Transition from Consulting to VC or IBanking
Here is the question: Is it possible to make a transition from Consulting to Ibanking or VC?
I'm currently 3.5 years in at a top tier Management Consulting firm. I began to take an interest in IB when I started working on large transactions and M&A deals over the past few years. The type of work I've gained exposure to has been helping companies integrate acquisitions, sell off portfolio companies, and various other M&A related services. My firm is currently paying for me to earn my MBA. However when I graduate I'm considering making a transition to an IB or VC position.
Would a person with this background coupled with an MBA be considered for an associate position at a IB(regional vs BB) or VC Firm? What hurdles would I have to overcome to gain an interview, get passed an interview, etc?
Since you are an MBA candidate, you will be interviewing for an associate position, and it is a fairly straightforward process.
For BBs 1. Resume Drop through your school's career center 2. If selected for R1, on-campus interview 3. If you get past R1, you go to NYC for final rounds
Basic stuff: fit and technical. For associate positions, there is a great emphasis on technical questions than for undergraduate positions. They will probably want to know why you want to go from Consulting to banking
For VCs
Recruitment isnt as formal, and it usually takes contacts and a great deal of networking to get a position.
mckinsey CO to IBD or VC (Originally Posted: 09/15/2011)
how easy is it to transition into either VC or IB from consulting at McKinsey as a junior level analyst?
i am assuming pay is also drastically higher in both VC and IB compared to consulting?
Thanks.
It is not too difficult. A lot of IB places will love ex-McKinsey consultants. PE/VC firms less so, but they also love them.
And yes, the pay is higher at VC/IB/PE.
VC almost always pays less than IB, especially since you'd be an analyst or associate, no higher. A few friends of mine have gone IB-->VC and they take a pay cut or at best, it's flat.
VC = smaller team, real delta on what kind of experience you would get (you could either do really awesome things or it would be cold calling and/or market research, little deal exp). Most VCs I know will not just hire someone with consulting experience (need at least IB, usually operating/tech exp or PhD/clinical if on the HC side), however some VCs have side-along research organizations that are usually staffed with former consultants. But there tends to be little ability to jump onto the deal team... pedigree in VC matters (more like "what deals did you do/work on?" rather than "what bank/school did you come from?" since it doesn't matter at the associate level since you aren't closing deals anyway.)
VC is a shrinking industry that tends to be top heavy (at least in terms of firm ownership, comp/economics), and almost always you need to be an entrepreneur or have worked at a big tech firm and maybe done some interesting sector-specific work (cloud computing, social, etc. etc.). Honestly it probably can be done directly from consulting but it'll be a lot easier to go into IB in my opinion from what I've observed.
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