Advice for a Noob
I’m new here and I have a few questions I’m hoping you guys can advise me on.
I’m about to start at a target business school (undergrad). My ultimate dreamiest of dream jobs would be to become a senior executive of a F500/1000 retail/luxury goods company. Yeah, reaching, but I did say dream job. I’m wondering what would be the best path to take to possibly get there while maximizing my potential starting salary out of undergrad. From what I’ve read, management consulting seems to be a good option. I’m not terribly interested in IB and it seems most of the exit opportunities in that field are related to finance anyway. From what I know so far, I really enjoy marketing/brand management. I guess my questions would be:
1) Is it feasible to go from undergrad > (hopefully) MBB for 2-3 years > top business school > F500/1000 position?
2) What type of position would I be able to get with that background? Would I be able to get any kind of senior-ish position after my MBA? Like… senior brand manager? Or would I specifically need prior brand managing/marketing experience for that?
3) Should I just forget management consulting all together if I enjoy marketing/brand management and just go straight into that field (like marketing analyst) at a top company? I wouldn’t mind doing this, but I think I’d enjoy being exposed to different industries in consulting, and I’ve heard that 1 year in consulting is like 2-3 years in industry. I’d also like to start with a higher salary/better benefits, naturally, though I’m not sure if the difference is worth it.
So! Any advice? I would have asked this somewhere else since I know most of the people here are more into finance than anything, but I can’t find a relevant/active forum, so hopefully I can get some knowledgeable advisers.
I know I’m thinking far ahead, but that’s how I am, so please don’t advise me to not worry about it for now and focus on getting laid as much as possible. I’m a chick anyway.
TL;DR – Suck it up and read it anyway. Lazy.
1) Yes, it's feasible. That's fairly common.
2) Any. It depends on what you focused on in undergrad, and what narrative you created with that degree to land you at a MBB, and then what projects / industry you focused on in your 2-3 years at a MBB.
3) I wouldn't call MC useless for your stated goal, but neither is it the obvious path to get there. If your goal is truly Marketing / Brand management, I'd say you should be targeting Kellogg for an MBA. I'm not sure what type of work experience is ideal to get you into that track at Kellogg - maybe others here can chime in, or you can reach out them directly. Say you already know this is the path you want to follow, and you'd like to connect with some current students to learn more about what paths they took, etc. Look for Kellogg alum on linked-in, etc. Anyone that has been there can be a good resource.
Anyone who tells you you're looking too far ahead is being dumb. You're at the perfect point to begin mapping out the best path to your next step, which is a post-undergrad job that lands you in the MBA program you want to get into. Waiting until your junior or senior year to figure out that you should have done something differently.... bad idea.
1 year in consulting = 3 in industry isn't something many in industry will agree with. Consulting > bschool > product management / marketing certainly makes sense as a path. Don't expect to have anyone reporting to you out of bschool or to be in a senior level role though. You'll have good general skills but very little industry or product experience. To really be effective you'll need product, industry, and company experience, and an internal network to leverage within your company. The upside is that consulting + bschool is great for your longer term resume, and you'll likely enter industry at a higher salary than if you had just worked your way up from entry level.
Keep in mind also that for industries that are higher tech than retail, engineering / product development experience is highly valued for product or brand managers. Business education is more relevant to corporate finance than product management at a lot of companies. GE, for example, almost exclusively hires engineers for its Commercial Leadership Program (and for the operations management and engineering programs). There are exceptions of course, but it's worth noting if you haven't even started undergrad yet. I'd check the websites of the companies you are interested in long term for what sort of entry level programs they have and what they consider to be the ideal background.
If you know what industry you want to get into - go straight in - your experience there will still get you into a good b-school and after your MBA head back into industry working your way up; don't take the short view in terms of income, in the long-term your experience will win out...also by going into industry you will be going where a lot of your competitors will not be (i.e. they will head off to consulting, IB, etc).
While I was getting my MBA I won a charity dinner with an professor, HBS alumn and CEO of 2 fortune 500 companies. His advise was along the lines of the above "If you got a good head on your shoulders..you know what you want to do..then go where everyone else isn't (i.e. industry)...really learn the business....that foundation will set you up for the c-suite...and know that what your peers are doing at other places will not even come close to the foundation you will have built." FYI..he was a McKinsey consultant for a brief time before making a full-time switch to industry.
Good luck
i would not think its such a bad idea
at my MBB we do serve tons of global top tier luxury goods companies... if you can get on a study for them and perform well, very possible they could just ask you to go over
sometimes straight from undergrad you might not have those entry level positions
So you're a high school senior or a college freshman I assume.
There is a very good chance that your career interests will change over time, i.e. i doubt that five or ten years from now luxury goods will be what you want (not that there's anything wrong with that).
For now, focus on getting good grades. It's the best way to maximize your options. Secondarily, getting any sort of internship while in college (industry, consulting, whatever) can only help.
And yes, consulting (or i banking) can get you where you currently want to go, and MBB is probably the surest path to a top b school, but far from the only way.
Back-up plan: Proctor and Gamble. Well regarded for anything around marketing, and you can get some pretty great experience and freedom early on.
Hey, guys. I really appreciate all of the advice. I have been checking Linkedin for "brand managers" and positions higher in that field (like VP of marketing) as well as career paths of company employees in industries that interest me, so that's somewhat helpful.
I just have to choose between going straight into industry and (correct me if I'm wrong) working longer (4-5 years?) in an entry level position before getting my MBA or working in consulting for 2-3 years, going to business school (possibly a more prestigious one?) and then going into industry as an assistant brand manager or something. Just trying to find the path that won't take forever. I'm a bit older than traditional applicants due to an illness when I was younger. Obviously I don't have to choose right now, but I'm just trying to get a head start.
I have another question. Is it possible to concentrate in a particular industry when you start out in consulting? Like if I'm interested in retail, can I ask for mainly those cases? Or would I have to work for a few years before they'll let me ask for cases in the industry I'm most interested in? I've seen a lot of partners that focus on a particular industry, and some younger positions do as well (especially on BCG's website), but not so much for the people just starting out, so I was just wondering.
"While I was getting my MBA I won a charity dinner with an professor, HBS alumn and CEO of 2 fortune 500 companies. His advise was along the lines of the above "If you got a good head on your shoulders..you know what you want to do..then go where everyone else isn't (i.e. industry)...really learn the business....that foundation will set you up for the c-suite...and know that what your peers are doing at other places will not even come close to the foundation you will have built.""
That's good advice. I have read that many new CEOs are coming from other career paths (like consulting) and even other industries, especially women. I think very few women executives have been at the same company or same industry since starting out, so that's kind of concerning. Apparently promotion is more difficult? I don't know. I do think what he said makes a lot of sense, though, so I'll keep it in mind.
Again, thanks for the advice! Much appreciated. If anyone else has anything to add, feel free!
Cum nostrum iure nihil rerum sed eos quia. Qui porro recusandae ut sunt sequi et quia at. Deleniti dolorem nihil beatae ut ducimus. Laboriosam recusandae non ipsum voluptatibus recusandae rerum cumque.
Et enim totam exercitationem eos non rerum optio. Exercitationem ipsum corporis voluptatem aperiam nisi voluptatem laboriosam. Perspiciatis soluta quam voluptate nobis.
Soluta similique corporis saepe atque delectus dolor officia eum. Deserunt veniam voluptatem in omnis voluptatibus est. Quo fugit nemo ratione voluptatem.
Iste at labore vitae. Soluta cum quibusdam hic deleniti. Amet consectetur sit et dolorem voluptates sequi non. Sit quia et ratione qui quidem aut quisquam.
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...