Bring on the Recruiters

Bain, BCG, LEK, McKinsey, Deloitte, Eli Lilly, Accenture, A.T. Kearney ... the Recruitment Season has begun.

As a byproduct of the 16 month nature of our course, the 2nd year students are pretty much wrapping up their MBAs as the first years begin. As such, the recruiters are on campus at the moment trying to woo our greatest prospects into the worlds of consulting, strategy, marketing, and investment banking.

Almost every day there's a presentation or two that we can attend, at which these companies promote themselves as progressive businesses with high profile clients, plenty of travel opportunities, and a healthy work/life balance (although I question whether that applies to McKinsey & Company). Beer, wine, and sometimes even food follow, and we get the opportunity to debrief amongst our peers, or have a informal chat with a 'sample employee' of the company in question. Of course, I use some of these terms lightly - many of the consulting firms are not actually companies - they're partnerships, but we'll save that for my deconstruction of my Financial Accounting subject later.

Most of the consulting firms have a fairly similar career progression structure. There are Associates, Consultants, Managers, and Partners. Partners (a.k.a. the finders) bring in new business and get all the money. Managers (a.k.a. the minders) lead the projects, and Consultants and Associates (a.k.a. the grinders) do all the work. Some of the firms add another level or two into the structure, by having roles such as Senior Consultant and Senior Manager. MBAs typically enter a firm at the Consultant / Senior Consultant level, and will usually take around 2 - 3 years to make it to Manager. If you're brilliant enough, it's feasible to make Partner in around 5 - 7 years. Not bad considering the rewards that it provides, but I'm not sure it's the choice for me at this stage.

I'm keeping my eyes open and my ears to the ground, so to speak, and exploring all opportunities at this stage.

There aren't as many banks recruiting as I would have liked, at least not through official on-campus methods anyway. I think if I want to pursue a career in i-banking, I should really be looking overseas for my first position.

Study beckons. Must work on maintaining that H1 average if I'm going to open any doors at all through traditional recruiting processes....