Hey, people. I’m typing this entry from about 35,000 feet in the air on a flight to Chicago after spending the weekend visiting my family back in the great state of Virginia. It was a really quick trip, but it was nice because I’ve found myself wanting to get back there more as I get older. Plus, it’s nice to just sit around and be a bum for a few days. I did have to grind on stuff for work while I was there, but it’s a heck of a lot quieter doing it waaay out in the country in VA than from my apartment in Chicago.
It’s funny that I’m just leaving VA because the email below is from a kid who was born in VA…well, he grew up in California, but he was born in VA so I’m going to claim him because he goes along well with the theme of my weekend trip
He’s a freshman at NYU looking to break into Consulting and he’s looking for advice on how to make that move. Those of you who’ve been following this blog for a while know that I have a great respect for folks who think really far ahead about their careers and educations, so this email made me grin. Hopefully, my words will be of some use to him.
——-
KK wrote:
“Marquis,
Sorry to bother you, my name is ‘KK’. I’m currently a freshman at New York University studying finance and computer science, and hope to break into management consulting. A friend recommended your blog -it’s been a huge help. Although I grew up in California, I was born in Fairfax county, Virginia, so I’m proud to find you.
I realize it’s a little early to try to find jobs in consulting, as most firms hire exclusively from junior year, if at all for undergraduates. It’s pretty understandable, as I wouldn’t want someone with no experience telling me how to run a business. At the same time, I’ve been heavily involved with several tech startups, as well as starting two nonprofits of my own. I’ve been able to get over $100,000 in funding for one of them, and have managed to connect over 128 homeless to employment in my hometown.
I’ve loved the management/operational experience, but I’m looking to consulting for variety and real experience before moving back to social ventures. Is there anything I can do now to increase my candidacy at strategy consulting firms later on? My school isn’t recruited by top tier firms, so I’ll do anything I can to get my resume noticed.
It’s completely understandable if you’re busy, I realize that a lot of people are competing for your attention. I’m just hoping to break into the industry in any way possible, and your experience goes beyond anyone else I know.
Thank you for your time.
Take care,
KK”
——-
My response:
KK,
I hope this message finds you doing well. I know it’s been a while since you emailed me, but, since you were born in VA, you KNOW I had to get back to you eventually, right? Actually, I respond to all of the emails I receive, but seeing that you were born in Fairfax County did make me smile a bit. And, I do receive a lot of emails, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to apologize for emailing me…it’s not a bother. Rather, it’s just my way of giving back to folks who might benefit from the jumbled up ideas that are trapped inside my head. I hope some of those jumbled up ideas can jump into this email and be helpful to you in some way. By the way, I don’t know how far back in my blog you’ve read, but I’m a HUGE fan of folks who get an early start to mapping out their careers, so your email really impressed me. You’re giving yourself a big headstart in the race for Consulting job out of college.
So, you want to get into Consulting…given your stated career interests, it might be a good way to go. Good thing you aren’t trying to move into the industry right now because I imagine that the down economy has hit the recruiting numbers hard as of late. You’re a couple of years ahead of the curve, so you have plenty of time to set yourself up for success as a graduating senior candidate for those positions. Here are a few quick tips that might help you along the way:
- Be smart about internships and other work experiences –> As you move toward approaching the firms, you should think of everything you do as potentially being a part of your resume. With that in mind, the biggest part of any resume is the work epxeriences listed…in your case, you’ll likely have a few internships to add to your previous startup and non-profit posts by the time you’re applying for a full-time job at a Consulting firm. You’ll want to aim for work experiences that will show off your problem solving skills and, given your dual-majors, will be analytical in nature. Here, I’m thinking about jobs in Finance, Technology, Strategy, and PE. It isn’t impossible to win an offer from a Consulting firm without these types of positions on your resume, but gigs like this are definitely attention-grabbers. That said, please don’t gun for internships and jobs in these areas just because I mentioned them. I’m a true believer that one will do better in a job that he enjoys, so go for options that you find interesting above all else.
- Think about the “numbers” part of your profile –> As you know, there is a lot of competition for entry-level Consulting positions, so you’ll have to make your application “pop” when you submit it to the firms. An easy way to do this is to include your key “numbers” (GPA, SAT, etc.) on your resume. In fact, I’ve seen some undergrad resumes where the person has even taken the GMAT/LSAT during their college years and scored very well. Hopefully, you’ll have some good numbers to present to the firms’ recruiters that will catch their attention and make them want to learn more about you.
- Pursue leadership opportunities through extracurricular activities –> Many firms look for leadership qualities in undergraduate candidates, so you’ll want to make your leadership experiences jump off the page in your resume. It sounds like you’ve already got some great leadership experiences from your startup and non-profit ventures, but you might want to take the lead in a few extracurricular activities, as well. It’s often difficult to balance school, extracurriculars, and other college interactions, but, in this case, doing so could help your profile stand out from the crowd. I’ve written a few blog entries about choosing the “right” kinds of activities, so you might want to look those up if you’re seeking ideas for organizations to join/lead.
– Put yourself out there for the firms to notice you –> This is one that I’d put into the category of “going the extra mile”, but it might just help you. I’d recommend that you put yourself in front of the firms to give them a chance to notice them. A few ways to do this are networking with NYU alums who work at your target firms, attending company presentations given at the Stern MBA school, and emailing the recruiting contacts at your target firms. I’m surprised that the top firms don’t recruit at NYU, but I don’t know the full ins and outs of how that works for undergraduate candidates. If this is indeed the case, then you’ll have to take yourself to them since they won’t be coming to you.
I’m not sure if this is as prescriptive as you were hoping for, but it’s a pretty good set of steps to get your resume noticed by the bigger firms. Good luck on your summer internship search and making the eventual transition into Consulting. Thinking about this so early will give you a long runway to make it all happen for you. Take care.
-Marquis
It’s funny that I’m just leaving VA because the email below is from a kid who was born in VA…well, he grew up in California, but he was born in VA so I’m going to claim him because he goes along well with the theme of my weekend trip
He’s a freshman at NYU looking to break into Consulting and he’s looking for advice on how to make that move. Those of you who’ve been following this blog for a while know that I have a great respect for folks who think really far ahead about their careers and educations, so this email made me grin. Hopefully, my words will be of some use to him.——-
KK wrote:
“Marquis,
Sorry to bother you, my name is ‘KK’. I’m currently a freshman at New York University studying finance and computer science, and hope to break into management consulting. A friend recommended your blog -it’s been a huge help. Although I grew up in California, I was born in Fairfax county, Virginia, so I’m proud to find you.
I realize it’s a little early to try to find jobs in consulting, as most firms hire exclusively from junior year, if at all for undergraduates. It’s pretty understandable, as I wouldn’t want someone with no experience telling me how to run a business. At the same time, I’ve been heavily involved with several tech startups, as well as starting two nonprofits of my own. I’ve been able to get over $100,000 in funding for one of them, and have managed to connect over 128 homeless to employment in my hometown.
I’ve loved the management/operational experience, but I’m looking to consulting for variety and real experience before moving back to social ventures. Is there anything I can do now to increase my candidacy at strategy consulting firms later on? My school isn’t recruited by top tier firms, so I’ll do anything I can to get my resume noticed.
It’s completely understandable if you’re busy, I realize that a lot of people are competing for your attention. I’m just hoping to break into the industry in any way possible, and your experience goes beyond anyone else I know.
Thank you for your time.
Take care,
KK”
——-
My response:
KK,
I hope this message finds you doing well. I know it’s been a while since you emailed me, but, since you were born in VA, you KNOW I had to get back to you eventually, right?
Actually, I respond to all of the emails I receive, but seeing that you were born in Fairfax County did make me smile a bit. And, I do receive a lot of emails, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to apologize for emailing me…it’s not a bother. Rather, it’s just my way of giving back to folks who might benefit from the jumbled up ideas that are trapped inside my head. I hope some of those jumbled up ideas can jump into this email and be helpful to you in some way. By the way, I don’t know how far back in my blog you’ve read, but I’m a HUGE fan of folks who get an early start to mapping out their careers, so your email really impressed me. You’re giving yourself a big headstart in the race for Consulting job out of college.So, you want to get into Consulting…given your stated career interests, it might be a good way to go. Good thing you aren’t trying to move into the industry right now because I imagine that the down economy has hit the recruiting numbers hard as of late. You’re a couple of years ahead of the curve, so you have plenty of time to set yourself up for success as a graduating senior candidate for those positions. Here are a few quick tips that might help you along the way:
- Be smart about internships and other work experiences –> As you move toward approaching the firms, you should think of everything you do as potentially being a part of your resume. With that in mind, the biggest part of any resume is the work epxeriences listed…in your case, you’ll likely have a few internships to add to your previous startup and non-profit posts by the time you’re applying for a full-time job at a Consulting firm. You’ll want to aim for work experiences that will show off your problem solving skills and, given your dual-majors, will be analytical in nature. Here, I’m thinking about jobs in Finance, Technology, Strategy, and PE. It isn’t impossible to win an offer from a Consulting firm without these types of positions on your resume, but gigs like this are definitely attention-grabbers. That said, please don’t gun for internships and jobs in these areas just because I mentioned them. I’m a true believer that one will do better in a job that he enjoys, so go for options that you find interesting above all else.
- Think about the “numbers” part of your profile –> As you know, there is a lot of competition for entry-level Consulting positions, so you’ll have to make your application “pop” when you submit it to the firms. An easy way to do this is to include your key “numbers” (GPA, SAT, etc.) on your resume. In fact, I’ve seen some undergrad resumes where the person has even taken the GMAT/LSAT during their college years and scored very well. Hopefully, you’ll have some good numbers to present to the firms’ recruiters that will catch their attention and make them want to learn more about you.
- Pursue leadership opportunities through extracurricular activities –> Many firms look for leadership qualities in undergraduate candidates, so you’ll want to make your leadership experiences jump off the page in your resume. It sounds like you’ve already got some great leadership experiences from your startup and non-profit ventures, but you might want to take the lead in a few extracurricular activities, as well. It’s often difficult to balance school, extracurriculars, and other college interactions, but, in this case, doing so could help your profile stand out from the crowd. I’ve written a few blog entries about choosing the “right” kinds of activities, so you might want to look those up if you’re seeking ideas for organizations to join/lead.
– Put yourself out there for the firms to notice you –> This is one that I’d put into the category of “going the extra mile”, but it might just help you. I’d recommend that you put yourself in front of the firms to give them a chance to notice them. A few ways to do this are networking with NYU alums who work at your target firms, attending company presentations given at the Stern MBA school, and emailing the recruiting contacts at your target firms. I’m surprised that the top firms don’t recruit at NYU, but I don’t know the full ins and outs of how that works for undergraduate candidates. If this is indeed the case, then you’ll have to take yourself to them since they won’t be coming to you.
I’m not sure if this is as prescriptive as you were hoping for, but it’s a pretty good set of steps to get your resume noticed by the bigger firms. Good luck on your summer internship search and making the eventual transition into Consulting. Thinking about this so early will give you a long runway to make it all happen for you. Take care.
-Marquis
One last piece of advice would be to begin practicing case interviews early. See if you can use the business school’s resources to begin sharpening those skills sometime soon because they do not come naturally to many people. Just reading the books is not the way to go. This is a skill that comes from practice practice practice.