Former MBB Consultant / MBB campus recruiter - Ask me anything!

Hi Rob,I remember this thread from last year but I’m happy to see that you’re still answering our questions - I would go with mine, do I stand a chance? And what would be the best way to start towards a career in a MBB?

1. I’ve done an undergraduate in Economics and Sociology at non-target and non-Russel uni and achieved a fairly high first class (think of ex-poly).

2. I’ve recently graduated from a postgraduate at the LSE with a (high) merit - admission to the course is highly competitive (so not one of those random courses) and the subject is quantitative (Political economy) - just not as pure econ/stats.

3. I’ve some internship experience but not strictly in the field of MBBs: 2 months at an embassy in London; 6 months in a boutique (and unknown) research and advisory firm working on a start -up accelerator initiative with a government, international organisations (QFFD, Gates Foundation, UNDP, WPD) and national corporations (think of $10bn in revenues); and 4 months of experience at a UK political party in the leader’s tour as part of the GE campaign trail (the once that lost its leader’s seat).

I’m aware than my undergraduate drags me down (biggest regret of my life, I’ve turned down offers from Russel group uni’s top 20uk unis). I’m also aware that my lack of consulting related internships play a negative role too, but sincerely, do I stand a chance?I have a native knowledge of 2 languages and I’m 22 if that matters (excluding eng).Thanks a lot!

Hi Rob,

Thanks for doing this. I'm currently applying to consulting summer applications and things are going well (although not in regards to MBB unfortunately). But one thing I'm concerned about is the legitimacy of consulting. The more I've looked into it the more it feels like a branding service with traditional methods that builds up the confidence of a business rather than significantly helping it (Probably differs from project to project but still generally). I'm not sure, but I'm starting to doubt how much meat is on the bones with regards to the type of work. Any thoughts on this?

Thankyou again.

Hi Rob,

I am in the midst of making my CV for consulting applications. I've interned for 6 weeks at a mid sized PE firm (500mm assets under management) and was wondering what would be the most important things to talk about for a consulting focused CV? I worked on both origination (sourcing potential deals) & portfolio companies. It is much easier when I made the CV focused for banking apps as I could talk about multiples, building a LBO model and etc but I'm not sure whether that is appropriate for consulting firms.

Also, what kind of work would a consultant do for a PE firm? Maybe I can focus on that stuff. So would a consultant just do the commercial due diligence for a potential deal? Would they also work on portfolio companies or is that just for the operating partners?

And to shoot my shot, would there be any chance you could review my consulting focused CV?

Firstly, congratulations on your internship in PE. That's a hard gig to get, and you pulled it off.

For a consulting CV, you need to understand the core toolkit and map your experiences accordingly. For example, creating value in businesses, leveraging primary and secondary resources, baselining, market landscaping and sizing, etc., and map these to what you're doing in PE.

PE firms generally hire consultants for two things: 1. Commercial due diligence, and 2. Portfolio company value creation. We generally work alongside the operating partners (who tend to be ex-consultants or industry veterans anyway) but depends on the model of the fund.

I do run a CV review / repositioning service for aspiring consultants (MBB or other tiers) but that's a paid service unfortunately (to keep things fair for all of the others that have asked me).

Thanks for your kind words Rob!

I only have enough space on my CV for the PE stint or a international expansion strategy project I consulted on to a startup. Which one do you think would be better for tier 2/mbb apps? I assume from your reaction the PE stint?

I'll take up on your offer for the CV review. Do you have a website or anything?

Hi Rob,

Many job descriptions for consulting firms expect 'exceptional analytical and quantitative problem solving skills' what kind of experiences best show this?

Thanks

Hi Rob,

If one has a lot of relevant and meaningful experience and big names on CV, leadership experience etc. can it outweigh the uni they go to (think premier semi target)?

Thanks

Thank you for a very informative thread. With regard to undergraduate degree, would there be considerable or any advantage for an Australian student to study economics at LSE or UCL as opposed to a 4 year honours degree in finance, economics and applied statistics at Australian National University?

Hi Rob,

Thanks so much for your insightful replies! Was wondering if you could shed some light on recruiting in the major US offices (NY/SF/Boston) for full-time entry level positions at MBB.

1. I graduated with a high 2:1 (68%) in Economics from LSE/UCL, and am currently pursuing a quantitative Masters at one of HYPSM. I have a pretty strong GMAT score (750+) and straight A*s for my A Levels.
I am confident in getting at least a 3.8 GPA for my Masters, but would the lack of a 1:1 in my undergrad degree be a deal breaker, or would my other academics be enough to compensate? How is LSE/UCL viewed by US recruiters, and how should my degree result be presented on my CV (just list the degree class, or convert it to GPA)?

2. I previously had front-office investment banking internships (Spring Insight at a EB in London, summer at a non-EB boutique in the US). Heading into the fall recruitment cycle, which of these summer internships (all in Asia) would best position me for MBB recruitment in the US - Deloitte S&O, FP&A at a F100 company, Strategy and Business Development at one of the most valuable startups in Asia (well-known in Asia, but not in the US), or a investment role in a solid but relatively young and fledging VC fund founded by McKinsey alumni?

What would be my approximate chance of getting a first-round interview as an international student? Would networking help more in the US than in the UK? Thank you!

Hi Rob,

What are the prospects like for someone with a 1st class degree from UCL in Economics looking to go into MBB?

Thanks

Hi Rob

At what point do strategy consulting firms stop filtering people out for having low A Levels? For example, after graduating with a first then starting a masters degree, would they still filter someone out who had low A Levels?
My A Levels are A*AB, I'm on track for a first at LSE. If I got a first then did a masters, would I still get filtered out because of the A Levels?

Thanks