Hello Monkeys - I'm heading into my last week at MBB, and need something to do besides pack up my apartment. Ask away and I'll be happy to answer.
My Bio: I have spent the last 3 years at a mid-sized MBB office in the US. I studied Economics at a top liberal arts college without formal MBB recruiting, so I know what it's like to break in from outside a target school. I had a pretty active role in recruiting undergrads, so I can speak intelligently about the process and what I looked for. Most of my work has been in consumer/retail, but I've dabbled enough to know what kind of work we do in other practice areas as well.
In terms of my day-to-day responsibilities, they've evolved from just "owning the model" to include managing client relationships with Directors and Senior Managers, and starting to manage more junior team members, essentially I've taken on the responsibilities you'd expect someone approaching the first "manager" role to have.
I'm headed to a MM PE firm this fall, so happy to discuss why I took that route vs. business school, which is what the majority of my classmates are doing.
The resources you're using are right. Not necessarily referring to you, but what I'm sick of most of this site are people who aren't realistic about their skills and qualifications.
At a certain point, if you don't "get it", why are you trying to force-fit yourself into the industry? And if you have a 3.2 in business from Ball State University, McKinsey isn't hiring you, period, no matter how you network. There's a huge difference in needing to network because you have the profile but firms don't come to campus, and not having the profile, the network, or a particular knack for the interview process, and thinking there's a way in.