Hey, everyone. Two entries in one weekend…wow, this is the first time I’ve been able to do that in while. I’ve been pretty busy as of late because of work and life stuff, so I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write any new content for the site. It’s much easier for me to provide links to externally provided content than to create it myself when I’m on the real life grind. I set the goal of completing a couple of responses before the end of the weekend and now that’s done. I might actually try to knock a third one out before the end of the day too

The reader for this entry is similar to that of my last entry in that he’s a technology professional who is interested in moving into a career in Management Consulting. The difference here is that he’s planning on earning an MBA before making the transition, which should make it an easier process. His questions are more about whether this sort of change is possible for people who don’t have prior consulting experience. I’m an example that it is indeed possible, so I hope my words are helpful to him as he develops his own approach.

By the way, before I move into this entry, I want to make a quick request for you guys to vote for my Stanford GSB roomie Detavio in a contest where he’s competing to become the “Good Mood” blogger for Sam-E Nature Made. The link to vote for him is http://www.sam-e.com/job/profile/94 and people can vote once per day per browser that they use…so you can vote for him from your Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Opera browsers and help him win this contest. He’s contributed some good content to this blog over the past couple of years and he’s provided good advice on his own site, so I’m trying to do everything that I can to get the word out about his attempt to win this contest. Thanks in advance for helping my friend out.

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NK wrote:

“Hi Marquis

I came across your blog and found it very interesting, more so because I am looking to successfully shift my career from high-technology sector to Management Consulting.

I am mainly looking for 12-16 month MBA programs such as Richard Ivey, Queens (Canada) & INSEAD, HEC (France). My question to you furthers from the finding that it is difficult to change both function & industry after doing an MBA, though I do not think it is as tough as it is made out to be.

I have 3 years of experience as of today. Post MBA, I am planning a move to management consulting for semi-conductor industry or may be technology industry. After solid experience I will spread my wings to other sectors. So this involves change of function as I keep my target industry the same initially. How difficult or easy is it to make such a change? Do management, strategy & technology consulting companies such Deloitte, Capgemini, KPMG, Mckinsey, BCG, Booz, Ernst & Young, etc, entertain career changers like me? On what basis do they short list a resume or a profile? I have talked to few people and they tell me that without prior experience of consulting & without doing internship in this role, it would be extremely difficult. At the same time, I see people going into these companies from engineering background. Please share your thoughts. Waiting in anticipation for your response.

Thanks & Best Regards

NK”

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My response:

NK,

What’s going on. I’m sorry that it’s taken me a while to get back to you, but I’m sure that you can understand the number of emails that I receive from my readers. As I read through your email, I identified with your situation because it sounded similar to my own with you being a technology professional with the goal of moving into Management Consulting following business school. In fact, I’ve received several emails from people in your position over the years, including the email that served as the foundation for my most recent blog entry. I totally understand your concerns about whether this sort of shift is possible and I’m typing this message to you as someone who was able to do it, so I can say that it IS possible. I’ll give some more food for thought in the paragraphs below.

Based on my own story, you can tell that it is possible to make an industry and function career switch after business school, but you seem to also be wondering how easy or difficult that kind of transition might be. I am by no means an expert on this and I can’t speak for every person that enters business school wanting to change career paths, but, based on what I’ve seen, making a post-MBA career change isn’t an impossible task. In fact, many of the folks that I know with top MBAs went to business school to make a drastic change and were able to do so successfully. In my Stanford GSB class alone, there were some bigtime career switchers, including a restaurant manager who became an investment banker, an electrical engineer who went into Sales, an Army Ranger who went into Private Equity, and a petroleum engineer became an investment banker, and a musician who became a Brand Manager (I’ve mentioned a few of these folks in my past blog entries)…and you can add me as a former Software Engineer who went into Management Consulting to that list, as well. While it might not be impossible to change directions in this way, I won’t say that it is necessarily easy. Any career switch requires significant work on the part of the applicant, including background research on the desired industry/role, networking with entrenched professionals, interview preparation, and creation of a compelling story to make a case for the change in direction. Given that you already know you want to move in Consulting, you might want to start on this preparatory work as soon as possible to make things easier once the time comes for you to dive into the recruiting process.

You also asked what the consulting firms looks for in applicants who are career switching and I realized that it would be better for me to get that information straight from one of the firms rather than making it up myself. So, checked the website of my former employer and found the following text on its “What we look for” page  (http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/what_we_look_for.aspx):

“We hire exceptional people with outstanding capabilities and great potential in four areas. Each area is critical to success in our day-to-day work.

Problem solving. McKinsey consultants help leaders solve their toughest and most urgent problems. You must have superior intellectual abilities as well as a practical sense of what works in complex organizations.

Achieving. Our consultants strive to deliver distinctive and lasting client impact. This requires tremendous energy, determination, and judgment, particularly when working with multiple stakeholders under tight deadlines.

Personal impact. McKinsey consultants work closely with a wide range of people in their daily jobs. This calls for strong communication skills—particularly when addressing conflicting points of view. You have to be adept at building trusting relationships with clients to enlist their participation and support.

Leadership. Leading people and fostering productive teamwork are critical to success here. You need excellent leadership skills to bring people together to drive positive change within organizations.

Our consultants are accomplished and well rounded, with diverse backgrounds and experiences. They’re also fun to work with. Our clients and colleagues value this unique mix of talent, skill, and character.”

Again, the above came from McKinsey’s website, but I’d say that the listed traits would be desired by just about any consulting firm out there. I’d recommend that you check out the websites of other firms that interest you to see if there is a similar “What we look for” list. There are specific things that you can call out in your resume to demonstrate these traits in your own professional background, but I’ll leave that task for you to do for yourself.

I’m not sure if I gave you the sort of details that you were seeking, but this is my honest read on your questions. Good luck with choosing and gaining admission to one of your desired MBA programs. Hopefully, you’ll be able to parlay that into a position at a Management Consulting firm. Take care.

Marquis