Micro Boutique M&A to M7
Can anyone shed some light on how MBA programs view someone that worked in ops for 2 years then made the jump to a no name 10 person M&A boutique as an analyst?
Does it look better on apps to apply as an AVP BB in ops or analyst at a boutique?
Looking to apply to top 10 programs.
In most cases, admissions does not do a good job of stratifying within finance. Your application will be reviewed as a whole so your extracurriculars, undergraduate record / activities, recommendations, and anything you can point to as differentiated will be important whether you apply now or as an AVP.
In your case, I'd apply now, since 3-5 years is the median when it comes to work experience among students lately (that was the case for my class at least).
I think Ops at a BB would generally be viewed more favorably than analyst at a micro. For the following reasons:
Caveat: I know there are a handful of super-elite micro boutiques that have big name guys pulling in great deal flow and transactions. I am assuming you are not going to one of those but to a small no-name regional firm.
I possibly agree with ARM monkey. I found two more ops people in my school, so I'm definitely not the only one who made it through. I will say though, that your exact roles matters quite a bit. This site likes to throw operations into one bucket, but the roles can greatly vary. E.g. If you're doing project based work, even better if its strategy focused and diverse projects, you're in much better shape (for both admissions and internship recruiting), than if you just did trade support. Adcoms are thinking in terms of transferable skills (which you will have, but make sure those skills align with your career goals).
your odds of H/S/W/B/Columbia are going to pretty low out of ops since you're gonna be placed in the same bucket as the IB/PE/HF applicants (Columbia ED may be possible). Kellogg and Sloan are more doable given they don't get as many finance applicants. You'll be competitive at Yale/Stern/Ross/Darden, etc with solid stats. Having said that, I think the M&A role will look better on your app.
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