MBB chances for a SWE in grad school
Just wondering if I could get some feedback for what my chances would be to get BA/AC interviews at MBB this upcoming recruiting cycle.
I'm currently a MSCS student at a top target for MBB and went to undergrad for cs at a semi target. Undergrad GPA 3.5, Grad GPA 3.65-3.75 depending on how this semester goes.
My resume isn't stellar in terms of pure leadership, but I've had a bunch of swe internships. A couple at startups where I had a decent amount of responsibility (some client facing), one at Facebook, and another at a top name brand unicorn.
Main concern is MBB hard filtering on GPA and SAT scores and not recognizing non MBA/MD/PhD graduate school degrees as legitimate enough. I know those degrees automatically interview for the level above BA/AC but I'm not sure if the pipeline for BA/AC is mainly for undergraduate students and graduate students are left to fend for themselves.
Biggest problem that you run into here is that MBB resume screeners have recognition bias--when they see names/industries they know and understand, they like those better, even if your experience far outweighs common consulting experience (e.g., Seeing business development at a F500 somehow ranks above SWE at a startup, even though you have SIGNIFICANTLY more impact at the startup).
Correct me if I am wrong here, but from the way that this post reads, I get the feeling that your impression of what matters most to MBB is: Grades/test scores>experience>everything else. I'd like to go nuclear on that and turn it on it's head.
The #1 thing you can do in your situation right now is to network and practice cases with alumni from your university that are currently at MBB. As in, if you have to focus on what to do right now, then you need to talk with people that are at the offices you want to be at. Let me explain why:
At Bain when we did resume review, we had all ranked the resumes/cover letters and given them a score. There was no criteria that was formally given to us to rank based on. When I had friends come through, or people that I had done cases with, I gave them a top score automatically, regardless. Then we aggregated scores and then ticked down the list, basically debated the top ~30 people for 20 interview slots. There were a few that were shoe-ins for interviews, but the rest got debated. Literally had a conversation go basically like this:
Manager: "Alright, Sarah Johnson is next in the ranking. She's worked at a local startup and did an impact investing internship. Who has cased with her?" Me: "I've cased with her. She's been super, super solid and has said Bain is her top choice." Manager: "Alright, anyone else?" Consultant: "I also cased with her, we'd be fools not to interview her." Manager: "Alright, put her on the slate."
Manager: "What about James Dunham? Has a 36 ACT and 4.0 and an internship with Google and Goldman. Do we know this guy? Seems solid."
*crickets*
Manager: "No one? Do we know if James can case?" Consultant: "I talked with him once, I think, at an event. Don't know much about him. Seemed nice." Manager: "Okay, well, we're going to pass on him then."
The thing you have to understand is that like 80% of the people that apply could do the job and do it well. The recruiting lead is NOT looking for the genius diamond in the rough. They're looking for 1) The candidate who can pass the case interview and 2) the candidate that will choose their firm if given the offer.
So in your situation, sure, GPA might not be as high, but that's fine, you've got FAANG on your resume. You need to let them know that you're a top candidate by casing with them and being Sarah and not James. Only way that happens is if you are networking with them actively, practicing cases with them, and they like you.
Hope this helps!
Best,
KHC
would caveat that the "4.0, interned at Google and GS" example is in fact a shoe-in candidate even if they did zero networking. A better example would be a borderline candidate e.g., "3.7. interned at F500 in biz dev" - that's where networking can be most impactful
I disagree, because we literally had that candidate and we passed on him.
To provide another data point to the above, I was at an MBB (not Bain) and similarly was involved in on-campus recruiting.
To answer your question directly, we did consider and interview master's students at my alma mater (HYPSM), particularly those in engineering. Typically we looked for strong academic performance in both their undergraduate and graduate programs (generally 3.6-3.7+). Across the board, I think you're a borderline candidate from what you've shared. Seems like your GPA is ok but not the best. FANG and unicorn experience is standout, but then lack of leadership will hurt you.
Agree with other post that networking with current consultants will help get you an interview. However, I will say my MBB didn't weigh networking as heavily as it sounds like Bain did. We wouldn't not interview an exceptional candidate even if our team didn't know them well. But it can help borderline candidates like yourself get interviews.
In terms of other things you can do, I would certainly encourage you to increase your GPA as much as possible as well as think of ways to beef up your leadership experience. Leadership comes in many forms so think of ways you can spin some experiences to demonstrate your leadership.
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