The email below came in from an active duty soldier in the U.S. Air Force who is interested in pursuing a career in Consulting after his time in the service ends next year. He’s close to completing his MBA at a non-top-tier MBA program (he has done his coursework while in the military) and he’s wondering if that would hinder him from having a shot at a big-name firm.

I might have mentioned this before, but I’ve got a soft spot for folks in the military because several of my family members have served. I hope that my advice is helpful to him over the next few months as he plots out his path into the private sector.

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RH wrote:

Sir,

Given your experience in the field i thought you would be a good person to ask. I currently active duty in the Air Force, enlisted, as an intelligence analyst. We primarily deal with U-2, Predator, Reaper, and Global Hawk exploitation. I will be seperating from the military in a years time and am looking to get a job in management consulting. I will also be completing my MBA from Old Dominon Univeristy around the same time i am seperating. I realize that Old Dominon graduates dont typically get hired by top-tier consulting firms, but I count the fact that i have been able to earn this degree while on active duty as a great strength. I am wondering if someone from my background has a chance of getting hired at a major consulting company?

I know that a lot of military officers make the transition to consulting but this is usually after seperating and heading to an Ivy League B-school. I have been unable to find other enlisted military members with a similar background to mine. I hold a TS/SCI security clearance and have exstensive knowledge of the workings of the defense community. I feel that a company like Booz Allan Hamilton, that has a lot of defense work, would be an ideal fit for someone like me. Any career advice on insight you can give on these matters would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

RH

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My response:

RH,

Thanks for checking out my site and reaching out to me with your question. Also, I’d like to thank you for your service and for protecting the freedom of my fellow American citizens. Although I’ve never served, I’ve had many family members who have and I admire you for everything that you do as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, but, as you can imagine, I get a ton of emails. I hope this message is arriving in time to be useful to you.

My quick answer to your question is that it all depends on what you consider to be a “major consulting company”. If you’re asking whether you’ve got a shot at one of the big strategy-focused consulting firms that usually hires MBAs (i.e. McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Booz & Co, etc.), then I’d guess that it would be a stretch for you to make that leap right out of the military because those schools focus a lot of attention on their core MBA schools for recruiting. That said, you could possibly get there in a few years if you build the right set of experiences out of the gate. Now, if you’re open to big-name consulting firms that do either government-focused or IT-focused work in addition to strategy work (i.e., Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, etc.), then I think you’ve got a solid chance to make that move right out of the military. Again, it would be all about making the right steps to prepare yourself between now and then though.

It’s interesting that you mention Booz Allen Hamilton because that company immediately came to mind after reading the first paragraph of your email. In fact, my cousin, who was an enlisted Army soldier (finished his service as a non-commissioned officer), spent several years there. Following his time in the Army, he spent a few years at a large government contractor and eventually got an opportunity at Booz, where he was able to get the big consulting firm name on his resume. He stayed at Booz for a couple of years before receiving an offer to work directly for the U.S. government in a position based in Europe. I’m telling you this story to show you that there is indeed a path into consulting from the enlisted ranks. All you’ve got to do is work hard and make the right moves to make it happen.

If I were you, here are a few things that I would do in the next few months to position myself in the right way:

• Start identifying a collection of big-time consulting firms that do a lot of government work. Examples include Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte (via its purchase of BearingPoint’s North American operation), Accenture, and KPMG. Once you’ve completed this list, start reaching out to them to kick off a dialogue that could get your into their recruiting pipelines. It may take a few months to get in touch with the right people, but you’ve still got over 6 months until you finish your term in the Air Force, right?
• Start identifying a list of government contractors that might be interested in your great experience in the intelligence area. Examples of larger firms include General Dynamics, SAIC, Northrop Grumman, and URS, but there are also several smaller government contractors that could be candidates for you too. With this list, yuo would do the same sort of outreach that I recommended for the consulting firms.
• Begin to develop your professional profile story. What I mean here is that you should begin to frame out how you plan to present yourself to potential employers. The last thing you want is to walk into an interview and have your story be something like “I just finished serving my country, so give me a job…any job”. Instead, you’ll want to think about the qualities that differentiate you from other applicants and make you a compelling candidate. Also, you’ll need to convince these firms that your experience and background will allow you to start providing value from the very beginning and that your potential is limitless, if given the right opportunity.
• Put some thought into what your longer-term plan will be. If you want to get into consulting, what would your plan be from there? Would you spend a few years at a consulting firm and then move into a government gig or a a government contracting firm? Or, would you stick with the consulting firm for many years. Would you want to stay focused on intelligence-related work or could a different area be a good place for you? Thinking through this early on will help you be more strategic on the front-end while you’re actually making your next few career moves.
• Finally, leverage the MBA and the ODU network as much as you can. Even though ODU doesn’t have a highly-ranked MBA program, it has a tremendous network of alums in the military space because so many soldiers complete academic programs there while on active duty. Use that to you advantage in terms of making connections with people who could give you an in at companies that interest you. Also, I would guess that many folks who go from the enlisted ranks of the military into the government contracting and/or consulting don’t have an MBA on their profile. You should use that degree as a true differentiator to show that, not only do you have significant leadership and intelligence experience, but also have a strong business foundation to apply those skills and drive toward impact in the private sector.

I know that I’ve dumped a lot on you here, so please let me know if you have any follow-up questions. Again, I’m sorry for taking so long to hit you back, but I hope that the quality of my advice makes up for that. Take care and good luck as you plan your transition into the management consulting industry.

Marquis