What are the odds?

what are the odds of getting a consulting job interview with a BA degree in something too detached from business and math, like psychology, philosophy, english or history, and other similar degrees like these?

 

It really depends on what school you’re at, and which firms you’re targeting. But, you have a pretty good chance with a high GPA, relevant (project based) work experience, and leadership examples.

The interviews will be about critical thinking skills and behavioral type questions. Consulting firms know you don’t know anything out of school, and like it that way so they can mold you to their methods and techniques.

Best advice I can give is join your school’s consulting club. You’ll learn a lot about the industry and start to prepare for case interviews.

 

I think odds of an interview are high. Odds of an offer are tougher. I remember at my old consulting firm we came really close to hiring an English major at Stanford, but eventually the senior ppl at the firm just couldn't be convinced since he didn't know jack shit about finance. Stellar applicant + wrong major = no offer

 
Best Response

The standard is definitely different in consulting interviews rather than finance ones though. In finance they're looking explicitly for finance industry interest, which can be difficult (but not impossible) to prove without a relevant major.

Consulting isn't looking for any industry preference or really any interest in business (or even consulting, perhaps) at all. It's all about the case. And anyone can nail the case with enough practice. You'll have to learn a few business concepts that an Econ major would have learned in their intro or micro class (profit equation, variable vs fixed costs), but they're incredibly basic.

You should be fine, although I would agree with ch1guy that it'd be good to show some interest in consulting through extracurriculars too - joining the consulting club, networking with a few alumni in consulting, etc.

 

What if you do possess some business knowledge that you'd normally get from business school, through self study and other mediums that does not grant you a certification to prove it, how do you demonstrate that you actually know about business and finance?

 
jankynoname:

I think odds of an interview are high. Odds of an offer are tougher. I remember at my old consulting firm we came really close to hiring an English major at Stanford, but eventually the senior ppl at the firm just couldn't be convinced since he didn't know jack shit about finance. Stellar applicant + wrong major = no offer

Disagreed. Maybe for banking, major matters a lot. But consulting firms don't care what major you are. If you are a good applicant with enough business knowledge to get through the case interview, your major will not be an issue at all. It's all about if you can solve problems in a structured, logical way.

 

Thats what I was thinking about, in consulting your logical reasoning and problem solving skills matter more than anything else, so a candidate with a degree in philosophy or psychology might be more proficient in solving problems in a logical way than a random candidate with a business degree, since these degrees tend to be centered about analyzing or solving social and fundamental problems of thought and the mind, besides.. if someone is planning to get an MBA later on, I think it would be a better choice for them to broaden their knowledge and education in a different field so they could get a taste of both worlds, which fundamentally makes you more knowledgeable.

 

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