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staind
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IB or Consulting 01 Nov 2010, 20:36
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I'm interested in doing M&A advisory work post MBA but in my applications I'm not sure whether I should select "Consulting" or "Investment Banking" as my post-MBA target industry. Given that M&A work is done by banks, management consulting firms, public accounting firms, I'm not sure really where it falls! Ideally I'd like to join a boutique bank with an advisory focus but I don't want to limit myself to just this option. Does it make sense to pick "Consulting" as my target industry if I'm targeting advisory focused shops like Greenhill and Lazard? :?:

Any thoughts from people in the industry would be much appreciated!
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jordanhendrix
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IB or Consulting 01 Nov 2010, 20:53
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I see what you mean, but its not consulting, MC is McKinsey, Bain, BCG etc.

The companies you mentioned are banking
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staind
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IB or Consulting 01 Nov 2010, 21:33
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Thanks jordanhendrix. What is the difference between the advisory services an advisory focused ibank would provide and what Mckinsey's corporate finance arm would provide? Neither of them do underwriting/issuing/raising capital and they both would do due diligence/valuations/strategy advising?
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IB or Consulting 02 Nov 2010, 06:52
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While I imagine there is some overlap between the advisory services ibanks offer and MCs (I know a couple people who work in Deloitte's M&A practice), for the purpose of your apps you need to be specific. The box you check in your app doesn't limit what you can pursue at bschool, but appearing indecisive will probably hurt your admissions chances.

IMO, choose a path you can write passionately about for your apps (sounds like boutique IB for you) and then worry about the details on campus :wink:
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staind
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IB or Consulting 02 Nov 2010, 13:11
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Yeah I guess I'll go with Ibanking in future apps although I selected Consulting on my Wharton and LBS apps.. wonder how much its going to hurt me. Although, I did stress a lot on my interest on the advisory side of things in my essays. Oh well, I'll find out soon enough.
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