‘Hi, I’m Pattikumar Silvamaranayani. I work for McKinsey.’ Sounds good, na? Replace Patti saar’s name with your own and it sounds even better. There’s no doubt which one’s a stronger brand in that opening statement – Patti saar or McKinsey. Great brands on your CV, nice salaries, globe-trotting and the glamour. When it comes to MBA job hunting, no wonder then that so many people want to aim for Management Consulting as a post-MBA career.
But have you tried to go below the surface and really understand what it means to be a Management consultant? Strategy consulting is by far the most popular area MBAs have on their wish-list. Management consulting can have other dimensions as well – tech consulting, operations consulting, process improvement, Business process re-engineering.
If you are going to put consulting in your post-MBA careers essay, ensure you go beyond the basics that most websites talk about. Learn how the industry works and how/where/if you can fit in. What qualities (apart from a solid GMAT score) will they look at before inviting you for a consulting interview? Also go beyond the Big-3 (McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group/BCG) and find out the other players who are doing great work in the field but don’t have the Big-3 halo. Talk to consultants from these firms to find out what they do on a day-to-day basis.
Of course, if you are looking for a structured approach to tackle this goal, our resident McKinsey stud MG bhai is around to help out.
