The application process
April 16, 2010Once I decided that I wanted to give management consulting a try I started diving into the application process. I soon realized that it would be hard to get a position and that I would need to spend a good amount of time preparing for the interviews.
The first step was reading about the different companies and figuring out which ones would be the best fit for me. I concluded that for me, as someone coming from research who didn’t want to do any programming, management consulting was the best fit. Also I realized that small firms are not so interested in hiring PhDs (unless your field of expertise coincides with theirs) because they do not have the time or resources necessaries to train you. So it came down to the Big Four: Booz, Bain, Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey. I decided to focus on those, but also apply to others to keep as many doors opened as possible.
There are lots of very interesting websites and books about this application process. The good news is that everything is very well documented and there are no surprises on the way: what you find when you get to the interview is exactly what you have been reading all along. I’d like to mention a few sites I found particularly useful:
- The companies websites. They have lots of information about the process and examples of cases which are very worthwhile reading.
- http://www.caseinterview.com/. From Victor Cheng, an ex-McKinsey consultant. Very useful videos on how to approach case studies.
- http://managementconsulted.com/. Tones of information on how to do well in the interview.
Since there is so much information on the web, I don’t want to write a long post on this topic but just give a few tips that summarize my experience in the application process:
- Plan well in advance. First of all because you need to apply from 6 to 9 months in advance, but also because the key to success is preparation.
- Apply to an office in the same country you did your undergraduate studies. I applied to another country yet and did not get a single invitation for an interview. Then, I applied to my home country and got invitations for a first round from all three out of four of the big four (the other one said they were not hiring anymore) and also from smaller companies. This is because they get so many applications that they DO NOT read all the CVs they receive, so even if you explain the equivalence between the degree you did and the ones in that country, that will never get read.
- The hardest bit for a PhD is getting invited for an interview. In most countries these companies recruit in business schools, not in research departments. With the CVs they collect from those they have more candidates than they can deal with, so getting your CV across as an outsider is the hardest bit.
- Once in the process, the key to success is reading lots of case studies. Nevermind about buying a leather portfolio or thinking over and over about the perfect answer to “why do you want to work for us”. The problem-solving skill is there for a PhD student, what we lack is the agility and vocabulary to solve case studies fast. My top recommendation then is read as many case studies as you can get your hands onr. A good start is Victor Cheng‘s website. Then, it is almost essential to buy one or more case studies books. Personally, I didn’t like the Vault Guide to Case Studies, although it was a good start. The ones I found more useful were “Ace the case” and “Case in point“.
To summarize: maximize your chances for landing an interview by thinking carefully which office you want to apply for and then is all about reading as many cases as you can possibly find!
Hi there – just wanted to thank you for the nice mention on your blog. Best of luck in your new role, and hope to engage in more (blogosphere) conversations!
Thank YOU! You’re website really helped me during the application process. That’s why, for example, with the great advice on preparation for case interviews that you have over there, I see no point in writting a post on that myself.
Indeed, talk to you around the blogosphere!
It’s great to get info from someone who has been through the process – thanks for posting! I am curious what field of science you were previously in? Are firms looking for a specific field of study, or for someone that has good analytical and problem-solving skills? Thanks!
Hi Chloe. My field is very theoretical. So much that there are zero chances that I will be using any of it in the “real world”. So I think you are right, what firms are looking for are just the good analytical and problem solving skills that someone with a PhD in Science has.
This is a great blog. I thought about transferring to management consulting more than two years ago before I got my Ph.D, however, it was unsuccessful. I’m thinking about applying again this year. Your website is really useful and sets up a great model for Ph.Ds to move on to this career path. Keep it up and thanks for your effort!
I also have a comment on background. When I interviewed two years ago, I found most of the candidates had academic background that fits the industry the local offices serve. For NYC offices, mostly interview MBAs, MDs and Ph.Ds with bio background. You said you had very theoretical background, so at least that gives me some good encouragement since I’m also in a field that has almost application value to a consulting company.
Hi phdconsultant, congratulations on your job offer. Your blog is just what we PhD students needed I think, in addition to all the great resources out there.
You said the hardest bit for a PhD is getting invited for an interview. Could you tell us a bit more about how you overcame this? (networking? strong CV?)
Given the nature of the work PhDs do, I feel their CVs tend to be stronger in analytical skills and weaker in other areas (eg leadership and teamwork), especially if you spent more of your time on research and less in extracurricular activities.
Hi Sam,
Yes, I feel that the hardest part was getting into the interview process. Especially when you are asked to fill out an on-line questionnaire together with uploading your CV. I think that some times, due to the huge amount of applicants, they screen out people based on this on-line form and they leave out those with a not-so-conventional CV, for example us PhDs.
There are several things one can do to overcome this. I’m sure networking would work: get someone to pass directly your CV to HR of a big firm and over pass this way their on-line questionaire. I have to admit I didn’t work much on that…
Other things are timing and location. In some offices there are times where they actually have time to go through their emails screening CVs that have not arrived through the web while still in the recruiting season. If that is the case, you have better chances of them paying attention to your CV if they recognize what they see, which is why I recommend applying to an office in the country you have done your undergraduate studies (I really believe that was the absolute key for me).
After that, they also need to like your CV. I think you are completely right about what PhDs lack. I feel that it helped me a lot that I was student representative and seminar organizer for one year each, hence showing leadership. If you have extracurricular activities like that be sure to mention them. No matter how “unimportant” they might seem to you: it does make a difference for them. And they LOVE special stories. For example, I know someone in McKinsey who was a former professional football player.
If you do get into the interview process the key to success is practicing your case studies as much as possible.
Hope this helps,
Best of luck!
[...] left a very interesting comment that I think hits on one of the key points for PhDs applying to consulting [...]
Thank you for the post and all the comments in regards to tips on improving your chances as a PhD applicant.
I wanted to know from your experience, whether you found in their application process that scores and schools attended matter or not.
I noticed from their on-line application process that they request you to submit your GRE and SAT scores and your GPA. How much of these scores and numbers matter in putting you through in getting the first interview? If scores are mediocre and not strong, but you came from top tier schools, does that matter? Should one then compensate with leadership skills on CV?
What is your advice in regards to this? Anything would be greatly appreciated. And keep up the good work with all this blogging!
Hi Chyna!
Thanks for your comment. From my experience I think excelling at something is really important, especially if you don’t have the “classic” background for consulting. This issue is key to get you the interview, once you are there you can try to prove yourself with other things, but your CV won’t get selected unless there is something “impressive” about it.
Of course, the definition of “impressive” is not universal so I’m not sure if it’s more important to have excellent grades from a medium university or medium grades from a top university. I would say that the latter could be more appealling in some cases because they assume there must be something special about you if you got in such a university.
I also would like to say that your “spike” needs not be academic. Perhaps you started your own business when you were quite young and were successful at it or you were an actor in some big production. There just need to be something that really stands out in your CV for them to pay it any attention.
Hope this helps!
This is a very inspiring blog. Thank you for putting all these information and advice here.
You said you sent application in two different countries, can I ask what those countries are? Thanks!
Hi Sonia
I’m sorry, but as I am having some concerns about keeping this blog I rather keep everything as anonymous as possible. I could tell you that I have also talked to some people with experiences in countries different to those that the ones I have applied and they seem to have the same general impressions in what is common/different in different offices.
Hello PhD consultant,
I am a life sciences PhD student about to finish in October this year. I am intersted in applying for consulting positions. I want to know how much in advance of finishing your PhD did you apply for this position and how quickly do you hear back?. Once you heard back from them, did you have a lot of time to prepare for your interview?
Just wanting to know because I am struggling for time since the thesis is due in october. Your information will help me plan accordingly.
Many Thanks
Kanika
Hi Kanika,
I think this might depend on the country you are from, but my experience is that the question is not so much how much in advance to apply but when in the year. Big consulting firms have quite well-defined recruiting seasons. To give you an idea, most of the offers for new consultants next year have already been made (that is to start next September), although not all. They always say that if they receive a good application they will attend to it no matter where in the season they are, but specially coming from a non-traditional background, I think your chances get much higher if you apply in season or early in the season.
Having said that, I think you are running out of time if you would like to start next fall. However, applying in the months of October – December is perfect if you want to start in 2012. Often companies offer you the possibility of starting in January/ February, so you wouldn’t have to wait until September. I think this might be a good option for you to consider, since it would give you plenty of time to both finish your thesis while you do some reading and then dedicate a few weeks exclusively to this.
In my case the timeline was like this: I started thinking about it early in the summer, started sending applications in November-December and by February I had an offer (that I took). Then I finished my thesis in the following summer and started my new job in September.
About how much time you need to prepare for this, I think it very much depends on your background, but for a PhD student in life sciences, if you have had no previous contact with the “business world” I would recomend not to underestimate the time for preparation. In particular you need to prepare your cases quite well (I have a post about it that I refer you too) and also don’t forget to prepare for the other parts of the interview as well.
Good luck with your thesis and with your applications!
Hi PhD consultant and thank you for this excellent blog, it gives plenty of information!
I was wondering about this line : “Apply to an office in the same country you did your undergraduate studies”
I did my undergratuate studies in a country where PhD is not so well recognised as a good degree. Do you think I should nonetheless apply there instead of where I’m doing my PhD ?
Thanks again and all the best,
willbill
Hi Willbill,
Actually I am in the same situation. In my home country (the country where I did my undergrad studies) a PhD is not greatly recognize.
What happened then is that most consulting firms would only consider me for an analyst position (lowest in the scale), whereas I know that in other countries, exactly the same companies, would have considered me at the same level as someone with an MBA. However I believe I will be able to “climb up the ladder” faster than someone who entered the company straight from undergrad.
My main reason to recomend applying to the country where you did your undergrad, was to increase your chances of having your CV read by someone and not filtered out. What I did was applying first to the country where I had done my PhD (100% rejection rate, not even one invitation for an interview!) and then, since that didn’t work, I applied to the SAME companies again in my home country and then started receiving invitations for interviews. Perhaps you could try that. It’s more time consuming but that would depend on how strong your country preference is.
Good luck with your applications!