MBA Crystal Ball

Hi Amit,

Yes I was exploring European B-schools, but due to extremely bad economy and also not so favourable visa rules changed my plans. I understand US would give me an opportunity better than EU particularly the internships that come along with an ease of flexibility to get absorbed. I am particularly keen on corporate finance / general business consulting. What are the other options with job roles that I can look at if not consulting and also not pure accounting.

Thanks & Regards,

Hi
My name is Sahil Tanwar and I'm working as an Account Manager with one of the leading Value Added Services Company of India. My key responsibilities include Client Management and Revenue Generation.

It's been a year and i'm not enjoying the work. I have a Masters in Management Degree from Durham Business School which had a Research Based Education system.

I really enjoyed doing that and i find Consulting being the only industry that follows the same path.

Identify a Problem
Do a thorough research
Critically analyse the data
Use a number of management theories
Provide a simple solution

I might have missed some steps. I really want to start a career in Management Consulting but a major problem is the fact that i like more than one industry.
I like Telecom,Media,FMCG as well as Entertainment.

Which companies do you think i should apply to and what could be the process. I don't mind start as a Junior Analyst if i get into BCG

Also, do you know the general hiring cycle of Management Consulting Firms in India (off-campus)?

Alwaysmbaaspirant,

I am not the right person to give you advice on roles outside of consulting. However, what I do know is that there are a large number of roles where accountants are in demand. At the moment, these come to mind - corporate finance (as per my earlier post), banking, insurance, securities, private equity, venture capital, financial research/analysis/assessment/evaluation, etc. Firms with any/some of these practices/departments would be actively seeking to hire accountants.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

All the best.

-Amit.

Sahil,

//I might have missed some steps. I really want to start a career in Management Consulting but a major problem is the fact that i like more than one industry.
I like Telecom,Media,FMCG as well as Entertainment.//

Most consulting firms have divisions that focus on specific industries. "Similar" industries are usually bunched together (for example, Media and Entertainment). These firms also push their consultants to change their roles every few years - a consultant who's spent a couple of years in petroleum may opt to work in pharmaceuticals, etc. Therefore, once you join a consulting firm, over time you will get the opportunity to work across industries that interest you. The immediate problem that you should be thinking about is how to make it into such a firm.

//Which companies do you think i should apply to and what could be the process. I don't mind start as a Junior Analyst if i get into BCG :D//

Apply to all consulting firms that you fancy. Most big name firms will have practices/divisions focusing on the industries you have listed. Before you apply, make sure you have a great resume and a matching story.

//Also, do you know the general hiring cycle of Management Consulting Firms in India (off-campus)?//

To the best of my knowledge, for off-campus (I am assuming you mean "lateral hiring") hiring, there is no cycle - firms hire as and when they need to fill vacancies. Usually right before and after the campus hiring season (April through September), there isn't much off-campus hiring. From my experience, the first and last quarters of a calendar year are when the most of the off-campus hiring takes place.

All the best.

-Amit.

Hi Amit

Thanks alot for such a prompt response. I think i've made a strong CV but i'd love a second opinion. I can mail it to you if thats ok?

Let me know

Thanks
Sahil

Sahil,

Since fine-tuning CVs is typically an iterative and lengthy process, a forum such as this one isn't the right place for it. If you feel you need professional advice/guidance, please feel free to reach out to Sameer and his team, coordinates for which you will find at the following page:

https://www.mbacrystalball.com/managemen ... tegy-india

-Amit.

Perfect.. Thanks :)

Hello

> My scenario.
I am second year student at NITIE (it is one of top 10 MBA schools in India including IIMs, just not popular in general public). I have 3 years of work experience with Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan (both for Application Support). Organizations are banks but my work was IT related.

> My Request
I am interested in IT Consulting profile only.
1. Could you please tell which domain would be best suitable for me in IT Consulting (like finance, strategy, Operations etc). My interest is in
Strategy and finance.
2. And what could I do to prepare for it in that particular domain, other than general trends, in which I stand fairly and getting better?
3. Which are the best organizations in that particular domains?

Thanks in Advance,
Kushal

Kushal,

Here are my thoughts:

//1. Could you please tell which domain would be best suitable for me in IT Consulting (like finance, strategy, Operations etc). My interest is in Strategy and finance.//

Since most of your prior work has been in finance/banking, it goes without saying that it would be easier for you to break into IT consulting in this domain. Most big-name IT consulting firms encourage their consultants to change their domains/roles every couple of years. Therefore, after your MBA, once you are able to get yourself a position in IT consulting within banking/finance, if you work for the "right" firm, it would be quite easy for you to switch to strategy, or for that matter any other domain.

//2. And what could I do to prepare for it in that particular domain, other than general trends, in which I stand fairly and getting better?//

Though general reading on strategy would help to some extent, I think what would really help your case is if you spend time trying to understand more about the key pain points of strategy firms from an IT perspective. What might be very important in finance/banking (for example, big data infrastructure to support real-time analyses on transactional data) could be very different from what strategy firms might be primarily focussing on (for example, a sharepoint-based file/document management system). This would also help you switch to "solutioning mode" rather than be in "execution mode" - the latter is the default mode that a large number of IT consultants that I have come across are always in.

Having worked with IT consultants that aren't able to translate business requirements into IT solutions easily, it wouldn't be a bad idea if you do some "light" reading (take a look at the book - The McKinsey Mind) to gain a better understanding of how management consultants think and work. When you finally get into IT consulting within strategy, all this pre-reading would help you to understand the "language", thought process and working of strategy consultants better, which would make you a much more effective IT consultant.

//3. Which are the best organizations in that particular domains?//

Most IT consulting majors would have sizable chunks of their revenue coming from both of the domains you are interested in - Accenture, IBM, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, HCL and Wipro readily come to mind.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about firms and their specialization/volume of work in specific domains - being too selective right after graduating with an MBA doesn't help. I would first try to get into one of the big name IT consulting firms. Once in, I would start scouting around (within the firm) for projects being executed within domains of my interest. In 18-24 months, during which time I would have done all the pre-reading/preparation suggested above, I would request for a domain change.

-Amit.

hello,

I hope u can help me out with a few questions i have
i am a mechanical engg graduate with 5+ yrs of experience in the merchant navy..im looking for a change of career to management consulting.I got a gmat score of 700 and planning to get an EMBA from ISB, great lakes, or SPjain..
here is a brief account of my work ex
Managed ship’s Operation and Maintenance with zero breakdowns
Logistics Operations & Quality Assurance
Inventory Planning & Management

I am 29 yrs old now.do u think at the age of 30 or 31(assuming i graduate at that age) i would be considered by consulting firms?
also the fact that i come from a non-traditional background(merchant navy).


regards
sid