Received an influx of new readers in the last few days, thanks to some link love from fellow bloggers. Thanks to Marquis first and foremost, who is both a fellow Stanford grad and fellow ex-McKinsey consultant. He regularly blogs about management consulting and MBA issues and has sensible, smart advice for just about everything career-related.
Check out his blog here.
For my new readers, here are some recommended and popular articles for you to browse:
- Management Consulting and the Consulting Industry 101
- Day in the Life of a Management Consultant (client version)
- Management Consulting versus Investment Banking
- Top 10 Resume Tips
- Top 10 Interview Tips
- Overview of the Management Consulting Recruiting Process
I’ve been receiving emails from readers of Management Consulted that had similar themes and wanted to address a few to start building my FAQ page:
#1 Why did you exit consulting?
After 2+ years at McKinsey, it was time to move on. I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart – the risk-taking, the ambiguity, the fast pace and the journey of creating something from nothing. I went into my McKinsey tenure with the mindset that entrepreneurship would come after my time at the firm. I spent the next two years learning as much as possible so I could take those skills and start my own company.
It was an incredible experience – there are a few things that really stuck out for me:
- The caliber of people was unparalleled. It showed me the “benchmark” that I need to meet in order to be successful in business. People were friendly, intelligent, ambitious, and willing to share
- The training – both on the job and formal – was continuous and applicable far beyond management consulting
- The responsibility from day one is stressful but immensely rewarding. Nowhere else is a recent college or MBA graduate with limited business experience given 3 months to get to par with senior executives who’ve pored over the same problems for decades. It really teaches you to focus on the things that matter
#2 Why did you start this blog?
I’ve been helping friends/colleagues looking to enter management consulting for years with their resumes, cover letters, interviews, and questions. It’s personally and professionally fulfilling for me. Given that experience (and the experience inside McKinsey helping recruit new employees and seeing how the hiring process worked), I decided to start this blog to share the knowledge accumulated – and am looking forward to meeting others on a similar journey.
It’s an effective avenue for selling my own consulting services. In future weeks, I plan to release case studies, interview guides, and the like. All with the same aim – at helping people become as prepared as possible for a career in the consulting industry.
#3 Can you help me…
I’ve gotten many emails with questions about recruiting; requests to help with specific aspects of applications; and so forth. While I try my best to be helpful, I do have limited time. In addition, even the people I do help, I can barely scratch the surface through email. If you really have tons of burning questions or need my undivided attention, by far the best way is to sign-up for a coaching session with me – I’m flexible about the amount of time needed and when. This way, everybody wins!
Thanks for reading!
UPCOMING POSTS: More detail on each component of the recruiting process
Good luck! Subscribe to my RSS feed here. I offer hands-on coaching sessions to help people break into management consulting and top business jobs – from re-writing your resume to simulated interviews/case studies to thorough Q&A. You’ll learn everything I know about recruiting for and working at the top businesses in the world