Hey there, everyone. I hope you’re doing well and enjoying your weekend. I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted something but that’s because the past couple of weeks have been really busy…I’ll update y’all on that later.
Like most of you, I’ve been thinking about the state of the U.S. and global economies and am pretty worried, particularly for folks coming out of undergraduate and graduate institutions right now. I’ve talked to several MBA2 students about the current recruiting environment and lots of kids are freaking out right now. Time Magazine recently published a really good article about this last month and things will be tough for the forseeable future. I bring this up now because the email below is from a current second-year MBA student who has questions relating to the consulting recruiting process. I wish I had the expertise to give her a detailed response, but I fear that I might have missed the mark a bit on this one.
—–
LR wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
I am a current MBA’09 at a top 5 MBA program, and I’ve been an avid reader of your blog during the B-school application process and beyond. This is the first time I am reaching out to you. I realize you are quite busy, but I essentially want to ask you for an additional viewpoint to the consulting recruitment process.
In short, my question is:
How easy is it to move from a boutique consulting firm to M/B/B with less than a year at the boutique?
I recruited with [your employer's] London [office], both during the Summer I’ship and Full-time schedule, and made final rounds both times. I knew I had not done as well as I should have during the summer process, but I think I nailed the full-time interviews. To cut a long story short, I didn’t get an offer; in fact, [your employer's] London [office] did not extend any offers at our school this year.
I have received an offer with another consulting firm (non MBB), an international boutique firm (along the lines of Parthenon/LEK/Roland Berger), and I’m very seriously considering signing on. The only problem is that their offer is for the Boston office, and due to personal reasons, I will need to move internationally in mid 2010 to a city where they have no presence. As it currently stands, my option (if I were to continue in consulting) would be to apply to M/B/B before that point (with about 8 to 10 months experience at the first firm); hopefully the economy has picked up at that point, and consulting firms start to recruit again.
A friend [at your employer] tells me that a lateral move is easier if I take up an industry job rather than a boutique consulting job because of the perceived differences in consulting styles.
Your point of view is much appreciated!
Thanks!
LR”
—–
My response:
LR,
Thanks for reaching out to me with your question. I usually address emails in the order that they arrive in my Inbox and there’s a big backlog of messages ahead of yours, but it sounds like you’ve got a timing issue here. So, I’ll move you up and give you a quick response.
Your question is a good one and it essentially has two parts:
1. How easy is it to move from a boutique consulting firm to M/B/B?
–> The quick answer to this question is that this kind of move is difficult, but it’s not because you’d be moving from a boutique firm. Rather, it’s a hard move because getting into M/B/B is tough, whether you’re coming in as a campus candidate or an experienced hire. Make sure you take that into account. I disagree with your friend’s assertion that making a lateral move from a boutique consulting job would be more difficult because of differences in consulting styles. I’ve heard more than a few stories of lateral moves between consulting firms and that having had consulting experience is a plus when attempting a lateral move. It’s true that every firm had its own way of doing things, but I’d guess that one can pick that up through structured and on-the-job training. But, some of the more basic skills leveraged in consulting, like team problem solving, client hands, and structured communication, might be more difficult to pick up from scratch coming in from an industry job. I suggest that you speak to your school’s career services office to get more perspectives on this issue.
2. How easy is it to make this move with less than a year at the boutique?
–> Moving to a new job after less than a year with your first post-MBA employer is always a risky proposition, regardless of the industry. Making such a move so quickly invites a laundry list of questions about issues like whether you washed out of that first company, why you went there in the first place, and what your real reasons are for trying to move on. So, as you can imagine, this would make any move after less than a year at your first company difficult. If you add in that you’d be attempting to make this transition in a potentially shaky economy, the difficulty of such a move increases significantly, regardless of the industry you’re moving out of and into. If at all possible, you might want to either find a gig in the city where you will be moving in mid-2010 or try to work out an arrangement where the boutique would allow you to be affiliated with an office location without actually living there. I’ve heard of several companies doing this and it never hurts to ask…the worst they can do is say “no”, right?
I hope this is helpful. I know it’s a short response, but I think I covered everything that I would have come up with regarding your questions. Good luck with your job search and this decision, in particular.
-Marquis
Like most of you, I’ve been thinking about the state of the U.S. and global economies and am pretty worried, particularly for folks coming out of undergraduate and graduate institutions right now. I’ve talked to several MBA2 students about the current recruiting environment and lots of kids are freaking out right now. Time Magazine recently published a really good article about this last month and things will be tough for the forseeable future. I bring this up now because the email below is from a current second-year MBA student who has questions relating to the consulting recruiting process. I wish I had the expertise to give her a detailed response, but I fear that I might have missed the mark a bit on this one.
—–
LR wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
I am a current MBA’09 at a top 5 MBA program, and I’ve been an avid reader of your blog during the B-school application process and beyond. This is the first time I am reaching out to you. I realize you are quite busy, but I essentially want to ask you for an additional viewpoint to the consulting recruitment process.
In short, my question is:
How easy is it to move from a boutique consulting firm to M/B/B with less than a year at the boutique?
I recruited with [your employer's] London [office], both during the Summer I’ship and Full-time schedule, and made final rounds both times. I knew I had not done as well as I should have during the summer process, but I think I nailed the full-time interviews. To cut a long story short, I didn’t get an offer; in fact, [your employer's] London [office] did not extend any offers at our school this year.
I have received an offer with another consulting firm (non MBB), an international boutique firm (along the lines of Parthenon/LEK/Roland Berger), and I’m very seriously considering signing on. The only problem is that their offer is for the Boston office, and due to personal reasons, I will need to move internationally in mid 2010 to a city where they have no presence. As it currently stands, my option (if I were to continue in consulting) would be to apply to M/B/B before that point (with about 8 to 10 months experience at the first firm); hopefully the economy has picked up at that point, and consulting firms start to recruit again.
A friend [at your employer] tells me that a lateral move is easier if I take up an industry job rather than a boutique consulting job because of the perceived differences in consulting styles.
Your point of view is much appreciated!
Thanks!
LR”
—–
My response:
LR,
Thanks for reaching out to me with your question. I usually address emails in the order that they arrive in my Inbox and there’s a big backlog of messages ahead of yours, but it sounds like you’ve got a timing issue here. So, I’ll move you up and give you a quick response.
Your question is a good one and it essentially has two parts:
1. How easy is it to move from a boutique consulting firm to M/B/B?
–> The quick answer to this question is that this kind of move is difficult, but it’s not because you’d be moving from a boutique firm. Rather, it’s a hard move because getting into M/B/B is tough, whether you’re coming in as a campus candidate or an experienced hire. Make sure you take that into account. I disagree with your friend’s assertion that making a lateral move from a boutique consulting job would be more difficult because of differences in consulting styles. I’ve heard more than a few stories of lateral moves between consulting firms and that having had consulting experience is a plus when attempting a lateral move. It’s true that every firm had its own way of doing things, but I’d guess that one can pick that up through structured and on-the-job training. But, some of the more basic skills leveraged in consulting, like team problem solving, client hands, and structured communication, might be more difficult to pick up from scratch coming in from an industry job. I suggest that you speak to your school’s career services office to get more perspectives on this issue.
2. How easy is it to make this move with less than a year at the boutique?
–> Moving to a new job after less than a year with your first post-MBA employer is always a risky proposition, regardless of the industry. Making such a move so quickly invites a laundry list of questions about issues like whether you washed out of that first company, why you went there in the first place, and what your real reasons are for trying to move on. So, as you can imagine, this would make any move after less than a year at your first company difficult. If you add in that you’d be attempting to make this transition in a potentially shaky economy, the difficulty of such a move increases significantly, regardless of the industry you’re moving out of and into. If at all possible, you might want to either find a gig in the city where you will be moving in mid-2010 or try to work out an arrangement where the boutique would allow you to be affiliated with an office location without actually living there. I’ve heard of several companies doing this and it never hurts to ask…the worst they can do is say “no”, right?
I hope this is helpful. I know it’s a short response, but I think I covered everything that I would have come up with regarding your questions. Good luck with your job search and this decision, in particular.
-Marquis
