How to set myself up for MBB? Rising freshman at target.
Hey guys.
I am a rising freshman at Yale, and like a lot of my peers, I am very interested in working at MBB after graduation. I plan on studying History and potentially double majoring in Economics.
I understand that recruiting for MBB is ludicrously competitive -- especially out of undergrad -- so I would like to know what I must do to to set myself up for success. I am attracted to MBB for its density of intellectual talent and the diversity of industries it would expose me to. I am woefully undecided about how I want to spend my life long term, so the thought of spending a few years at MBB and experiencing a bit of everything sounds heavenly.
Also, I am curious as to what the timeline is for recruiting -- as in, when should I begin worrying about preparing and networking for the recruiting process for a summer internship at MBB?
I would also like to know how useful proficiency in a foreign language (something like French or Arabic) would be for MBB. I am already orally fluent in Urdu.
I would like to thank all that will read this thread. I imagine that there are loads of threads on this site like this one, so I appreciate your patience and kindness in taking the time to respond.
You’ll go nuts if you start targeting MBB as the dream right out of the gate. I started seriously considering consulting at the end of my sophomore year, and by the time I got my full-time offer at a Tier 2 boutique, I was burned out on the whole recruitment process.
Take some time to adjust to college, take interesting classes, make friends, party, do something semi-professional after your freshman year and get some kind of internship after your sophomore year (tech companies and nonprofits tend to be easiest for rising juniors). 1-2 legit internships + meaningful campus involvement + GPA above 3.6-ish + competent networking gives you a great shot at first round interviews, and after that, it’s all about raw performance. Don’t psych yourself out.
European MBB guy here, but worked in the NYC office.
Adding to what's been said on internships, I just want to stress how important it is to be well-rounded. Enjoy college, do some internships and get really good grades.
Proficiency in foreign languages is quite frankly useless if you're staying in the US. However, Arabic is a golden ticket. The Middle Eastern MBB offices are always extremely keen to recruit Arabic speakers - they have some of the most interesting projects, you have endless resources because clients are obviously flood with cash and want the best possible solution always, and the salaries are through the roof. It will be a much nicer experience than any US office - unless you have a US passport and want to work with the federal government. (You can always move to the US through an office transfer ater your MBA)
I would be careful before considering ME offices. You mention positive aspects such as salary (and taxation, for that matter), but not everybody will love working there. Some points to consider (non-exhaustive):
The projects can be quite interesting but some are quite the opposite. Since most companies are owned one way or the other by the state, there can be a lot of politics and sluggishness in the project process.
Working there as a women, although it has gotten better at MBBs on average, is still tough. Client interaction, for example, can be limited due to this. Spending the week or more might be less fun if you are not in, say, Dubai.
The week schedule is different - weekend days tend to be Friday and Saturday as opposed to Saturday and Sunday. This will limit your opportunities to travel/ visit people in Europe, for example, and even to communicate with people outside the region e.g. the US.
The weather is tough, especially in the summer. Spring and autumn are on the nicer side, but summers are simply to be avoided.
Bottom line: ME offices are not all bad - in fact some of the nicest internal colleagues I met are from there - but they are more complicated to adapt to than major US/ Western EU offices. Think about it carefully and reach out to people with first-hand experience before committing.
Bain Middle East is probably one of the worst places in the system to work for regarding work / life balance, having a senior leadership team that supports you, & just enjoying life in general.
I know the other M/B better when it comes to Middle East, but it's not rosy either. There's been some semi-forced re-allocation of EU employees/ recruits to fill gaps that didn't help morale.
Play hard while you can. There's a time and place for everything.
US-based Bainie here
1) Get good grades (aim 3.7+ GPA)
2) Get good internships (Anything that's an actual internship is fine between freshman / sophomore year)
3) Study for case interviews - if you enjoy doing case interviews, it's indicative you'll like the type of work that we actually do
4) Network with consultants at the firms your targeting - note that you should spread your net wide, since probably 50%+ of the people you talk with as a Freshman / sophomore will not be at the firm by the time you're actually recruiting
Recruiting for summer internships happen in the fall of your penultimate year, you would intern the following summer.
Recruiting for full time occurs 2-3 weeks earlier than internships (early September, can even happen before school starts if you have an exploding offer elsewhere).
Ability to speak an additional language outside of English means nothing in recruiting if you're looking at a US office.
Yeah honestly just relax for now man...you're not even a freshman so nothing to worry about. I didn't even start thinking about my career path until second half of sophomore year and I already have been offered to do pre-interviews at one of the MBB and should be fine for the others. That being said, I had already unknowingly set myself up fine before I became interested in my career. Maintaining a high GPA is by far #1 most important thing. If you don't have the GPA cutoff, itll be 3x harder. Next I'd say is just being involved in on campus clubs and activities. Do some business clubs, do some case competitions, just build that resume up so it's solely college related activities. Anything from highschool should pretty much be gone by sophomore year unless it's an ongoing activity (i.e. if you have a startup you began in highschool and are still building it). Then secure some type of internships, and then once you become a sophomore you can start networking. I honestly didn't start networking until this past semester and ended up perfectly fine.
So yeah, right now just enjoy college. Go to parties, meet new people, and establish a solid friend group. Those should be your priorities for at least the first few weeks. Then, after you're settled in, just sign up for clubs and activities and that'll be a great resume builder plus you can get involved on campus and meet new people. Other than that, remember just keep the grades up. If you do these three things your first semester, you'll be on the right track. Good luck, lmk if you have any questions about recruiting or anything
This is all I read.
wdym?
Sorry, bad joke. It’s cuz MBB consultants so dense.. in the head.:)
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