Any chance at breaking in somewhere decent?

I went to a liberal arts college (think Swarthmore/Middlebury/Bowdoin) and graduated with a 3.8 humanities degree. For what they're worth my SAT scores are very h high.

I did a hedge fund internship the summer after my junior year and absolutely loved it. They made me an offer, but rescinded it in April so I had to scramble to get a job as a paralegal (albeit at a very good firm).

Any idea of what my chances are of breaking into something on the level of Deloitte/Accenture? I know MBB is almost out of the question for someone with my school background unless I get really lucky.

I have a contact at the MD-level at a reputable boutique that said he could get me some interviews, and I'm getting pretty good at cases. But he's a family friend so he has to be encouraging.

If it doesn't work out this recruiting cycle I'm doing the Duke MMS program, I can't handle staying in a dead-end job.

 
Best Response

why did they rescind? You sound like a good bet for Deloitte and Accenture. have alumni contacts get your foot in the door there. And definitely shoot for MBB as well. I would advise against the Duke MMS program. It's a 70k degree that results in grads coming out with a 60k (median) starting consulting job. No MBB or other notable Management Consulting firm hires come out of there. Although, I did meet one Accenture SI grad come out of there - something you should be able to land as an undergrad. I suspect there are a lot of non-target students and internationals paying for the degree for a chance to break into consulting. You're not in that position, however. Most undergrads at the top 20 schools get that and more starting out in consulting.

https://www.fuquaworld.duke.edu/cmcfiles/DukeMMSFinalEmploymentStats201…

 

Unless your school is not of, say, Middlebury caliber, I think you are underestimating your school's reputation. Have you contacted all alumni at the firms you mentioned, including MMB, as well as any alumni at buyside firms? You should at least reach out and get their advice before ruling yourself out.

 

Thanks for the advice.

They rescinded b/c they're downsizing/perhaps closing. I'm friendly w/ everyone there and they seem much more worried about themselves than with helping other people out, which is understandable--I have all but point-blank asked for referrals.

I think you're probably right about MMS--I guess I'm just being immature and want to imagine there's an easy way out. It's tempting when 30 straight cold emails to alumni go completely unanswered, but I guess spamming alumni is easier than paying back $70k in student debt.

 

Anything wrong with "Recent _____ Grad - Consulting," followed with:

"I saw on (alumni directory) that you work in management consulting. I'm a recent _________ graduate (2011) looking to break into the field. I currently work at ________, but I've realized I find business problems more interesting than legal ones, and am wondering if you'd be willing to talk for a few minutes about how I might rebrand myself."

I was thinking OCR--Duke is a target (to a much greater extent than my lac, not b/c its rep is that much better but b/c there are more students that want to do business) and MMS students can do OCR with Duke undergrads.

 

Why don't you consider boutique firms? Consultants at small firms get a wider variety of work experience. Working at a smaller firm usually means having a less impressive brand name to put on your resume but small firms are willing to compensate you by paying a higher wage. You also will get to work directly with big clients sooner.

This article does a pretty good job at explaining the pros and cons of Big vs Boutique Consulting firms:

http://www.consultingcafe.com/articles/boutique-vs-large-consulting-fir…

 

I wouldn't say all boutique firms pay better. It really depends on their niche and brand. For a young consultant, brand is everything. Nobody is going to hire some unknown college grad from a small firm unless that small firm has a lot of connections and potential projects. That small firm may offer a lower rate than a large firm, but they might not. Depends on margins and the greed factor.

There are plenty of small boutique firms with greedy founders who came from larger firms and push the same attitudes and politics. Nepotism also runs rampant.  Nepotism exists at large consulting firms as well, but when there are, say 100K employees or more around the world, you normally can figure ways to work around it.  Nepotism at a firm with less than 100 employees, becomes a gossip mill nightmare.

Sales and Management. If the small firm has bad sales people, you are going to get bad projects, regardless of your skills. If you get any projects at all. As stated previously, clients are going to look at the company brand first and then the people placed on that project. If it's a small company and you're a recent college grad from small school, there needs to be somebody selling their soul to win these projects. OP isn't selling it. He can only sell himself once at the client site. I've seen many small firms have terrible terrible business and sales people. Tons of projects in the pipeline that never happen. And even if they did, they embarrass themselves by bidding on 100 projects, winning 10, and having nobody to place at any of them. So they go crazy hiring anybody, and half the time, they do a terrible job of hiring.

There is no such thing as 'bench' time at a lot of smaller firms. They can't afford it. Nobody likes being benched and every company hates paying for people on the bench. But a smaller firm with a few projects means you are in trouble once that project ends. You might have to fight to get on a project at a large firm, but at least you can fight to get on a project. Nothing like a project ending and there are no other projects, Or a lot of lip service answers about tons of things in the pipeline.

That's why a lot of people start out at the bigger firms, work their way up the ladder, and then bail. They get the brand. They get the experience. And they make the contacts. At that point, say after 5 years, going to a small boutique firm might get you a better salary, more opportunities, less politics, better chance to lead/run divisions. Then it becomes more about you being almost like a partner, you winning projects, you placing people on projects, you placing yourself on a project because you knew so and so from back in the day.

A recent college grad is taking a huge risk in joining a small boutique firm. Even if it's run better than a larger firm, what is the OP really gaining? Good boutique firms seem to be run just like the bigger firms. Meaning the same politics, the same BS, and the same management style. Is there a better opportunity for growth? Could be. A better chance to wear a ton of hats? Possibly. But that depends on the skills and clients. Just like the larger firms, small firms depend on billable hours. So being forced to be on some crappy project can happen anywhere.

My advice to a recent college graduate is simple. If you have a choice between a small boutique firm that most people have no knowledge about or a chance to join a large firm, join the large firm. You'll make more contacts. You'll probably get better benefits. I didn't even mention the fact that sometimes smaller firms lowball your expenses or take a month or more to reimburse your expenses. Nothing like waiting a month or more to get reimbursed while traveling every week for months and using your own credit card.

Believe me, that isn't fun on any level. Big firms might have certain standards and policies, but the truth is, if you get a corporate card or you get reimbursed every other week, that eliminates a ton of unwanted and unneeded stress. And it's a huge stress if you are just starting out and don't have unlimited credit card balances. Imagine not having the balance or money for a hotel? Or imagine you have to use all your own paycheck for travel because it takes too long to get reimbursed? This happens more often than it should at smaller firms. I've yet to hear about it or have it happen at the larger firms. There are firms that aren't 'consulting' firms but have 'consultants' and seem to play around with expenses. I'd avoid those at all costs.

 

That's a decent response rate. Your email is basically ok.

I might change the wording so that it only mentions your interest in business. Something like " I've realized I find the XYZ business problems interesting and enjoyed analyzing xyz industry while working here and at XX hedge fund and am wondering if you'd be willing to talk for a few minutes about how I can begin this transition". . I wouldn't lead with teh rebranding idea because although you're being honest, you want people think of you as already 'branded' - someone they could easily pass along. pm me your school if you want

 

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