Ok any international candidate with 2 years work ex...or any candidate with experience such as mine...like 2 years...
Basically i am looking whether i can expect to get into Marshall or not with 2 year work ex...thats why emphasizing on the number of years...
Also, like you say that work exp is not very imp if u wanna go for Investment Banking ...does the same apply for Management/Strategic Consulting....
I dont know any international candidate with 2 yrs experience in my batch. However, at the same time, I would think that the quality of work ex is more important than quantity. I mean, there are many students with 3 yrs experience and hence, you stand a fairly decent chance if you did your essays well. Mngmt/strategy consulting is a premium field (which requires strong prior experience and background) and one of the hardest to get into. With a work experience of 2 yrs in IT, it will be very difficult for you to even secure an interview call in that role. To give you some perspective, none of the Indian candidates in the past two years (at Marshall) have got into strategy consulting (even in a smaller firm). In my batch, none of the Indian candidates have even interviewed in that role (and I am talking about guys having greater than 7 yrs experience). Most strategy consulting firms prefer to recruit from top B-Schools. Also, with an experience of 2 yrs, you are more suitable (like me) for an analyst role than a consultant (which is a major drawback as consulting firms normally come to B schools to recruit for consultants than analysts). Many consultants have greater than 5 yrs experience as an analyst or an associate.
I dont know any international candidate with 2 yrs experience in my batch. However, at the same time, I would think that the quality of work ex is more important than quantity. I mean, there are many students with 3 yrs experience and hence, you stand a fairly decent chance if you did your essays well. Mngmt/strategy consulting is a premium field (which requires strong prior experience and background) and one of the hardest to get into. With a work experience of 2 yrs in IT, it will be very difficult for you to even secure an interview call in that role. To give you some perspective, none of the Indian candidates in the past two years (at Marshall) have got into strategy consulting (even in a smaller firm). In my batch, none of the Indian candidates have even interviewed in that role (and I am talking about guys having greater than 7 yrs experience). Most strategy consulting firms prefer to recruit from top B-Schools. Also, with an experience of 2 yrs, you are more suitable (like me) for an analyst role than a consultant (which is a major drawback as consulting firms normally come to B schools to recruit for consultants than analysts). Many consultants have greater than 5 yrs experience as an analyst or an associate.
MegaWiz.
I have a question for you here.. Your post is an eyeopener for a person like me who is looking to work in the area of Strategic Consulting...
My question for you here is that if it is really so difficult to move into area of Strategic Consulting even with 5-6 years of experience and with an MBA from USC Marshall, does the MBA really serve a purpose here?
I want to know how then do we make a shift to area of strategic consulting? If Str Con firms recruit only from top 10-15 then what should be the approach. You mentioned that even people with 7 years of prior MBA exp failed to get an interview call and that in the last 2 years not a single Indian has been able to make it into this area. In that case, I really dont see a purpose for doing an MBA.
Yeah we would study strategy as a subject but if we can't really land up in the kind of job we are looking for do you think I should really do the MBA from USC..
I hope I am not sounding rude or nethng, just curious to know the approach..
& thank you for shedding light on the aspect of Stra Cons..
If you are hell bent on doing strategy consulting after your MBA, then maybe you should reconsider applying/joining USC Marshall. I just know 1 person who got through strategy consulting from Marshall (and that includes domestic students, so 1/220; it might be more since I do not know what each and every student is upto). It will not be a smart decision to stick only with strategy consulting - you would need to develop a plan B to realistically explore potential opportunities here. MBA helps you develop several skills - the fact that you do most of your work in groups (which are not always compatible) was itself a big learning for me. Additionally, once you come here, you will need to introspect which will help you understand what you are truly interested in. Moreover, you will have to network (that is your answer on how you try to get into strategy consulting) to get the roles of your interest. LA is a happening city with several events happening daily - be it networking, conferences or talk shows. Do not expect it to be a smooth ride - there will be many challenges and uncertainties (be it your career, classes, group projects etc). But hey, I would argue that this is the real learning - Marshall MBA truly pulls you away from your comfort zone and puts you in a environment where you need to be proactive, knowledgeable and intellectual to successfully get through it. Taking risks and making compromises is part of life and Marshall prepares you for it well!
MegaWhiz that is some eye opening information that you have given. Thank you! Some more questions-
1. How is the grading system in USC? As in, i have heard that in some colleges, there is a GPA non disclosure policy if the teacher offers it and the students accept it. Do some teachers follow such policy at USC? 2. Network and entrepreneurship focus is what attracts me to USC. What networking opportunities does USC offer with local industries, businessmen and venture capitalists? 3. Do you have any classmates who come from a family business background (like mine)? How easy/ difficult do these students find to get jobs? I ideally want to work with an angel/ venture investment firm post MBA. 4. What kind of job profiles do companies like Disney and other entertainment companies offer USC students? Is a background in entertainment industry necessary for these jobs?
Sorry for bombarding you with questions! :)
@ Others- Post your interview experiences and updates...
MegaWhiz that is some eye opening information that you have given. Thank you! Some more questions-
1. How is the grading system in USC? As in, i have heard that in some colleges, there is a GPA non disclosure policy if the teacher offers it and the students accept it. Do some teachers follow such policy at USC? 2. Network and entrepreneurship focus is what attracts me to USC. What networking opportunities does USC offer with local industries, businessmen and venture capitalists? 3. Do you have any classmates who come from a family business background (like mine)? How easy/ difficult do these students find to get jobs? I ideally want to work with an angel/ venture investment firm post MBA. 4. What kind of job profiles do companies like Disney and other entertainment companies offer USC students? Is a background in entertainment industry necessary for these jobs?
Sorry for bombarding you with questions! :)
@ Others- Post your interview experiences and updates...
1. Non-disclosure? Students know their grades after each semester. Grading is relative. However, grades are not shared amongst student. So student A will not know student B's grade unless he shares it. 2. Many events happen at USC. There's an entrepreneurial roundtable this week itself where we can meet upcoming entrepreneurs to learn more about their business and possible help them succeed. Others include networking events organized by each vertical - be it marketing, finance or consulting. Here reps from companies will visit Marshall and students will have opportunities to network with them. VC firms don't recruit at Marshall. It is even tougher (yes more than strategy consulting) to get through a VC firm. First, you need to have relevant and rich industry experience (so a web VC firm will ask you about your experience in web industry, a biotech focused VC firm in healthcare - you get the point). Next, most of these firms have very limited openings which they normally fill from Stanford or Berkeley pass outs or even successful entrepreneurs. 3. I have no idea. We have one guy who wants to join his family business post MBA but he worked in IT before. 4. Disney, Warner Bros, Universal and other entertainment companies do not recruit international students. Entertainment industry is in a big turmoil (read trouble) these days and hence they have only limited opportunities.
And do not think that these statistics are for Marshall only. Many other similarly ranked schools will be going through the same state. I cannot even begin to imagine what will be happening to B Schools ranked over 45.
Your posts were really insightful...your posts make me believe that its next to impossible to get into consulting from USC especially for profile like us from USC....you said there should be a plan B...what is your plan B what companies/field you are targeting post MBA... but what I have heard from other colleges its easy to get into consulting there...even in colleges that are well below in rankings but are good colleges like Smeal, Penn state univ,.....may be it is because of location...LA is more into Entertainment and Technology as compared to East Coast that is more into Finance and Consulting...????right...
Also, as i have figured on this forum and also talked to alot of students...most of the Indians are IT people who do MBA to shift career...and mostly want to get into Consulting...and I am assuming it will be the same at USC...most of the Indian people would be IT people at USC and would be wanting to shift to different careers...can you tell all of us here(if u know) that what kind of jobs are available for Indian/International students as consulting is hard to get into..so what would be the option....and also if u can elaborate what are the opportunities for people like us 2-3 year experienced what kind of jobs available....
Your posts were really insightful...your posts make me believe that its next to impossible to get into consulting from USC especially for profile like us from USC....you said there should be a plan B...what is your plan B what companies/field you are targeting post MBA... but what I have heard from other colleges its easy to get into consulting there...even in colleges that are well below in rankings but are good colleges like Smeal, Penn state univ,.....may be it is because of location...LA is more into Entertainment and Technology as compared to East Coast that is more into Finance and Consulting...????right...
Also, as i have figured on this forum and also talked to alot of students...most of the Indians are IT people who do MBA to shift career...and mostly want to get into Consulting...and I am assuming it will be the same at USC...most of the Indian people would be IT people at USC and would be wanting to shift to different careers...can you tell all of us here(if u know) that what kind of jobs are available for Indian/International students as consulting is hard to get into..so what would be the option....and also if u can elaborate what are the opportunities for people like us 2-3 year experienced what kind of jobs available....
Thanks and Regards, Gaurav
I would like to add something here.. You said maybe because of location that ppl dont get into Stra Cons.. Well I think all the top strategic Consulting firms have offices in LA... So I dont think that it should be a concern...
All Top Str Cons companies have offices in all cities of US but it doesnt mean that job is easily available...major bulk for consulting is towards East Coast....Offices are in India also but if getting a job was easy in India in such firms then why would anyone go to US for an MBA...I was just trying to comment about Importance of Location ...colleges like Purdue, BYU etc are good univs... and have offices of top strategic consulting firms in Indiana and Utah but job opportunities are nil in Str Consulting from these colleges as well just due to location...hope it clarifies what i meant in what i wrote..
mehta.gaurav Says
I would like to add something here.. You said maybe because of location that ppl dont get into Stra Cons.. Well I think all the top strategic Consulting firms have offices in LA... So I dont think that it should be a concern...
All Top Str Cons companies have offices in all cities of US but it doesnt mean that job is easily available...major bulk for consulting is towards East Coast....Offices are in India also but if getting a job was easy in India in such firms then why would anyone go to US for an MBA...I was just trying to comment about Importance of Location ...colleges like Purdue, BYU etc are good univs... and have offices of top strategic consulting firms in Indiana and Utah but job opportunities are nil in Str Consulting from these colleges as well just due to location...hope it clarifies what i meant in what i wrote..
Dude...
Have a look at the stats below....
Last Year's Top Recruiting Firms at UCLA McKinsey & Co., Inc. 6 Deloitte Consulting 6 Boston Consulting Group 3 Bain & Co., Inc. 3
Last Year's Top Recruiting Firms at UCB HAAS McKinsey & Company 15 Deloitte Consulting 8 Boston Consulting Group 4 Bain & Company 2 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC 3 A.T. Kearney, Inc. 4
Well these are big consulting firms that have their offices based in LA... They have recruited people from the same area but a different college... So you can understand what i meant when I said that..
Besides, megawhiz was 100% correct about these big firms recruiting at top colleges and about difficulty in getting thru into these firms via USC especially for INDIANS...
Also you cannot compare places like Utah and Indiana with LA..
Hey anyone as of yet got an interview call for R2??? On GMAT club forum there have been alot of interview invites but it seems those are for those who are California Residents or nearby..havent seen an international Interview invite...
any R1 admits can you throw some light on to this as in when did you hear from the Adcom about interview...
i got an admit. they notified via the online application in the first week of feb. the notification date per the website is feb 1. my decision was posted on feb 2 or 3. but i know of an applicant who received his admit just a few days back. so it may not come on the specified date. in fact their website says that the notification is spread over a couple of weeks. no: of indians in the batch of 2010: 12 i dont know abt the batch of 2011. but it should be around that figure.
Thnaks altair. i am yet to decide on marshall. the i/v was a blind one. she had not read my application material, nor the resume. i gave her the resume, and then she asked me to run through my profile. it was a very conversational kind of i/v. MarshallInterview - ClearAdmitWiki regards, vishwa