Am I too odd a commodity for Consulting?
Hello WSO,
tl;dr - I'm a foreigner with a fairly impressive but not American resume, can I get in to consulting?
Long version:
I've recently moved to the US (the Greater Boston area to be exact) for my wife's PhD at a leading university. I'm very interested in Management Consulting, but I have a very different than standard CV to the average commodity.
I'm a CPA in my home country, spent 3 years at audit at a BIG4, followed by 3.5 years at the Public Sector in my home country. My work as a civil servant is actually quite impressive when I get a chance to tell people about it, I ran big privatizations projects, IPO's, Debt issuance, was involved in labor negotiations, major infrastructure development projects, sat on the boards of companies etc. I'm also an MBA from the leading B-school in my home country, and my undergrad is from a leading local university as well.
I like the idea of consulting, both from my experience of being a client of McKinsey. and I've been researching it pretty heavily, I even applied a while back for the local offices of McK, BCG and Strategy&, but that was while working full time, so while I did ok in the processes, I did not get an offer - was very close to an offer at strategy&, but they were too small and I stayed in good contact with the partner there.
A lot of friends here are saying I have quite the uphill battle ahead of me, I'm too unknown a commodity, and some are suggesting the other McK avenues: Operations, Implementations, RTS etc. I'm not sure that's what I want, I have real strategy and business experience, surely that should give me some sort of a leg up, no?
Currently, I am working hard on networking, with some success, and getting back in to case prep mode.
But I could definitely use some advice from the local, feel free to be honest and brutal. Thank you.
The most common entry points in to these firms would be: 1) Out of Undergraduate --> Analyst 2) Out of an MBA --> Associate
Given that you're neither of these, I think the question is what level do you see yourself joining these firms? From what I've seen, most hires from a Manager+ role have some type of distinct value they bring to the table (e.g., strong client relationships).
What roles did you apply for at previous MBBs and were these in the U.S.?
Too be honest, you might be a little odd but also not incredibly strong. Big 4 audit and public sector isn't really impressive. B-schools only count internationally, not local ones; MBB only funds MBA business schools ">M7 more or less.
Try networking or go for t2, t3 firms, that should would. I think MBB is a little out of your league given your experience and credentials. Nevertheless, keep trying and perhaps you get a shot. Be ready if it happens.
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