When a company like accenture business consulting or cognizant hire you for their consulting arm, what kind of role is offered? what does the job involve?
Would like to add to this question. How different is the nature of work when a Deloitte hires for a Risk/Financial Advisory or a IBM/Accenture hires for business consulting... and the likes of McKinsey/BCG/Oliver Wyman/Bain... as Strategy Consultant.
Can a good workex in say IBM Business consulting (Post MBA) open the gates for a shot at Mckinsey, say after 5-6 years of job?
Even from ISB they will pick students who are from IIT. They are as elitist as they get. But not all the Strat Consulting guys are from IITand/orIIM , so people like us have a shot !!!! Amen to that !!!
SPIKE ...that is what they generally look for as well. If there is anything that can do as good as the top 3% of the doers then its a kind of a SPIKE they are looking for. There was a guy from FMS, not a favourite hunting ground for top Strat Consulting firms, he had written and published a book and had average grades. He managed to get in. He is a pal's pal. He had that SPIKE !!!
Guys,
I have this info from a freind who is an A passout .He says that your IT experience need not be a handicap plus your 3+ years of experience to mke it to a top consult .... thot i would share this info wid you guys.
He recommends
1.Maintain focus on getting into the top 3 (a,B,C) 2.Get good grades at IIM 3.Practice a hobby (following international affairs (witha grip on them i mean ) 4.Learn 2 languages atlest
So that keeps my dream alive, for now. And about the job? Any gyaan? How well would Deloitte's brand name help, if at all it helps? Because the profile that I'm offered is the same offered to students of IIT,BITS, NIT albeit with a slightly higher salary.
Sorry for the ambiguity :oops: i mean, As i got admission in NIT Trichy, the recuriters includes mostly of banks and other manufacturing firms.
some current year recuriters includes: "bank of baroda, sidbi, south indian bank,bank of maharastra, symphony, idbi, vijaya bank, tata motors, global analytics, deciden, coca cola, icici bank, hdfc bank,coal india limited, abn amro bank, essel propack,wipro, Vedanta, cognizant, modaltics, sundram finance group, HCL, water jet, standard chartered, IMRB, Mudra, Sonata, HP, Polaris, Pricol, TCS, CUB, Genpact, AIG system solution, Tata tinplate, CMIE, Syntel, Ramco, Telcon, KOtak, dalmia cement, Chola mandalam, A2Z, KARVY, ardor welding. list is not exhaustive.......
Now my question is Will a work-ex of these Firms can help me in getting a job of associate into any strategy consultancy initially, so that i can capitalize it to get into my dream company McKinsey as a strategy Consultant. If not, should i drop one more year and target the top 5 b schools next year. Also do consider my academics which are nothing less then pathetic, and because of which i am little scared seeing the criteria of IIM's.
my brief profile my academics are as follows: 10th : 67.2 % 12th : 63.83 % Engineering (ECE) : 72.75 % (I am Among university top ten student of my branch) - 2009 passed out- I organised almost every event in my college period and i was also house caption in school
my palcement was differed, took some PSU's entrance tests. presently I have a job in hand in ELectrosteel Ltd. as Engineer trainee, which i have to join by june. so i am little confused as (1).i cannot forgo my dream of Mckinsey (2). My acadmics are not up to the mark (3). Should i join NIT Trichy or take the job and and give one more try next time.
I am not very familiar with the work @ELectrosteel, so I would not be able to comment much on it. But the idea is that you know your industry in and out. Whether that be manufacturing, automobile, Health etc etc. Take a look at the McKinsey practice case here Practice cases | McKinsey Careers
Great thread guys!!! I am also planning to get into consulting post mba and am targeting ISB as well as some other schools in US . Can anyone answer one of my queries: Whether the pre MBA experience of IT(Banking and Telecom domain) be good or bad for my prospects of joining a Strategy Consulting firm.? I Have a typical IT profile with 2.5 yrs in Product Development in Banking domain and 1.5 yrs in Quality Analysis in Telecom. TIA!!
Great thread guys!!! I am also planning to get into consulting post mba and am targeting ISB as well as some other schools in US . Can anyone answer one of my queries: Whether the pre MBA experience of IT(Banking and Telecom domain) be good or bad for my prospects of joining a Strategy Consulting firm.? I Have a typical IT profile with 2.5 yrs in Product Development in Banking domain and 1.5 yrs in Quality Analysis in Telecom. TIA!!
Past experience can be well leveraged if you can show that you have a good idea of the industry. Generally, they do not prefer tech guys as such because they do not carry a good domain knowledge or industry knowledge. But if you can prove otherwise then great. Secondly, there are certain schools , India and abroad , which are consulting firms' hunting ground. INSEAD for e.g. is one such school( its ranked in the top 10 in the world). ISB also has a very decent consulting base ( you can access the link I have posted before about Consulting@ISB ). Thirdly, when you do get into such strong consulting bschools , make sure you are very involved with consulting group and clubs. Attend their meets and network with people in this field. Apart from these, try three other things
Keep your grades very good
Practice case studies like crazy
Make sure you come up with a spike in your professional life/personal achievements. Strat Consulting love people who absolutely excel at something.
When a company like accenture business consulting or cognizant hire you for their consulting arm, what kind of role is offered? what does the job involve?
Would like to add to this question. How different is the nature of work when a Deloitte hires for a Risk/Financial Advisory or a IBM/Accenture hires for business consulting... and the likes of McKinsey/BCG/Oliver Wyman/Bain... as Strategy Consultant.
Can a good workex in say IBM Business consulting (Post MBA) open the gates for a shot at Mckinsey, say after 5-6 years of job?
Past experience can be well leveraged if you can show that you have a good idea of the industry. Generally, they do not prefer tech guys as such because they do not carry a good domain knowledge or industry knowledge. But if you can prove otherwise then great. Secondly, there are certain schools , India and abroad , which are consulting firms' hunting ground. INSEAD for e.g. is one such school( its ranked in the top 10 in the world). ISB also has a very decent consulting base ( you can access the link I have posted before about Consulting@ISB ). Thirdly, when you do get into such strong consulting bschools , make sure you are very involved with consulting group and clubs. Attend their meets and network with people in this field. Apart from these, try three other things
Keep your grades very good
Practice case studies like crazy
Make sure you come up with a spike in your professional life/personal achievements. Strat Consulting love people who absolutely excel at something.
This should give you some idea..
Thanks OrganizedChaos.Very useful. The last three things u list out are the key areas for me.Will look to cross the first step of getting into a good b school and rest will follow accordingly. Also,how would the roles offerred by firms like IBM,Deloitte,Capgemini and Accenture differ from the ones offered by say Mckinsey,BCG or Bain, assuming of course they are in the same domain.
Thanks OrganizedChaos.Very useful. The last three things u list out are the key areas for me.Will look to cross the first step of getting into a good b school and rest will follow accordingly. Also,how would the roles offerred by firms like IBM,Deloitte,Capgemini and Accenture differ from the ones offered by say Mckinsey,BCG or Bain, assuming of course they are in the same domain.
Bschool students need not always get the placed in the main line of business( LOB ). That is because companies look to fill various positions from bschools. It depends on the bschool and the company & their HR policy that year. For e.g. if somebody gets placed in the tech division of Deloitte then its not their main LOB, but if somebody gets in the tech division of Capgemini then its a different scenario all together. Roles offered by a company depends on what positions they are expecting to fill from that B school. Say McKinsey would not offer a Associate Consultant position to a student of a Grade 2 b-school, and like that. Go through the main lines of business as in what exactly is the work they do for different companies like you mentioned above. A brief idea of the companies and their biggest LOB E&Y-; Tax, Audit Deloitte - Audit Services , Financial Advisory Capgemini - IT, Business consulting IBM - IT, Business consulting
Positions offered generally vary a lot from bschool to bschool and from year to year. It is entirely dependent on the how the C-level execs manage the HR for that year. But the prized positions are always the one that lands you up in the company's main LOB because that is where the action is. Do note that do not go for a position only because its a prized possession. Align your interests first
Bschool students need not always get the placed in the main line of business( LOB ). That is because companies look to fill various positions from bschools. It depends on the bschool and the company & their HR policy that year. For e.g. if somebody gets placed in the tech division of Deloitte then its not their main LOB, but if somebody gets in the tech division of Capgemini then its a different scenario all together. Roles offered by a company depends on what positions they are expecting to fill from that B school. Say McKinsey would not offer a Associate Consultant position to a student of a Grade 2 b-school, and like that. Go through the main lines of business as in what exactly is the work they do for different companies like you mentioned above. A brief idea of the companies and their biggest LOB E&Y-; Tax, Audit Deloitte - Audit Services , Financial Advisory Capgemini - IT, Business consulting IBM - IT, Business consulting
Positions offered generally vary a lot from bschool to bschool and from year to year. It is entirely dependent on the how the C-level execs manage the HR for that year. But the prized positions are always the one that lands you up in the company's main LOB because that is where the action is. Do note that do not go for a position only because its a prized possession. Align your interests first
Thanks for the valuable insight. I think , along with the interests ,the position and the LOB that is in sync with past experience would probably add the most value to one's career.
...or a IBM/Accenture hires for business consulting... and the likes of McKinsey/BCG/Oliver Wyman/Bain... as Strategy Consultant.
Can a good workex in say IBM Business consulting (Post MBA) open the gates for a shot at Mckinsey, say after 5-6 years of job?
Hi Alok,
I worked for IBM Business Consulting before my MBA. After completing my MBA I got interviewed by several of the consulting firms you've listed in your query.
Went through the torture of on-campus networking events, case studies and guesstimation interviews, assessment centers etc.
One of the strat consulting firms made me an offer in the UK. Also my pre-MBA employer made a few offers in their in-house Strategy dept and for mainstream Tech consulting.
But for personal reasons, I chose to move back to India and took up a role that involved Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions.
So if you are seriously considering consulting, my recommendation is:
- find out more about how the industry works - know the right firms - know the right people in those firms - understand how the recruitment process works - know where you are strong and where you need to develop - adopt the right ways to get noticed by these firms - come across as a mature seasoned professional who can be presented to their clients to justify the exhorbitant hourly rates they charge.
I am currently doing my MBA and will be entering my 2nd year now. I have opted for finance and marketing as my dual majors. From the look of things it seems that getting into an IT company would be the best thing for me come this placement season as compared to fin or marketing where good profiles(IB, core marketing etc) are offered only to IIMs, XL etc. One apprehension that I have about getting to an IT company is a chance of an onsite opportunity for MBA's having the profile such as BA's, consultants. I know that there are good amount of chances of SW engg getting an onsite opp, but what about BA's, consultant, sales etc? (I am engg and have 2 years of IT work ex, but please pardon my ignorance.)
@skyskiers33 You have posted this query of yours in the "Designation and payscales in TCS" thread as well. Since I answer most of the queries on both these threads, I bumped into the redundancy. See the reply there.
I worked for IBM Business Consulting before my MBA. After completing my MBA I got interviewed by several of the consulting firms you've listed in your query. ..... l
Hi Sameer,
Thanks a lot for taking out time to reply me. I will surely work on the pointers you provided. A part of my question is still unanswered. Actually, after my MBA, I wish to work as a Management consultant with the likes of Mckinsey, Bain , BCG..... So just wanted to know if the kind of work one does, post MBA and as a consultant, in IBM/ Accenture business consulting is same as that one does in a Mckinsey or a Bain? Or is it like the guys who are hired as Consultants in IBM/ Accenture BC, do some kind of in house consulting only? ie they make strategies for their own firms only?
Also, say if I am not able to make it to the bigges directly thru campus and then start with IBM Business consulting, will I have a chance in the future to apply n get selected in the likes of Mckinsey ? ie will the work ex / profile/ experience of IBM business consultant will be in line to that of a consultant at Bain?
Thanks in advance
PS: I will mostly be joining IIM Indore PGP 2011-2013.
This might be a bit off the chain of replies.. but could the seniors pls shed some light how a strat consult profile is different from IT consult profile..and what are the Big names in IT consulting industry..
I have 2 yrs work-ex in the IT industry and currently going for an MBA and would like to gain some insight into the IT consulting profiles, viz. job responsibilities, salaries, career-growth oppurtunities etc.
Hi Sameer ..... So just wanted to know if the kind of work one does, post MBA and as a consultant, in IBM/ Accenture business consulting is same as that one does in a Mckinsey or a Bain? : Also, say if I am not able to make it to the bigges directly thru campus and then start with IBM Business consulting, will I have a chance in the future to apply n get selected in the likes of Mckinsey ? ie will the work ex / profile/ experience of IBM business consultant will be in line to that of a consultant at Bain?
IBM has a smaller department called BCS which is essentially the acquired consulting arm of PwC (when I was part of it, it was called - MCS or Management Consulting Services).
If you get to work in that dept, you'd be doing work which is pretty similar to what McK, Bain and BCG do. In that case, transitioning into a similar role within the top consulting firms becomes easier.
Even if you don't get into the elite firms immediately after graduation, it is possible to manage the transition at a later stage. But it's tougher and you need to approach it in very different and more personalised manner.
i dont want initiate comparision of b schools here... but just wanted to know from folks like alok and 'organizedchaos', how good is iit-kharagput's vgsom in consulting. is it considered a tier 2 bschool in that stream? my aspiration is in the line of strategy consulting and after 3 years of work ex in IT, i am planning to join VGSoM this year.. please advise,...
I am not very familiar with the work @ELectrosteel, so I would not be able to comment much on it. But the idea is that you know your industry in and out. Whether that be manufacturing, automobile, Health etc etc. Take a look at the McKinsey practice case here Practice cases | McKinsey Careers
Electrosteel is in steel production similar to SAIL(i.e. steel authority of india), it has build it's plant and now is in process of building the township for it's employee. i will be working their as electronics and communication engineer, so basically i will be working on control panels, and some electronic devices. possibly i will not be given any kind of consulting work their, although i will try my best to get my hands on solving some of its issues. but will these really work as anything relevent with respect to getting into Mckinsey(Strat consulting), if after getting a work-ex from this company i do my MBA from A, B, C, XL, FMS(most probably these 5 will reduce to only FMS because of my pathetic scores in 10th and 12th).
Electrosteel is in steel production similar to SAIL(i.e. steel authority of india), it has build it's plant and now is in process of building the township for it's employee. i will be working their as electronics and communication engineer, so basically i will be working on control panels, and some electronic devices. possibly i will not be given any kind of consulting work their, although i will try my best to get my hands on solving some of its issues. but will these really work as anything relevent with respect to getting into Mckinsey(Strat consulting), if after getting a work-ex from this company i do my MBA from A, B, C, XL, FMS(most probably these 5 will reduce to only FMS because of my pathetic scores in 10th and 12th).
Bad scores mean that you still have C, XL, FMS within range. B gets very 'high' on acads !!! So you still have three top guns to aim for !!!
) . This is of considerable help to me.