There are two kinds of people you’ll meet at business school. People who think consulting is worth the hustle and people who don’t. As you can tell from the title of this blog post, I fall into the category of being in love with the idea of being a management consultant.
What’s not to like about solving C-Suite problems and earning all those miles jetting around?
I've been through the rigors of consulting recruiting and would love to share some wisdom I gathered on the journey.
#1 NETWORKING - CAST A WIDE NET
Anderson sets you up for success by providing you with ample opportunities to network. The cool part about being in LA is that many consulting companies have offices close to campus. Various professional and identity clubs host events to bring practitioners to campus giving everyone ample facetime to make connections. These connections are crucial to get that interview offer. Most of these practitioners are also alums and are extremely helpful in answering any questions about the job.
As a candidate, I had to do some groundwork by researching the company, the practitioner's background, and anything else that could make good conversation. However, often I found myself not able to strike the right chord or felt unsure if made the connection. When sending thank you emails, I tried so hard to personalize them without making them cringe. I remember feeling so unsure every time I clicked the send button. And that’s totally okay. It’s the name of the game. But the key here is to reach out to as many people in your extended network because you never know who and when that person who opens the door for you is.
#2 CASING - NO FORMULA EXISTS
I am yet to find that one book that is the holy grail of casing. And there is no right number of cases to cram through before you become an expert. And there is no one style that fits all.
Casing is as much art as it is science. Memorizing a dozen frameworks or being a mathematical genius does not guarantee success. Neither does bouncing around numerous ideas or cracking the case quickly.
While this is not meant to scare you, it's to prepare you for what's ahead. I have done over a dozen cases to understand what constitutes a good case interview. Case practice has been an exhausting but rewarding journey for me. I have learned to think in a logical way and got better at organizing my thoughts. Rest assured, these skills will be useful for the rest of my business career.
#3 SUPPORT SYSTEM - IT TAKES A VILLAGE
The second years help coach the first years, right from giving us tips on doing math faster to teaching us the importance of structure. Through MCA (Management consulting association), you get to be part of IPT (Interview Prep Teams) which pair you with second years to sharpen your case interview skills. Parker gives you access to ACT (Anderson Career Teams), where second-year coaches help polish your resumes and cover letters and much more. ACT Coaches are your confidantes, mentors, biggest cheerleaders and literally the torch bearers.
I should give a special shoutout to my Parker advisor, Dave Henry. He’s been an exceptional resource to me and a true motivator. The biggest support system was also my own cohort, who have helped me in more ways than I can type here. All this is to say, that the resources are plenty. And it's truly wonderful to have so many people rooting for your success and is ready for you to lean in on.
#4 HIGH SUPPLY - LOW BARRIER TO ENTRY
While for Banking you got to have a background in finance or show domain knowledge for Tech jobs, consulting does not require any specific degree or experience.
An engineer or entrepreneur or painter can justify their interest in consulting easily. Since companies service a wide array of industries, your background could uniquely position you to help clients. This means you can walk into consulting recruiting easily. Sounds wonderful right? Not really.
Imagine being in a room that anyone can walk into but has only a few doors open to the other end. All I mean to say here is that while there are many companies that recruit from UCLA Anderson, given the limited spots and large pool of interested MBA’s it can be quite challenging.
But if you’re prepared to work hard and access every resource Anderson has to offer, you will gain tremendously in a short period of time. I hope some of these notes help you understand consulting recruiting better. I am happy to talk about any of this and more. Feel free to email me on [email protected]
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