This interview was conducted
with a graduate student who had just accepted a job with McKinsey
& Co. He describes his job search experience and offers
advice for other students interested in management consulting.
.
degree?
Chemical Engineering.
• What will your new job entail?
I will be joining as an associate (commensurate with MBA
hires) in the general practice of McKinsey and Company. My
work will involve working with Fortune 500 companies to help
resolve some of their high level
strategy issues.
• Were you pursuing both academic and nonacademic
options in your job search?
My main motivation for pursuing a doctoral degree was to
teach as a professor. Over the last couple years as I realized
that professorship in top Engineering schools in the country
was more about conducting research (especially so in the initial
years) and less about teaching, I started leaning towards
non-academic options.
• Were you considering a range of nonacademic
options or had you decided to focus on consulting?
Within non-academic options, I was looking mostly towards
consulting because some of the skills necessary to do research
and teaching transfer very favorably into consulting. On a
more practical note, the decision was strengthened by the
knowledge that some of the top tier consulting firms were
actively pursuing PhDs with a non-business background.
That said, I had planned on pursuing the non-academic (more
specifically consulting) route for the past Fall semester
and if things were to not work out, I would start a full-swing
job-search within my area of research inquiry. So I had not
completely ruled out the academic/related industry option
but placed my priorities in the order just mentioned. Again,
it made sense to order them in such a way because consulting
firms come to campus in the Fall and academic recruiting occurs
in the Winter term. Regards related industry recruiting, that
happens on a rolling basis year round, so no issue with regards
to timing there. I was definitely clear that I did not want
to mix my two recruiting efforts because the interviewing
and the selection process is very different for the two sets
of options. As a matter of fact, I was to realize later that
even within consulting, every firm had such a different culture
that though they were looking for the same set of overall
skills, there were very fine and intangible distinctions,
which are very easy to overlook.
• What resources (books, webpages, friends,
networking, etc.) did you find most useful during your job
hunt? What resource, if anything, do you wish you had made
use of earlier in your search?
The biggest resource I leveraged was people. My preferred
choice of learning method is interaction and, therefore, reading
books on the subject seemed like the last option to me. Through
firm-sponsored workshops, the Michigan consulting club, and
through follow-ups with recruiters, I had a good base of people
I could interact and prepare with for the interviewing process.
On the side, looking up company profiles on the web was useful
a few days before the interviews to understand their business
better. Most of the books I referenced were university case
books that are freely available in the Business School library.
Looking back, I wish I had started on my efforts sooner because
learning how to solve cases is a very different ball-game
than conducting research in a lab or teaching a class. That
said, it isn't rocket science, rather it's a practised art.
In that sense, I would say that 'time' was the only resource
I wish I had made use of earlier!
• What impact do you think your PhD had on employers'
interest in you? What do you think was most appealing about
it to them? Were there any stereotypes about PhDs that you
felt you had to overcome?
To the firms aggressively recruiting PhDs alongside with
their regular MBA hires, a PhD signifies the pinnacle of academic
achievement. As a practical justification, one hears that
a PhD program can be understood as a masters degree with few
years of work experience. The biggest appeal PhDs have for
consulting firms is their extraordinary problem solving ability
coupled with persistence and perseverance. Their only concern
is whether PhDs are able to transfer these skills into a nonacademic-type
setting. So the only stereotype one might be expected to overcome
is to demonstrate that a candidate is willing to break out
of the academic cocoon and apply his skills to a business
situation.
• Many students cannot understand why a consulting
firm would be interested in PhD students, that they have nothing
to offer especially compared to someone with an MBA. How would
you address that issue?
I like the way McKinsey addresses this question. According
to them, in order to be a successful consultant, a candidate
needs to demonstrate four attributes - problem solving ability,
personal impact, leadership potential, and high aspirations.
It's interesting that 'business knowledge' per se is not a
necessary skill they are looking for. That said, an MBA degree
assists people in putting their experiences and skills in
a perspective that is attractive to most employers because
they would rather 'recruit' a ready-made and 'packaged' candidate
rather than taking the time and effort to groom people in-house.
For example, McKinsey now offers the incoming PhD hires a
4-6 week 'mini-MBA' program to bring them up to speed with
the business concepts and jargon and, therefore, finds its
hD recruiting as fulfilling as the MBA stream.
• What do you think makes a candidate for a
consulting position successful? How would you recommend that
hDs present themselves (in person or on paper) in order to
be successful? Are there any pitfalls to be aware of when
translating a CV to a resume?
Indeed, the minimum a consulting company expects is a well
written resume. Some firms are comfortable with looking at
a CV though I personally recommend a one-page resume. The
idea is not so much to avoid pitfalls in converting one to
the other, but understanding the need of the employer and,
therefore, ensuring that the key attributes they are looking
for be highlighted and brought out well in the submitted document.
On the behavioral side, I would say that the most important
attribute is to come across as very professional and demonstrate
the ability to do the job. Recruiters often ask themselves
the following questions during their interactions with candidates
- a) can I put this person in front on a client? b) can I
have a good time talking to this person if stuck in an airport
due to flight delays? and c) can this person put forth their
ideas in a persuasive and succinct manner to the CEO of a
company?
These questions are filters to measure candidates on their
ability to a) present themselves in a professional way, b)
hold an interesting conversation outside of work, and c) be
able to synthesize key information into a concise statement.
I strongly recommend that prospective applicants prepare themselves
in order to convey these three interpersonal skills.
• What, if anything, do you anticipate will
be your biggest challenge in adjusting to work as a consultant?
I would have to say it would be life/work-style and travel.
Years of PhD work have allowed me the flexibility to work
late hours since I tend to function best at night. I would
definitely need to work on maintaining sane waking hours to
be a consultant! Also, travel for work, which seems to be
an essential component of any consulting job, is something
I would like to keep at a minimum or adjust to, whichever
the case may be!