SA in Corp Strategy -> FT MBB?
Hey all. As the title mentions, I will be doing a Corporate Strategy internship for my junior summer at a very well-known firm (think Disney/Google/etc). To gain a more versatile skillset though, I am considering re-recruiting for MBB FT.
With that being said, can anybody please advise if it would be a good and/or a feasible move to make? I know Corp Strategy is usually an exit opportunity for IB/MBB, but I don't know if I will be too pigeon-holed if I start my career there. Further, would I have a difficult time recruiting given the current circumstances?.. Thanks WSO!
You'll be fine, you should be able to re-recruit for MBB. Plus I wouldn't say CS pigeon holes you, its still a broad skill-set position that you can apply to a various of roles.
is that for SA 21 or this summer? You'll definitely be able to recruit for MBB and should be locked for first rounds. If it's actually disney I would personally take an analyst role on their corp strat team over MBB. How'd you land the SA?
Nope, the internship is happening this summer. Went through a recruiting experience similar to IB/Consulting (so was prepared for both types of interviews).
Definitely feasible. Assuming you are from a target school and have solid GPA and ECs then you will grab an interview.
Regarding of whether it is a good decision or not, that is really based on what you want to do. MBB is going to allow you to move to just about anything (Other CS roles, PE, VC, Social Sector, etc.) Strategy is going to limit it you in certain ways and potentially open more doors in others. Lets say you are at a tech firm for the Strategy. Getting into PE/Social Sector is going to be a very tough sell, but you may have an easier time getting into VC considering the experience. Now even within VC, it will be tech focused vs. medical devices or consumer, but the route is still there.
Now even if you know long term you want to do Corporate Strategy the MBB sell would be as follows: 1)Skill Development 2)Wider industry potential. In terms of skill set, I truly think I would not be successful in my current CS role without getting all of the feedback I got at MBB. You are pushed every two weeks or so to develop new skills and are called out on where you need to work harder. For CS, that may only happen once or twice a year depending on the firm. For industry potential, MBB is going to open doors to just about any industry regardless of whether or not you worked on those projects. I got into media despite having no project experience. The sell is much tougher if you came from let's say Delta Airlines and are trying to go to Disney. Sure, you get how CS works at a high level, but you can't really bring any of those same experiences over and the macroeconomic factors are almost all different. Coming from MBB will kind of get you a pass here.
I would also say there are a couple well known strategy programs that are looked at on similar terms regarding "prestige" in industry including Disney, Google, (maybe LinkedIn) but there aren't a lot of them that take people fresh out of college. So if it is one of those few companies and you like the work, it might be worth it.
Regarding what is happening with Covid right now, again you have the experience to get an interview as long as the other things are in line. Most places may scale back hiring a little bit which can make it harder, but unfortunately that is just kind of the way it is. Shouldn't shut you outh though or anything like that.
Thank you so much for such a detailed response, very helpful. For now I am planning to do exactly what you suggested - see how I like the work that I am doing (while doing my best to get a return offer). The fact that the CS analyst positions are so hard to come by is what's keeping me on the edge, but I would also like to keep my exit opps options wide since I don't really know what I want to do 10 years into the future. I'd potentially like to pursue an MBA, but that's yet another argument for consulting due to the sponsorship that MBBs provide.
Hey! I'm a rising junior looking into corporate strategy internships - I'm interested in interning at some of the firms you mentioned, when exactly was the recruitment process and what were the interviews like (i.e. case interviews?) I haven't been able to find a lot of information online, so I thought I'd reach out here! :)
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