Leveraging Startup Experiences in Tech Consulting
Hi all,
I recently graduated from UPenn with a 3.32 GPA in Science, Tech, and Society concentrated in Business and Info Tech. I chose the major because it allowed me to take a variety of classes in both Wharton and the engineering school, e.g. Entrepreneurship, Web Design, 3 CS classes, and Enabling Technologies.
I ended up withdrawing from a CS class in order to pursue a startup with a friend. We ended up launching two startups, one with about 1,000 users (and currently expanding), and the other was a B2B API startup. Our customers included a handful of medium stage companies and we were making about $12k a year until Facebook shut us down. We also received a YCombinator interview and met with FB M&A.
I am a decent programmer, an experienced designer, and am very familiar with most "technologies." I received final round interviews for Product Manager roles at both LinkedIn and Facebook, but didn't get them (both are difficult to get–FB has 80 PMs/4,000 employees).
Given the circumstances in my life, I've decided that I want to apply for tech consulting jobs. I just returned from a 2 month vacation, and I will be preparing to apply in the coming fall. I have my eyes on Deloitte's BTA role particularly (a good friend is the lead recruiter), but Accenture, IBM, Capgemini, Gartner, and a few other companies look appealing as well.
I have a few questions, feel free to answer them in a numbered format:
1. How should I leverage this experience in my interviews? I don't want to sound like I will inevitably leave the company early on to start my own company.
2. How should I prepare? To keep myself (really) busy this summer, I'm also taking Coursera's Algorithm and Intro to Databases courses. I'm genuinely interested in these subjects and I think it will help me look more technical since my major is not technically engineering.
3. Should I apply through Penn's career service site with all the other seniors? I realize my circumstance is probably slightly different, so any advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Apply online. Why are you different? You think you're the only one with a slightly different path? And sure learn more. Learning more helps, but don't expect them to believe your signal. I love Coursera too... but it can look childish to put it on a resume (I think) as there is no external validity. An exception to this is if you're able to create some interesting programmed code and make a portfolio. Lastly, I don't know what 'leveraging experience" means. But if I were you I would a.) put it in my resume and then b.) practice talking about it with a friend or mentor. That's probably about it.
You got this shit bro. You know what needs to be done. No more excuses: Get at it!
Thanks for your response.
I have a friend who is the lead recruiter at one of the companies and he said that I should wait until the fall to apply, and I should apply with the usual OCR (on campus recruiting) batch. He said applying online is generally a black hole.
I guess you're saying that's not the case, so I'm unsure now.
Bump
Nihil aliquam omnis iste necessitatibus amet beatae. Molestiae error non veniam omnis tenetur. Id perspiciatis voluptate nesciunt.
Dignissimos et voluptates vel molestiae quos doloremque. Reiciendis aliquid dolores provident consectetur et. Aliquam eius qui et asperiores. Est eum voluptate excepturi tenetur sequi aut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...