MarquisParker.com // Business Strategist, Speaker, Advisor, and Coach

Active duty military soldier with future interest in Consulting

Published on August 22, 2011 by Marquis in career, career path, consulting, management consulting, mba, professional advice, recruiting, transition

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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 … Read the rest

Advice for making a career change to consulting

Published on May 1, 2011 by Marquis in career, consulting, mba, Networking, transition

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What’s going on, folks. The email below has been in my Inbox for about 5 months now and I feel terrible that I’m just now getting the chance to address it. Fortunately, the member who sent it is currently employed, so there isn’t time pressure for a response. That said, I still feel bad for taking so long to respond to it. I hope to be caught up on things soon.

The member who sent the email is currently employed as a Sales Representative, but would like to transition to Management Consulting, preferably at McKinsey, Bain, or BCG. His big … Read the rest

Conversation with Tanisha Drummer, Strategy Professional and Former Management Consultant

Published on March 26, 2011 by Marquis in Business, Business School, career, career-life balance, consulting, Conversations, entrepreneurship, Leaving job for Bschool, mba, my peoples, professional advice, Stanford GSB, strategy, transition

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In this entry, you’ll be introduced to Tanisha Drummer, a Strategy professional and former Management Consultant. Tanisha is a friend of mine from my years at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and has done some really interesting things in her career. Tanisha is a former Management Consultant in Accenture’s Strategy Practice, where she focused on Marketing strategy for 4 years before business school and 1.5 years afterward. She’s been in her current Corporate Strategy role at US Cellular for over a year now and has been having tremendous impact.

I’m tempted to give you more background on her … Read the rest

Transitioning into Consulting as an experienced hire from the auto industry

Published on January 18, 2011 by Marquis in auto industry, career, consulting, Finance, mba, recruiting, strategy, transition

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The message below is from an auto industry professional who is interested in transitioning to Management Consulting. He has a solid 10 years of auto experience and an MBA, but, during his previous attempts at applying, he hasn’t received any interview invitations. He’s asking for my read on his situation and for guidance on whether he has holes in his profile. I have a feeling that his earlier lack of success might have been tied to timing and the economic downturn, but I can’t be 100% sure of that. I gave him a quick read on his profile in my… Read the rest

14 surprising first careers of famous people

Published on November 4, 2010 by Marquis in career, career path, interesting articles, other sites, transition

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In some of my recent issues, I’ve tried to share the lesson that people can come from a variety of backgrounds and still have successful business careers. Many visitors to this site are aiming for drastic career transitions into business, but conventional wisdom often leaves people thinking that it isn’t possible. Before I applied to business school, I remember hearing that people needed to major in Business Administration in undergrad and do either investment banking or management consulting afterward to have a shot at being a successful businessperson in the long-term. I’m so glad that I didn’t listen too intently… Read the rest

An announcement from me and an introduction to my strategic approach to the job search (Part I)

Published on April 4, 2010 by Marquis in About Marquis, career, career path, interview advice, job search resources, professional advice, transition

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Hello, everyone. I’d like to start this entry by wishing everyone a Happy Easter. I hope everyone who celebrates this holiday remembers the true reason for the celebration and is able to be with loved ones on this family-focused holiday. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get down to Virginia to spend it with my family, but they all know that I would have been there if I could. I’ve definitely got to get down there for Mother’s Day though.

Second, I would like to announce a pretty major change on my end. I recently decided to pursue a new career opportunity and, … Read the rest

Question about Stanford’s MS&E program as prep for management consulting

Published on February 3, 2010 by Marquis in career, consulting, Education, pre-MBA grad degrees, software engineer, transition

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The message below is from a reader whose story mirrors my own very closely…He was a Computer Science undergrad who moved on to a career as a Software Engineer, which he has been doing for five years. And, like me, he has lost his passion for that line of work and sees a transition to business as the way to achieve his goals. Unlike me, he seems reluctant to pursue an MBA and, instead, he is looking at Stanford’s Master’s program in Management Science and Engineering. In his message, he asks some questions about the program and, although I am… Read the rest

Question about my future in the for-profit education space

Published on December 30, 2009 by Marquis in About Marquis, career, Education, shout outs to me, transition

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The email for this entry comes from an MBA aspirant who is trying to decide between applying for Stanford’s MBA/MA.Ed program or the JD/MBA program, but his email has nothing to do with questions about either kind of program. Rather, he’s wondering what my plans are, if any, to work in the for-profit education space. I seldom get emails asking about me, so I enjoyed responding to this one. I haven’t really figured out whether I’ll do any work in for-profit education in my career, so I described some of my very early thinking on the matter.

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TW wrote: … Read the rest