Breaking into Management Consulting Firms
Most Global Management Consulting Firm such as McKinsey, BCG and Bain & Company, recruit at only the top undergraduate and MBA schools, In India, these firms prefer students from leading schools in the country such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian School of Business (ISB) etc.
The easiest path into top consulting firms is through campus recruitment, the interview process is highly competitive and only a small percentage of applicants from these top schools end up with job offers.
Some of the other options (besides campus recruitment) include:
- Online application submission – companies ranging from McKinsey to Deloitte & Touche provide this option
- Direct application submission through “Contact Us” links and public email addresses – this may be the only online option available at smaller boutique firms
- Headhunters and job placement firms
If you have not graduated from a top school, you’re chances of breaking into the top consulting firms go down. But there are always ways to work around problems; following are some of the tried and tested tips to break into the glamorous career of management consulting.
1. Networking: It may sound like a cliché, but it extremely effective, build relationships using networking sites such as Linkedin, or consultant’s specific portals such as CNI. You can also reach out to school alumni contacts that work in the industry and at that firm. Reach out to current or former work colleagues that work in the industry themselves or are well connected. Ask your family and friends. Tell people about your goal, as number of people who know about your goal increases, so do your chances of being referred to HR contacts and current consultants.
2. Think beyond your circle: If you’re an undergraduate, consider attending the MBA job fairs to establish contacts, If you’re an MBA student, look into the law school job fair and/or job fairs for nearby MBA schools. While you’re not guaranteed success, you need to take risks given the limited options in front of you. Contact headhunters, particularly if you have a few years of work experience. Headhunters have industry contacts and a broad view of available options. Be specific about your career goals, but not close-minded, Mafoi and Manpower are some of the leading HR consultants operating in India catering to the Management Consulting Clients in India.
3. Build relationships by being direct and specific: Now you know a recruiter in Bain’s Indian office. And you know a school alumnus who’s a consultant in BCG’s Mumbai office. Email them first – remind them of who you are, what your goals are, and the one or two areas where they can help. Keep the email short (no more than 5-10 lines of body text). Provide multiple contact channels. If you receive no response within one week, it’s OK to call and leave a brief voicemail
What are the areas where they can help you out?
- Provide you with the right internal recruiting contacts to submit your resume/CV
- Introduce you to firm contacts with shared interests, backgrounds, etc
- Answer your questions about the industry, the firm, etc
If nothing else works and you’re not getting anywhere, then Option 1 is to either find the most prestigious alternative (i.e. finance, Fortune 500) or a position with another strategy/management consulting firm. Continue networking in the industry and attempt the parallel hiring process. Option 2 is to attend a school where the big firms recruit – if you’re an undergraduate, attend a top-tier MBA program. A master’s degree (or other advanced study program) is another option.
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