MBA Internship Recruiting - Corporate Development/Strategy Q&A
Have received a lot of info off of this site and this forum in particular, so thought I would give back. I know the MBA landscape and CD/BD/CS roles can be a black box at times (they were for me less than a year ago), so hopefully I can clear some things up. Please note I have just started my internship, working in a F100 CD M&A group, so I can't give a ton of background into my experiences and impressions yet. I will try to do an update towards the end of my internship, but I want to focus this on the recruiting piece. First, my background...
-Top 10 undergrad, engineering major (3.5 gpa) along with a speciality minor in the area I would go into
-Worked in a specialty engineering field as a researcher, engineer and client facing project manager over the last 4 years
-Currently attending an M7 program, scored mid-700s on GMAT, didn't know what a balance sheet was 12 months ago
-Goal during internship recruiting was to break into F500 corporate development or strategy for the industry I previously worked in, as I have a real passion for the industry but really enjoy finance and strategy as well
-Had 1st round interviews, 2nd round interviews and/or offers from five different F500 corporate development/strategy groups, and an offer to interview, though declined, with another firm just outside of the F500.
Feel free to ask about the recruiting process, getting an MBA or anything else that I can answer.
Thanks for doing this! Pmc2ghy
I'm in the beginning stages of researching MBA programs to apply to and have some questions. (Currently, in a tech strategy consulting role). I'm planning on pursuing a Corp Strategy/Internal Consulting role, post-MBA and I would like to attend a top 10-15 program.
A Few Questions:
What schools or tiers of schools present the best opportunity for these roles?
What types of companies did you come across in your pursuit and what were the most popular industries for corporate strategy recruiting?
Do companies differentiate between corp strategy and corp dev or are they viewed as the same thing?
How important is industry experience when pursuing corporate strategy roles?
Did you find most of your opportunities through on-campus recruiting or did you have to seek external opportunities?
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Pmc2ghy Thank you for this very thorough response! I've been trying to find out specifics about these types of opportunities for a long time and you filled in the gaps on a lot of the questions I had. Much appreciated!
Two additional questions Pmc2ghy
Based on your pre-MBA engineering experience, how did you tailor your story for the why corporate dev/corp strategy interview questions?
Do you have any data points on comp for post-MBA full-time CS/CD roles?
Not to disagree with any of the interesting and high quality advice you've provided, but I just landed a Tech Strategy internship at a F100, from a ~30 ranked MBA with an engineering PM and entrepreneurial background, but not industry specific knowledge. The main drivers for me landing it were personality fit and things like my thirst for research, willingness to do something stupid risky to try and learn. So suffice to say, MBA business schools">M7 gets your foot in the door significantly easier, but it's possible for sure.
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Awesome, thanks a lot and good luck this summer!
Could you explain the differences between CS and CD, in terms of day to day job responsibilities and perhaps what type of personality / skill set may be better suited for each role / career path? Additionally, do most companies combine these two functions or are they typically separate?
Just to jump in having worked in CD for 5 years --
The departments are usually separate and many companies do not have a dedicated CS role.
In the strategy space, I would break down the roles as follows: CD -- Deal execution and process management. CS -- Internal consulting, ad hoc strategy projects typically focused on "white space" opportunities. BD -- Pipeline development from an M&A standpoint.
BD and CS are sometimes combined into one function. Typically CD is always deal execution.
Personality wise, CD is better for those who love M&A execution. Industry background is helpful but not as important as deal experience. Industry knowledge is immensely beneficial in CS and BD roles. They attract industry experts and former consultants that want variety in their job and the opportunity to "wear many hats."
By "BD", do you mean "business development"? Just curious because at my firm, BD is strictly related to sales and building a sales pipeline (i.e. not related to M&A). I feel like CD, CS, and BD are frequently used interchangeably at firms, making it very important to read the job description when interviewing for these roles. I cannot tell you how many roles titled "corporate development" that I almost applied to that were really FP&A or CS (nothing wrong with that, just not what I wanted).
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Thanks for sharing. Got any GMAT prep secrets? What do you think gave you a leg up as far as applying to MBA business schools ">M7 programs go?
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Hey Pmc2ghy thanks for this thread!
Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I start at Booth in two months and CD is a field I'm looking into in earnest. My background is commodities trading and I am interested in either staying in oil and gas, or trying to move over to tech and work in CD at Amazon, MSFT, et al.
Very interested to see how this thread plays out!
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+SB Thanks so much, really appreciate it.
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Pmc2ghy
10% matching is quite nice.
What are your thoughts on older candidates coming in or attempting to get into the M&A BD/CD side?
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Thanks for the helpful thread OP, I have definitely learned a lot!
Just a few quick questions for you:
what is the work/life balance like at your gig?
I believe you mentioned that people can recruit for CS or CD regardless of their role pre-MBA. Is there a strong preference for individuals with pre-MBA deal experience (read: IB/PE) for CD roles? Or do you see consultants/etc. that find their way into those roles with enough interview prep?
Are companies picky about the prestige of the candidates’ pre-MBA experiences? To clarify, do you see a strong preference for MBB/BB banks or will the tier-2 strategy guys and MM bankers get just as good looks if they put the effort in?
Thanks!
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Awesome, thanks for the color.
Quick follow up, and I think I already know the answer to this, but with regards to the “right industry experience” for CD roles, would being on a strategy case in the relevant industry be enough? Or is it more like, you need to have spent 2 years there. I understand this isn’t really applicable to your background so this might be too granular of a question... thanks anyways.
Darn, wish I saw this thread earlier! Can't believe it evaded me until now.
Hoping to get your perspective/thoughts on the importance of a Top MBA for someone who is already in Corp Dev and has done it 2-4 years and really enjoys it (aka not looking to switch anytime soon). As you may have guessed, this is the situation I'm in currently. Would greatly appreciate your thoughts on the below:
Do you think it is still worthwhile to pursue a FT Top MBA if the intention is to go back into Corp Dev post-MBA (perhaps the appeal, if one convinces him/herself, is that you can move into a more well known/better company (e.g. facebook, google, amazon))?
Do you think a top PT MBA (e.g. NYU) would make more sense for someone with this profile so that they don't have to forgo 2 years of comp (~$200-300K) and, quite frankly, also 2 years of experience?
Do not pursue at all? Save the time and money and put your energy towards grinding and networking your way to the top in an occupation that you already enjoy?
Did anyone in your class/cohort do Corp Dev -> MBA -> Corp Dev? If so, what were their reasons?
My current Corp Dev shop does not "require" an MBA to move up (my boss told me this), but each time we interview someone for a manager role or higher, the job description always says "MBA from top-tier institution highly preferred". Also worth noting that the top 3 senior guys here (EVP, SVP, VP) all have top MBAs.
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