non-traditional hire

I am looking for help timing my transition toward a consulting job.

I graduated from Brown in 1999 and since then have had careers as a wilderness guide, and mental health and substance abuse counselor. I have gotten promoted at every job I have been at for over a year, and have some management and program directing experience, primarily in the non-profit sector.

I am looking to make a radical industry shift toward a corporate environment, primarily because I think that health care (of which I am now a part) has incentives that are so counter to it's stated goals that the intrinsic rewards are no longer worth it. I am underutilized in my current position and while profession growth is likely for me, I fear it will contain more of the same frustrations. Low pay and substandard working conditions have left me feeling exploited and ready for a change.

I think that I would potentially excel in a consulting position and would far prefer to start in that line of work prior to getting an MBA. I believe that I would prefer a boutique consulting position, because I care more about the working environment than I do about having a name on my resume. I will be wanting to start a position in late September, early October, 2012.

Questions:
Does this kind of industry shift "make sense"? Have you met other non-traditional hires? What kind of backgrounds do they have and how do they market them?
When should I start filling out applications? Are there timelines and deadlines that I should know about? I won't be working through a school, so how do I get in touch with recruiters? I am trying to build my network, but it's feeling like a long shot right now...

 
Best Response

I can't speak to the likelihood of you breaking in as a nontraditional hire, but just know that Brown is actually one of McKinsey's four core schools, Goldman is the highest employer there, and your alumni network will do a lot for you.

You might consider going straight for b-school. There's this huge emphasis right now on diverse experiences among the student body, so the M7 schools are really casting a wider net during application season. You'll stand out as someone other than the kid who did 2 years in banking + 2 in PE + wants his MBA now, and your Ivy undergrad + promotion history and relatively unique professional background will probably make you very appealing.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

First of all healthcare is a large industry, so you need to narrow your focus (provider, payor, govt, pharma, medtech, etc) and then look for consulting firms that focus there. Avoid Mckinsey etc because you would be a generalist at the firm and you have no leverage as a useless analyst in picking the projects you want to work on, your Brown degree honestly doesn't matter at this point so far post graduating. There are tons of boutique healthcare consulting firms out there consulting across the value chain, since it's so complex, so getting in won't be too hard insofar as you're committed to healthcare and are good at interviewing. I know the big 3 are building out their healthcare practices even moreso now especially following the changing leglistation (PPACA, etc),so those may be good too.

I agree you should honestly just go for your MBA at this point for 2 reasons: 1 the best conuslting firms won't care about your previous experience even fi you did 1 year of healthcare work pre- b school and 2 from a financial perspective your pay will be significantly higher coming out a good b-school than your salary pre-mba, so postponing that cash flow farther out into the future is lost income to you.

 

Thanks to both of you for the plug for business school. That has been turning over in my mind. I won't be able to do that in 2012, because I am currently working on a contract that won't be finished until at least a month after I would be matriculating. For now, I am hoping to get work first and then think about business school after a year or so.

Socola - As far as the healthcare thing goes, I think you misunderstood. I am currently working in healthcare (as a provider), but don't necessarily want to limit myself to that. In fact, I think that my strengths and experience would lie more in human capital issues. For example, I can imagine having a lot to contribute in M&A situations such as identifying and working through culture conflicts. I'm looking for an opportunity that would get me in the right "track" for that. Does that change your advice?

 

Kavihasya, I think there's a lot of good advice coming from members of this board. However, many of them are also 20 years old with no work experience, so remember to take the advice with a grain of salt.

I have no idea about how likely it is that you'd break into consulting with your current experience. To answer a few of your questions, many firms recruit in the fall or early winter. The best way to be I do know that getting an MBA at a top school would be a surefire way to put you in the running.

Cheers and good luck!

 

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