Route to Corporate Strategy/Business Development positions

Question

I heard that only people with consulting/inv banking experience get into Corporate Strategy/Biz Dev positions. What do current students think? Is it really hard to get into such positions post MBA?

rhyme · Answer

No, I dont think its hard. I know many people moving into those areas....

I think whats probably true is that people with consulting experience (who no longer want to consult) tend to naturally gravitate to those kinds of areas, so you do see a number of ex consultants in those roles, but certainly, no, yo dont need to be an ex-consultant to break in.

jb32 · Answer

I would agree with Rhyme. I am currently in a Strategic Planning/Corp Dev role and do not have prior MC experience. However, I did do an IB internship in college, which I feel was a major reason I got the job in the first place. (And I also stayed at a Holiday Inn Express the night before my interview). :wink:

I think you just need to understand what the necessary skillsets are and then focus on those areas while in school. My advice would be to take lots of finance/strategy classes and understand how to evaluate situations from a CEO perspective. Also, depending on the mix of strategy/corp dev, I would focus on really trying to build some breadth across all areas of business - similar to a strategy consulting concentration, while also obtaining depth in finance/valuation/analysis areas. You'll probably receive a fair amount of ad hoc projects post-MBA and it really would be helpful to have some understanding of process design, creating business cases, evaluating marketing and sales strength in an acquisition target, etc. Good luck to you!

334MBA · Answer

Great info jb32. What skills do recruiters look for in candidates aside from previous w/e. Are case interviews used and do they require gmat score? I heard that corporate strategy is fun but doesn't lead to c-level jobs. Is that true?

spideyeclipse27 · Answer

Thanks Rhyme and JB. I am looking forward to your answer for 334's Q. Happy Holidays.

jb32 · Answer

I would say that you'll need good teamwork and leadership skills as you'll be required to lead line managers and other groups through the acquisition process. Strong quant, accounting, finance, and valuation skills. The ability to write, and write well. Strategy - you'll need to be able to see the end result and develop a process to achieve the results by working backwards, similar to how you've developed long-term goals for business school and then identified the path and steps to get there.

I can't really speak to post-MBA corporate strategy/corp dev jobs, but I know for my position I had to complete a 2-3 page industry overview after my R1 interview and then a R2 interview. The report asked for things like market size, growth drivers, key competitors, etc, of an industry I would be expected to know a lot about in the new role.

I can't imagine that a strategy job wouldn't have the opportunity to make it to the c-level. I think it really depends on how good you are and if you are C-level material. It really becomes such an imperfect and subjective science when a company is looking for a new CEO, CFO, or COO that many people would be considered.

shank · Answer

Great info jb32..I'm a prospective mba student...I would really appreciate if you could look into my questions and guide me..

I know this is an old post but i don't see a lot of info on this forum regarding strategy..

my background is in IT..4 years work-ex and currently a project manager..
I'm targeting strategy management and want to find out how practical is it(for me) to apply for the same.

1. What do schools look for in a prospective student in strategy management?

2. I have a GMAT of 690. Is it fine for me to apply keeping strategy as my major/focus? I saw someone mentioned that after mba recruiters look at the gmat and that 700 is the baseline for strategy, so the adcom will think that if someone has a score below 700 he/she is targeting too high.

3. I've heard that strategy positions are only meant for higher management, but then I see some jobs on the internet(in strategy) which seem to be a mid management positions. Please let me know your thoughts?

4. When I show the admission committee that my focus is Strategy Management and after graduating I'll be looking for a Strategy Management position, is this good enough or I'll have to be more specific. for eg. Operational Strategy Manager, Corporate Strategy Manager or IT Strategy Manager in xyz firm . Your thoughts?

I would really appreciate your thoughts and feedback.

Thanks!

MaxwellRoper · Answer

Hi Shank. Thank you for chiming in with a great question.

I agree with Jb32. Applicable schools are looking for candidates with good teamwork and leadership skills. Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to provide strong examples of such skills within your essays. Therefore, if you are looking for an extraordinary environment to showcase your talents, consider leading a part-time volunteer nonprofit strategy consulting project via our group, USA Leadership Corps.

Please Google our website to learn more about how USALC partners with pre-MBAs who are looking to build their consulting, entrepreneurship, and/or community-involvement resumes.

Thank you again & good luck with your applications.

Maxwell Roper
Outreach Director
USA Leadership Corps

VeritasPrepMike · Answer

I think all schools will have a focus in strategy management. That is just about what every MBA student wants to study and/or do after school, so you won't be alone. GMAT will be one factor, but not the most important. You can get into corporate strategy without having a consulting or banking background. Become an industry expert in something.

Route to Corporate Strategy/Business Development positions

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards