Radical Thinking - MBA candidates without prior high finance experience shouldnt be hired

MBA kids without pre-MBA experience in high finance, management consulting or equivalent (product management, c-suite exec, big law) should not be recruited as associates. They fucked up the first time in life, no need for a second chance at IBD/PE (any highly coveted role), unless they had a DAMN good reason (veteran). 
 

Any pre-MBA experience that is irrelevant (anything outside of high finance, management consulting or big law) is to put it bluntly, not valued. They are about as valuable as an analyst (maybe even less so, as they lacked the talent or discipline to get a decent job the first time), and should enter IBD as an analyst.

Change my mind.

7 Comments
 

pre-MBA experience in high finance, management consulting or equivalent (product management, c-suite exec, big law)

wouldn't expect any less from this user name.

The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd.
 

Currently at a top 15 program doing an early career masters program (think Darden/Fuqua/Kellogg) and I was shocked at how little MBA's knew about IB who were recruiting for associate jobs. 

Our info sessions were filled with questions asking trivial questions like whats the difference between IB and VC and dozens of other questions that could have been found in 30 seconds on Google. I felt embarrassed for being there and those experiences made me lose a ton of respect for the MBA's. 

It also upset me a little bit because as someone who is earlier in their career with 3 years of work experience I noticed that I had more direct IB experience through various internships (18-24 months) than many of the people who were getting hired on as summer associates (almost nobody had prior IB experience) but shops weren't willing to give me and the people in my program looks as analysts despite our being more technically proficient and having more relevant work experience than the MBA's. 

 

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