Tuesday

Get Mentored: Answers to your Queries – Volume 3

Name: Rahul Tibrewal

Subject: advice required

Message: I am an Electronics & Telecommunication Engineer passed in 2009 from Mumbai University and have recently joined Infosys as Systems Engineer Trainee.

I want to get into strategy consulting but wherever I looked for such a job, the requirement was of an MBA although they mention that they regularly hire engineers.

I have a GMAT score of 690 and cannot wait to gain experience, then do an MBA from a good school and then follow my dream.

Please help me with any master level courses that I can take up now or any companies that may hire B.E. for gaining entry into this field.

Thank you very much for reading my mail.

Best regards,
Rahul

Sulbha: Dear Rahul,
To get admission in a reputed B school, score of 690 is decent, but good universities prefer student with atleast 2 years of work experience. You may therefore look out for opportunities in consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, they hire graduates as research assistants or research associate for their support centers (commonly known as knowledge centers), where they are involved in providing support to various ongoing consulting engagements. Such an experience will not only help you gain exposure / experience in the consulting environment but will also give you an advantage while applying for courses in B schools.
Regards,
Sulbha

Name: Rahul
Subject: Looking for a job in Management Consulting.
Message: Hi,
I am Rahul and I recently graduated ( August 2009) with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering in IT from a reputed college affiliated to University Of Pune. After graduation I worked for 5 months for a start up Software Company in Pune as a trainee Software developer. But, my work revolved more around testing.

I have been looking for a entry level job (Business Analyst/Associate) in a Management Consulting firm since graduation. My career interest is in strategy/operations consulting. I applied to big consulting firms like McKinsey,BCG,Bain,Booz,EY,Deloitte,KPMG,PWC,ATKearney etc to name a few. Also I have applied to some boutique consulting firms in Mumbai, but haven’t got a single response/call for interview ever since.

I have an average score in academics, but have participated in various inter college events as well as volunteered for some.  I have following questions:-

* How do i get a interview call from these firms?? What are other ways i can send them my application ?? (I do not have any contacts & i had a phone conversation with few recruiters, but it did not work)

* How do I show my analytical, communication skills on my resume ? I have already listed my participation in various activities.

* I am more interested in management consulting than software development. What all career opportunities do I have in management consulting like strategy/technology etc….. which one should i give more importance (As i heard strategy consultants atleast have an MBA degree or have considerable work experience with functional expertise)

* My plan is to go for an MBA degree after 2.5-3 years (planning to pursue from abroad) Do MC firms hire candidates with such a goal ??

* How do i prepare for an interview any of the firms listed above ?? Do i need  to brush up my programing skills, do they ask technical questions ??? Or ask to write lines of code if appearing for IT Advisory/Consulting interview ??

*  Which firms do i apply other than the ones listed above ??

*  Is it management consulting the right career choice immediately after graduation ?? Or should i gain some work experience(Software development) before getting into this field ??

* What is IT advisory/consulting exactly ?? Is it more of auditing at any software company, like testing the working of software, hardware etc ?? What work do fresher do in IT advisory/Consulting??

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks & regards,
Rahul

Sulbha: Dear Rahul,

I will try to cover most of your questions in my response.

• Consulting firm do hire graduates as research consultant or research associates where they are involved in providing research support to ongoing projects. The reasons for not receiving call from these firms could be that these firms might not be hiring at your level at this point in time or you could have been applying in a different service line where your qualification and experience might not be matching. Therefore you should ensure that you apply through the right source and for right position.
• You can show case your analytical skills by mentioning about any research/paper/new solution you might have presented at your current work place or in your college. Your written communications skills can be well judged from your resume and if you have received awards in debates etc they will speak about your verbal communication skills.
• Being an engineer in IT you can apply for IT advisory/consulting, as it will be more relevant to your education and experience. IT advisory is a specialized branch wherein professionals are involved in designing, improving and implementing IT controls for security, applications, network and IT programs. They also do conduct internal audit/ testing of IT environment of the client. They are involved in helping client reduce complexity, cost and improving existing performance and protection of existing assets.
• You may choose to work for couple of years and then go for higher studies; such a goal will not be an impediment for selection into consulting firms.
• For preparing for the interview, questions will be primarily around your work experience. Technical team may also judge your ability to analyze problems and provide solutions. They will be keen to know ideas you may have that can be applied to improve any process/ application etc.

I hope the above answers will help you, do write to us if you need more information.
Regards,
Sulbha

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