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

Most important traits for an undergrad in this economic environment

Marquis — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:14:38 +0000

The email below comes from a Freshman student at Indiana University who I met during MLK Weekend. She’s part of a program for the top students in IU’s undergrad business school and I spent some time hanging out with them on the Saturday of the weekend and organized a panel discussion with some of my Aon colleagues for them on the Monday morning. After returning to Bloomington, this student contacted me for advice on some issues that are top-of-mind for a lot of college students.

The student asked me 2 separate questions, but, as I was responding, I realized that … Read the rest

Reader wondering how to get into McKinsey from a school with less brand name

Marquis — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:46:32 +0000

Long-time visitors to this site are probably used to seeing folks ask me questions about how to get into McK (or one of its peer firms). In this case, the author of the email below was seeking advice on how he could position himself to get into McK’s Philippines office. He believed that his situation was complicated by the fact that he comes from an academic institution that doesn’t have a top brand in his country, which, according to him, can have great impact on one’s chances at the top firms. Because I don’t know the policies in his office… Read the rest

Moving from government work to Management Consulting

Marquis — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:03:05 +0000

Happy new year, everyone! Hopefully, you all had a great holiday season and a safe entry into 2012. Now that I’ve had a couple of days to recover from the holidays, I figured that I should get back to posting truth and wisdom

The message below is from a reader who currently works as an intelligence analyst for the government and wants to make a transition into Management Consulting. He’s wondering whether he has a shot of making this move without having to go off to business school. As my long-time readers know, I’m a huge fan of the … Read the rest

Question from a recent LBS MBA grad starting at McKinsey London

Marquis — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:07:40 +0000

The message below is from a longtime reader of this site who recently graduated with his MBA from London Business School. Also, he scored a post-MBA position with McKinsey’s London office, which is a huge feat given the office’s popularity. Now that he’s started the job, he asked for some tips on how to position himself well at the start of his time at The Firm. Hope he finds the following advice to be useful.

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AH wrote:

Hi Marquis!

Thanks a ton for the fantastic blog you’ve run the last few years. It inspired and guided me a lot

… Read the rest

Question from a Freshman studying business and seeking career guidance

Marquis — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:45:35 +0000

Hey, everyone. I can’t remember if I mentioned it earlier, but, back in September, I was invited to give a talk about optimizing one’s career and education at Indiana University. The audience was a group of freshman who were part of a special residential program for top students in the undergrad Kelley School of Business called the Kelley Living Learning Center. This was my first professional speaking engagement, so it was a pretty big deal for me.

The email below is from one of the students who attended that speech. Although he is majoring in Business, he isn’t sure which … Read the rest

Question from a college junior targeting a Management Consulting internship

Marquis — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:15:35 +0000

Hi, everyone! For those of you in the United States, I hope you’ve all had a great Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The email below is from a Junior at Stanford University who is seeking my advice on how to best position himself to get an summer internship offer from a top Management Consulting firm. He emailed me at the end of the summer, but I didn’t have a chance to respond to him until a couple of weeks ago. I’m pretty sure that I got my advice to him in time for it to be useful for the upcoming summer … Read the rest

Question from an MBA applicant with entrepreneurial aspirations

Marquis — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:32:32 +0000

The email below is from an aspiring entrepreneur who found me through my interview on Management Consulted. He’s a former Equity Research Associate who took the entrepreneurial plunge with his father last year. Now, he’s planning to apply to business school and is looking for some advice about getting further along on his entrepreneurial journey. He has several questions about my own journey and how Management Consulting might fit into that story. Without further delay…

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MS wrote:

Hi Marquis,

I came across you interview on Management Consulted and found the interview very informative and helpful. Let me briefly

… Read the rest

European reader considering MBA versus MSc in Finance

Marquis — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:53:36 +0000

The email below is from a reader who is deciding whether to pursue an MBA or a Master of Science in Finance. I get these kidns of questions every now and then and, while I’m not an expert on these other grad degree, I do have opinions on the questions. Hopefully, this member found my perspectives to be useful.

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JH wrote:

Hi, Marquis. recently I’ve discovered your web site and read three of your blogs after registration. It was very informative and useful for me. Thank you! Taking advantage of opportunity to contact you, I would like you to

… Read the rest