Get some tips from somebody who used an MBA to get a job with a top-three strategy consulting firm
Originally from audit and accounting firm, Ms Peck Gee has spent across 8 years working in the industry within Malaysia when she decided she needed a change. Working as an accountant, she wanted to transition to a career in consulting. But as many learn, it takes more than a filled-out job application to make the switch.
“I had applied before to Frost & Sullivan, but I didn't even have replies from them,” Peck Gee says.
Acknowledging that something was missing from her resume, she decided to pursue Master of Business Administration from Paris Graduate School of Management (PGSM) in collaboration with Mantissa College Kuala Lumpur, a 15-month program that promises to help students who want to go beyond “business as usual” by preparing them for management careers in MNCs and other international organizations.
After her 15 months programme at Mantissa College, she manage to secure a job placement at McKinsey and Company in Singapore (one of the top strategy consulting firm in South East Asia.) With the help from industry affiliation division from Mantissa College. During her work at the company, Peck Gee then leveraged on the knowledge gained from her MBA programme and her background in accounting to land a career in one of the top strategy consulting firm in South East Asia.
A day in the life of a management consultant
Peck Gee describes the day-to-day experience of management consulting as diverse.
“You never have a typical day because everything depends on the project,” she says.
One day, she might be studying markets and developing models, while the next she may be doing interviews. If she’s working on a supply chain project, she might be off-site, working directly with people in a client’s operations department. For day-to-day tasks, Peck Gee says that she uses tools that she picked up at PGSM to help.
“When you are doing a strategic plan for a company,” Peck Gee says, “you have to look at a lot of concepts that you study in strategy classes in the MBA.
For instance, company projects and valuations are a core part of the job, which Peck Gee had never encountered before starting her MBA.
“Even if you don't remember how to do it you can still dig up your class notes and then you remember,” she says.
Interviewing for a consulting job
Simply having an MBA on your resume isn’t the only thing you’ll need to land a job as a management consultant; there’s also the dreaded interview process, which can be different from other jobs.
Many consulting firms require applicants to prepare for a “case interview,” where they are given information about a management problem, and then asked to develop an argument about the best way to proceed. Consulting firms use this process as a kind of test to see how you approach problems, and how you can create arguments based on limited information while under pressure.
“Really prepare for your interviews,” Peck Gee advises.
To do so, Peck Gee recommends that taking advantage of the resources you’ll have while doing the MBA.
“In the MBA you have access to books, you have access to colleagues who are already in consulting, so they can prepare you and do mock interviews with you,” says Peck Gee. “Really take advantage of your peers to prepare your interviews.”
Leveraging your background
Although her previous work experience in accounting firm seems a long way from management consulting, Peck Gee says that the analytical skills she developed while she was an accountant really help her in her current work.
“I think that accountant have an advantage over people who have just done social science, because of all the analytics and systematic,” she says.
Thinking beyond the “Big Three”
While many consulting-minded MBAs are drawn to the “Big Three” consultancies (Bain and Company, McKinsey and Company, Boston Consulting Group,) there are in fact many other firms that are worth considering, especially for those who want to focus on specific industries.
“If you are sure you want to do retail, don't go to the top three,” Peck Gee says. “Go to a firm that only does retail, because [otherwise] you're going to be very frustrated.”
“You really have to know the focus of the office you are going to join,” she adds.
It will be a challenge
For those who have never worked in consulting, transitioning into the field can be challenging. When Peck Gee started in her current role, she says that she felt a little out of her element.
“It's very tough when you join a consulting firm, and you have not done it before, and you are 30 years old, and you're competing with people in your office that have been working there for four years,” she says.
“It's really tough to catch up. It takes a lot of dedication, especially when it's not your culture.”
The MBA programme is conducted at Mantissa College with its main partner University is Paris Graduate School of Management (ESG) which is a top ranked business school in France. This MBA programme provides options for specialisations in Banking & Finance, International Business, and Strategic & Project Management. Registered students are mainly from Banking and Engineering sectors. The programme is delivered by a combination of local and foreign faculty inclusive of Prof Dr Ian Mackechnie (Australian), Prof Cane Oliver (French), etc.
The MBA students would have an opportunity to take part in the student exchanges to Paris with terms and conditions. The Next opening intake will be commencing in February 2014 where interested candidate can find out more at www.mantissa.edu.my