know about them is hearsay.
Does anyone have a good strategy in answering such a question?
any advice would be appreciated thanks...
MBB are pretty full of themselves--they aren't going to question you wanting to come to them from a place like accenture. More relevantly, there is not too much time for fit, since it'll mostly be cases; it's unlikely that this is what they'll choose to talk about.
On the off chance that somebody asks you this, the answer is the exact same as what you'd give for a "why us" question for any firm. just say the reasons why you like the firm you're interviewing with, and it'll be fine.
what xqtrack says is right in my experience. basically they just want to know that you are serious about them. surf the website of each firm you are interviewing for 10-15 mins prior to each interview. read about any major recent developments at the firm or industry reports they have put out. focus on what makes them special. pretty much every consulting firm likes to consider themselves superior to accenture anyway...
I wouldn't worry about it. I interned with an M/B/B and interviewed with the other M/B/Bs and they both asked why I was interviewing, but didn't grill me or anything (they just wanted a legitimate reason, to be sure I wasn't just "collecting trophies").
After a summer at Accenture, I'm sure you'll have things that you don't like about the company. I think the most important thing is to be positive about your experience overall in your interview - getting negative or bashing on the company is never a good idea.
Never talk bad about your employers or colleagues, as recruiters will assume you do the same at their firm.
I'd find an area of expertise you want to specialize in and than make the case why said MBB is better in it.
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