Strategy consulting intern at top tier firm- AMA

Hey guys,

Having returned to TSR today to browse of the forums that I spent half my sixth form life on, I noticed that this sub-forum seems to have a lack of consulting related threads.

I will be starting an internship at a top tier strategy consulting firm on Monday and am happy to answer any questions people have regarding the sector.

Note: I haven't started yet so will have to wait a few weeks before I can answer any questions on exactly what interns do on a day-to-day basis!

Fire away.

- Can you shed some light on the recruiting process you went through?

The recruiting processes are generally similar from firm to firm:

1. There is always either CV/CL or an online form to fill in which is usually followed by online tests (numerical and verbal). I read somewhere that up to 70% of candidates are rejected at this stage so it really is worth putting a lot of effort into your CV and cover letter and (preferably) getting it checked over by a careers advisor/consultant you have networked with.

2. First round interviews (either in person or on the phone), these usually consist of 1/2 case interviews and sometimes an additional "competency style" interview (some firms do the competency part at the start of the case interviews). This is also your chance to ask questions about the firm to people who actually work there (if you didn't already meet them at at careers fair/networking event).

3. Final round case interviews. These will usually be held by a partner(s) and are usually longer and more intense than the first round interviews in the previous stage. At this stage the interviewers know that all candidates could probably cope with the job, they are really looking to see if you a) can solve the cases efficiently and b) are a good fit with the firm.

4. Offer

- Profile (uni/course/ECs/grades)? Can be as vague as you need to be

Cambridge, Natural Sciences, Various consulting projects/sports teams etc. (the usual stuff), 2:1 at first year.

- Why would you say you were chosen over other candidates?

Preparation is key to getting a strategy consulting offer. The firms tend to be smaller than banks/accounting firms so most offices tend to take 4-6 interns per year (some firms only take 1/2) however they have just as many applicants as the larger firms in other sectors! This means you really have to stand out to have any sort of chance of progressing through the rounds, and the best way to stand out is through hours of practice.

Case interviews are (mini) business problems and they are used to test your analytical, mathematical and business skills. Like everything these can be massively improved through practice (think A levels- if you walked into an exam having done no revision you are much less likely to pass, however intelligent you might be!). The best two resources are Marc Consenting's book: Case in Point and Victor Cheng's online resource: Look over my shoulder (there is an online dropbox folder somewhere on reddit which contains this, saving you $200 or so).

I would suggest reading/listening to these 2/3 times and then practicing cases with your friends/careers advisor/consultants (through networking I managed to get 3 practice Skype cases with actual consultants who had attended events at the uni).

That is honestly the best piece of advice I could give you, once you start practicing you'll start doing it subconsciously- I once remember walking down the street and thinking "I wonder what the market size is for shower heads in Cambridge". At that point you realised you're slightly obsessed but also very much ready for your interviews.

Also, make sure you come across as friendly and approachable at interview- you don't want to waste all that time you spent practicing just to be rejected because you were too awkward to look the interviewer in the eye!

- Why strat consulting instead of front office finance or corporate law?

Consulting is generally seen as a much more interesting and varied career path. I have been told that you will get exposure to so many different industries in your first 3 years that it is hard to choose what to specialise in later down the line! Also the hours are much much nicer (rarely will you be in the office past 9/10pm) which, in my opinion, makes up for the slightly lower pay.

I don't have much interest in corporate law and haven't written an essay in 4 years, although I did a week of work experience in a patent law firm and really enjoyed it so the thought of doing a law conversion course has crossed my mind.

- Pointers to those who were in your position (i.e. sixth form kids) on getting to where you are now?

The most important thing is to work hard at A level and ensure you get into a top uni. Victor Cheng (ex-Mck) says that some firms are rather brutal with their approach to rejecting applicants at the CV stage and put a lot of weighting on the name of the university on the piece of paper in front of them.

Aside from this if you have shown evidence of an entrepreneurial spirit or some sort of business acumen (start a business, young enterprise etc.) that will put you in good stead. By far the best thing you could do at university is to take part in student consulting projects (180 degrees consulting is a popular one) and competitions as well as attending consulting firm networking events.

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Hope this helped!

Hey guys,

Having returned to TSR today to browse of the forums that I spent half my sixth form life on, I noticed that this sub-forum seems to have a lack of consulting related threads.

I will be starting an internship at a top tier strategy consulting firm on Monday and am happy to answer any questions people have regarding the sector.

Note: I haven't started yet so will have to wait a few weeks before I can answer any questions on exactly what interns do on a day-to-day basis!

Fire away.

Solid advice, and agree on the entrepreneurship point. I started a startup 2 years ago and even though it was based in the US - started it at an MIT programme - I still stayed up til 2-3am to take calls and run models. All alongside school work.

So what are your hopes for where consulting can take you? Partner? Own business? Go to a client?

Yeah they love that kind of thing, I started my own tutoring business and did a lot of financial restructuring for uni societies which I talked about a lot at interview.

The beauty of consulting is that I can delay that choice until I am 3/5/7 years into my career! At the minute I have plans to (firstly get a job offer after my internship) and then work my way up to partner. I could see myself starting my own business at some point but would probably find it hard to leave such a lucrative and rewarding career in consulting.

Best of luck with everything.

2:1 from Durham in Astrophysics masters and hopefully PGCE/MEd from Cambridge, sports captain and done experience as university treasurer but no internship. Would I have a chance at consulting do you think?

I'm not a consulting HR expert unfortunately but looking at your credentials it seems you should have good numerical/analytical skills as well as EC's etc.

They may have some questions about why you didn't obtain an internship as an undergrad (but you could probably spin a story about wanting to go into research at the time or something along those lines) but I think you definitely should consider applying as you wouldn't be at any particular disadvantage (especially with a Cambridge masters).

The main problem with science students (I was told this by a practicing consultant) is that we are great at maths but sometimes don't have the business acumen required to be a successful consultant. This business acumen can be obtain and honed via practice as outlined in my post about.

Thanks.

Originally I'd wanted to go into teaching so never looked for internships. I'll end up teaching for a while although its probably not bad experience.

Thanks for the tip, i'm decent at maths for a science student but not amazing (probably average) for a physicist. I have a business idea I've been wanting to follow for a while, maybe one day once I learn web/app programming.

You don't have to be amazing at maths, they always stress that consulting isn't about being able to integrate complex functions in 101 different ways. You need to be quick at mental maths and get it right (pretty much) every time- you don't want to be making maths mistakes infront of a client!

Another niggling question I forgot to ask. I have bad A-levels (CCC not A*A*A Durham wanted), I did a foundation year and averaged 90% (highest in year + history). I understand some firms require a certain amount of UCAS points which I wouldnt have. Is it possible to spin that?

- What balance between quantitative and qualitative analytical skills do you feel strategy consulting firms look for in a potential employee? (Vague question I know, if it needs rephrasing just let me know)!

Consulting is a weird one because you really do need both, and they change as your progress in your career. When you start as an analyst you will need to be highly analytical (funnily enough ) and your maths skills are going to have to be very strong.

The role of a consultant is however always going to have some sort of client exposure (that is the nature of the job, if you don't have clients you don't have work!). As your progress in your career you will be heading client meetings, conducting client interviews and also trying to obtain business from new or existing clients.

To sum it up, you need to have both but I imagine the maths skills are most important when looking for internship/entry level positions as long as they see potential in your softer skills.


- Given that you used TSR whilst you were at Sixth Form, did you see yourself in consulting back then or did your plans change as you started at Cambridge?

I actually saw myself going into investment banking (like most people on this forum) back at sixth form. However once I properly sat down and talked to people in the professions I realised consulting is much more my cup of tea as I don't fancy working 100 hour weeks and like a lot of variation in what I do (I would consider myself very good at 'learning' and want to carry this forward as far as possibly into my career).

- I know you're not a HR expert; but with decent extracurricular activities (leaning multiple languages, high level sport, volunteering) and strong a academic record do you think I would stand any chance of making it past CV filtering with a Management degree from Warwick, or would I realistically need to top it up with a masters at somewhere better afterwards.

To be honest I think you would be ok (as long as you had a 2:1), you might want to do some networking so you can name drop in your cover letter. Victor Cheng tells a story of how they let strong CV's through with only a skim of the cover letter but if you have a borderline CV then they really do nitpick your cover letter (at this point they are looking for a reason to reject you) so make sure you nail both if you aren't coming from one of the really elite universities (I hate calling them that, it sounds snobby and self-indulgent but unfortunately thats the words they use themselves).

- Do you have any hobbies that you really enjoy pursuing that you feel will be heavily impacted by the longish work hours in consulting.

I feel like living in London is going to impact my hobbies, not so much the long hours in consulting. Consultants don't usually work weekends meaning you have a lot of free time compared to your banker friends!

I hope to join a 5-a-side team and join a decent gym once I eventually move there but I know that moving into the city will require sacrifices to my personal life and hobbies.


Thank's for doing this by the way! As you say there seem to be very few consulting based threads around here and most AMAs are IBD Analysts.

Salary?

Oh and how did you manage to work for a business company when you're studying Natural sciences?

Not going to quote my salary but all top tier firms pay their analysts very competitively. As an intern I am being paid slightly below what a graduate entry consultant would earn (I think they just wanted to make the weekly figure round).

http://www.insidecareers.co.uk/career-advice/salaries-benefits-in-management-consultancy/ <-- one of many sites talking about consultant entry level salaries- the salaries quoted here are actually pretty low. Most senior consultants (2-3 years experience) would expect to be on £80k+.

Note that consulting pays LESS than investment banking which is reflected in the working hours.

No worries, feel free to PM me or post again if you have any other questions!

Thanks, in third year I have the option of either doing a 1 year work placement or going abroad, Going abroad would give me the opportunity to either go to a top American uni (Wharton, Cornell) or work on my Mandarin at Peking or Fudan. Which do you feel would look better on my CV? Given that work experience highly regarded by employers and language skills aren't always sought after when the candidate isn't a native speaker. Thanks!