Trying To Get A Head Start

Question

I'm trying to soak up as much info as I can about the two industries that I'm interested in by "interviewing" as many people as I can. It's great to read Vault or Wetfeet or blogs or whatever, but it's even better to reach out to anyone you know who works in an industry that you're interested in, and talk to them about what they like and don't like. Every time I have done this, these people inevitably say something like, "You know, if you want to know more about consulting, I could put you in touch with a senior manager at X firm, they're a little higher up so they might have a different perspective."

So as you branch out and keep talking with different people, it turns into a bit of a networking exericse. When you're asking people all about themselves and their experiences, it's flattering to them in a sense and they love talking about themselves. By the time you're done interviewing them, if you've established a good rapport, they'll usually say something like, "Feel free to keep in touch, let me know how school goes, and if you need any help in the job search."

Maybe this is really obvious and maybe a lot of people are doing this, but if you're not doing this, I would suggest it. People really seem very receptive, and they're happy to sit down for an hour and tell you about their glory days in b-school and their early careers.

This also comes in handy in interviews. I had one interviewer who asked me, "So you're interested in consulting. Do you have an understanding of what they lifestyle is like?" and I told him that I did, and that I had spoken with many people and so forth and he said, "Well that's great, a lot of people that I interview say they want to get into consulting, but all they seem to know about it is that it's very lucrative."

DJM · Answer

What 2 industry are you targeting?

johnnyx9 · Answer

Consulting and Healthcare. Although very likely I'll end up doing Healthcare Consulting, but looking at the two industries separately.

lhotseface · Answer

What schools did you apply to ?

johnnyx9 · Answer

Stern
BU
BC
MIT
Yale
Harvard

Can you tell that I'm trying to stay in Boston?

OasisNYK · Answer

I went to BU for undergrad - overpriced for the grades you will earn there...I am not sure how different the management school is but since the grading policies are a schoolwide issue - I think it is probably the same.

johnnyx9 · Answer

"Overpriced for the grades"? You mean it's hard to earn good grades there?

rrajiv · Answer

johnnyx9,

this is a great point that you bring up... i have been trying to do the same thing... however, being in tech and having absolutely no contacts in the MC and IB fields, it has been difficult (read impossible!) finding people to talk to... how do you typically make contacts in these fields?

Thanks!

johnnyx9 · Answer

I think you can make contacts in a few different ways:

1. This is probably obvious, but if you have any friends, or even friends of friends in the industry, give them a call. I have talked to many "friends-of-a-friend" and they've all been completely willing to set aside time for a 30 minute phone conversation.

2. There are lots of MC and IB people on forums like this and BW and Vault, you could always private message them and explain that you're interested in the field and you'd wonder if you could talk to them.

3. Get in touch with your undergraduate school's career center and explain that you would like to be put in touch with some alumni in these fields. My career center sent me a list of about twenty people and I contacted several of them and they were all great to talk to.

rrajiv · Answer

Great ideas. Appreciate your reply.

Thanks!

huikojl · Answer

Great ideas. Appreciate your reply. Thanks!

Trying To Get A Head Start

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