What’s going on, everyone. I’ve got a few minutes free, so I thought I should post an update on what’s happening on my end. Since the start of 2007, I’ve been doing a lot of recruiting work and have had a chance to meet several readers of this blog. It still surprises me when people come up to me and say “I have been reading your blog for a long time now”. It’s cool to know that people are still finding this joint useful after all this time.

At long last, I got a few emails with questions that have a wide enough scope that I can post my responses on here. Here’s what I’ve gotten and and responded to:

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Sudha –

“I was going through your Consulting Case Interview Prep Guide and wanted to ask you one of the questions you gave as a sample!

As someone with a tech background, I’m wondering whether my previous experience will translate well into Consulting. Could you tell me how much you’ve reached back into your prior experience in Technology during your career at McKinsey?
Also for someone interested in Technology Consulting, would 2 years in IT be too little?

And finally, I am not very clear on the differences between Management Consulting and Strategy Consulting. From what I read, these terms can be used interchangeably, but it would be nice to hear from someone like you who is in the field. “

Response:
Wow, I’ve never had someone ask me one of my own questions before…I guess I should be prepared to give a GOOD response then, huh? So far, I haven’t reached back into my prior experience in Technology at McKinsey, but that’s likely because I haven’t been on a Tech-focused study yet. My software experience has helped me in two major ways though.

- First, my software background was a huge help in structuring my problem solving during the case interviews. Software design is all about figuring out what piece of functionality you want to implement, figuring out what sub-functionality must be completed to do that, and then setting up a collection of objects and data structures to make everythign happen. Once I recognized that consulting case analysis was very similar to this sort of software design analysis, it made the case interview game much easier for me to tackle.
- Second, my tech background was helpful in determining the best way to set up the Excel models that I had to complete on my first study. Doing a model made up of a single file is relatively straight forward, even if you’ve got multiple tabs in it. Things get more complicated when you’re linking several Excel files back and forth because the risk of circular references becomes an issue. Taking the time to draw out the files that I’d need and the connections between them regularly as time passed went a long way toward helping me build and debug the models.

I hope that was the kind of response you were looking for with that question. As for you having 2 years of IT exprience, I wouldn’t say that that’s too little to make a run at Technology consulting after you finish business school. While you’re in school, you can take technology management classes at both your business school and the Engineering department at the university you attend. Also, you can do side study on your own to fill in any holes that you might have in your Tech knowledge. Don’t worry, you can get that sort of position, despite your relatively short tenure, if you spend enough time learning everything you need to know in school and on your own.

As for Management Consulting versus Strategy Consulting, a lot of people use those terms interchangeably and, from what I’ve heard, doing so is valid. I haven’t seen anything so far that would make me draw a huge line between the two terms. Check out this link for more information Management Consulting definition

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Farah –

“You do not know me but I came accross your blog while searching for the dual MBA + MA education degree at Stanford on google. I have been interested in this program for the last year and thinking of applying by the end of this year for fall 08. I know this program is extremely difficult to get into so was wondering if you could give me any advice now that I know where I want to apply and have about 9 months to make it happen. The most important question I have right now is which test to take (GRE or GMAT). Is one preffered over the other for candidates in this program?

Also, can you tell me what you like best about this program and what you like the least?

Thanks a bunch for your time and any feedback is greatly appreciated,”


Response:
Stanford GSB just started accepting the GRE for applicants, so I don’t know if that test is better or worse than the GMAT for MBA/MA.Ed candidates. I would recommend using the test that you feel most comfortable with and/or performed best on. When it comes to applying to the joint program, I’d say that the MBA admissions hurdle is the one you should worry the most about. Once the GSB admissions folks give you the thumbs up, your application goes over to the School of Ed and I imagine that making it through the GSB process would go a long way toward showing the SUSE admissions people that you’re a good candidate. Also, you don’t even have to apply to both programs at the same time. Many joint-degree students, myself included, didn’t apply for the MA in Education until we’d already matriculated as MBA students. At that point, all you have to do is write a “Statement of Purpose”, submit it to the SUSE, and they evaluate you based on that.

I really liked being in the joint-degree program. My highlight of being in the program was seeing how passionate the Ed School Master’s and PhD students were about the subject matter. At the GSB, I wouldn’t exactly see people get geeked up to talk about debits and credits in Accounting class. But, at the SUSE, students would get extra excited/intense when talking about subjects like Urban Education, Economics in Education, and Politics in Education. Their passion alone would have made the classes interesting, but the actual course topics kept me glued in everytime I went to class too. The only thing that I didn’t like about the program was having to load up on extra classes because I joined the program late. If I’d been a part of it during the first semester of first year, I could have taken an Ed class then and I would have had an easier time later on. By joining late, I found myself taking one or two extra classes each quarter during second year, which was a BEAST!!! I still learned a ton in both my GSB and SUSE classes, but I didn’t have the time to earn stellar grades across the board.

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JF –

“I am currently a second-year analyst at [an IT Consulting firm] and was recently accepted in the first round at Stanford GSB. I am about 80% sure that I will be attending, but would like to visit before I put my deposit down. I am also applying for the Consortium fellowship to [two Consortium schools]. If I were to receive a fellowship, this might change my thinking. I was curious as to your thoughts on the financial considerations when choosing schools (this is pure speculation at this point, of course). Additionally, I was also thinking about deferring (not even sure if this is possible at Stanford) in order to get a bit more substantial experience at work. I’m not sure what your experience was at [IT Consulting firm] but I have been kind of jaded in the sense that I have been stuck on the same project since I got here and don’t think I have developed a full complement of skills and experiences that I envision being useful in business school. I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well.”


Response:
I’m a little worried about answering this question because I don’t want it to seem like I’m saying that one school option is better than any other school. Instead of telling you to choose the GSB over your other options, I’ll tell you about the way I approached this dilemma. When I was applying, the GSB was my first choice going into the process and I told myself that, if I was fortunate enough to get in, I would accept the offer no matter what. That changed when I started getting acceptances from other schools that came with NICE financial aid packages. At that point, I was choosing between 100% loans to go to Stanford and little to no loans to go to these other schools…in the end, it was still an easy choice for me to make. I was convinced that Stanford would be the best fit for me and, although I’d have to take out loans, I knew that I would get them paid off in time. Hell, if I wanted to, I could have stretched out my loans for 25 years (that isn’t recommended but it is possible), so I couldn’t let the money be my deciding factor. Basically, I’d recommend that you figure out which school you want to attend the most and don’t let the finances make your decision for you. Think about what you want to do after Bschool and determine which school will do the best job of getting you there. If you decide that Stanford GSB isn’t going to be the best place for you in some way, then go with your gut feeling. But, if Stanford is THAT school for you, you’d likely wonder “what if I’d gone to Stanford?” for a looooooooong time. You can only go to Bschool once, so you would be doing yourself a disservice if you turn away from a school that you really want because you could get more money somewhere else. If you’d like more insight into my own decision process on this, send me another message and I’ll answer any follow-up questions you might have.

At the GSB, it would likely be incredibly difficult to get a deferral because there are so many people on the waitlist who would jump at the chance to take your spot. Several of my classmates tried, but weren’t able to do so. I can see how being stuck on the same project might be a downer (I was stuck on the same software system for the 3 yrs prior to Bschool), but, if the GSB Admissions Staff thought you were a good enough candidate to accept you in the first round, take their word for it and know that you have the skills and experiences that would serve you well in Bschool. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…Derrick Bolton and his staff don’t make mistakes!