By the way, before I go, I’ve got to add my standard disclosure statement that what you’ll see below as advice for this reader is just my opinion. I came up with these suggestions based on my view of the situation and not based on any sort of internal intelligence on his specific question. For cases like this, I’d recommend reaching out to several others to get their perspectives and then developing an informed opinion on how to approach things.
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GI wrote:
Hi Marquis,
I am writing to you this email message to charitably ask for your help in getting in to a McKinsey and Company branch here in the Philippines. I have been reading your blog back in 2009 when I was deeply hooked and interested about MBA and post-MBA destinations. I really have learned a lot about MBAs and even about life in general from your blog (especially the one you reflected about life after death). I haven’t been tuning in to your blog ever since I stopped my applications to a fast-tracked MBA program and have ever since laid low to focus on the completion of my master’s degree here in the Philippines. Since I am done with my master’s degree, I have turned my eyes on job hunting with consultancy being on the top of my list and with McKinsey being the top company I’d like to work for given the chance and opportunity. Anyway, my apologies for the long narration. I’ll just write my questions below in number format and I hope you can help me with these. Thanks in advance!
1.) As the title of my email reveals, I am from a university with less brand strength vis-à -vis the number one and number two universities in my country, as socially and culturally accepted. Some people like to classify my university anywhere between the top three to top five in the Philippines. Based on my research McKinsey normally invites the top 10 from both the number one and number two schools here in the Philippines. From those invited, only one to three people will be accepted. From what I heard, they only entertain those people who get the “invite†from McKinsey. Now based on what I gathered from researching and excavating the McKinsey website including other external websites that have thrusts on consultancy, I gained the impression that McKinsey entertains people from all backgrounds regardless of school, race, ethnicity, etc. but I cannot deny the fact that they truly have preferences for schools with brand name. Before I ask my question, I’d just like to give a brief background about myself. Modesty aside and with no intention to brag, I am consistent top-notcher in my batch in my university here in the Philippines. I always get the highest GWA every year and every semester among my batch mates of around 150 to 200 (my university has a small school population). I also have a variety of extracurricular activities with leadership positions and have decent working experiences that are classified as OJTs. In fact, already got a job offer from a top multinational company in the consumer goods industry for their management trainee position but I certainly prefer consultancy and McKinsey over that. I also hold an MS degree in industrial economics and have made a very excellent thesis that answers the problem of the health sector in my country. The evidence of this is that I get to present this to the health undersecretary in my country and a top executive from my country’s national health insurance program. I was also invited to the National Health Research Forum this coming July to give a talk about my study. I was also asked to write a series version of my thesis for our university’s student publication. I can only give generalizations here because I don’t want to burden you with too much information. All I can say is that I am a top-notch student but I come from a university with a lesser brand name. Given this, what can I do to improve my chances of getting into McKinsey and Company to the branch here in the Philippines let alone, get the attention of the recruitment reviewer to get an interview? I have read from another website that reviewers normally only have 2 minutes to 5 minutes to assess an application to know whether an applicant deserves an interview or not. What can I do to nab their attention to at least set up an interview to show them that I really have the skills and experience necessary for a consultancy job?
2.) Do strategic consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain sponsor further studies of their employees like MBA, JD, PhD, and the like? If yes, how many years to they normally have to render service back to the firm?
3.) What are the websites that you can suggest I read to get tips on how I can improve my chances of getting into McKinsey (and other top consulting firms) and gaining better perspective at consultancy in general and the top firms in this industry? I only know of the official websites of the firms, gotta mentor, managementconsulted.com, vault guide, and your blog.
4.) Lastly, do you have any tips, suggestions, and advices in general that can help me land a job at the top strategic consulting firms?
Thank you very much again for your kind and considerate help and assistance. I surely do appreciate your help and I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon.
With best wishes,
GI
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My response:
Hi GI, I hope this message finds you doing well. I know that you originally emailed me a few months ago, so I’m sorry that it took me this long to get back to you. I receive many emails and it sometimes takes me a while to get through them all. I realize that you may have already submitted your application to McK Philippines, so the insights in this email may not be useful anymore. I didn’t want to go without sending some sort of reply though.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you should know that I don’t like receiving long emails and ones with lots of questions because it takes me longer to read, think through, and develop a response to them. I think it’s pretty safe to say that your email qualifies as a VERY long email, so I was close to not responding at all. Instead, I figured that I’d provide short responses where it made sense.
Here are some quick responses to your questions:
- I don’t know much about McK’s Philippines office, so I am not 100% sure of what that office looks for in its candidates. As such, I’m going to take what you’ve laid out in your email as fact and respond accordingly. If a recruiter who reviews candidate profiles only spends a few minutes reviewing them, I would think that a way to catch that person’s attention would be to submit a superstar resume and cover letter that calls out the candidate’s skills, important traits, and areas of fit to what the Firm is seeking in applicants. I don’t know anything about grading and awards for schools in the Philippines, but, if you have a history of distinctive academic performance, the elements of that distinctiveness should be apparent in your resume and cover letter. Each document should be no longer than a page, so you would need to focus on the most important elements to bring out in your profile. No recruiter has time to read a 2+ page resume or cover letter and, if that’s what you submit, it’ll likely get tossed or overlooked. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to find a connection who either currently works in that office or used to work there to submit your profile as a referral to improve the chances of being reviewed more closely.
- Many of the larger consulting firms do sponsor their Analysts to pursue graduate studies (i.e., MBA, JD, MPH) and with the amount of funding provided differing from firm to firm. For example, I’ve heard of a firm that anchors the amount that it will provide for graduate studies to 2 years worth of tuition and fees at HBS. You’d have to do more specific research on this to find out the details behind it though. The amount of time that a sponsored employee would have to work after graduation differs depending on the firm, but I believe that most firms require 2 years of service in order to fogive the debt. As far as I know, this sort of practice isn’t common at smaller Consulting firms.
- You’ve got many of the top online resources that I would have recommended on your list already. One resource that I would add is ConsultingMagazine.com. That site has tons of articles about emerging issues across the industry and gives lots of news updates about what is going on at firms of all sizes and specializations. I’ve found it to be a fantastic way to stay on top of the Consulting industry. I would also recommend checking out sites with message boards about the
industry, like BusinessWeek.com and GlassDoor.com, as a way to learn about what people are saying about different firms and how to best get into those firms.
- My blog archives are filled with tips and advice that would be helpful in getting a position in a Consulting firm. Because I’ve written so much about it before, I’ll refer you to those archived entries instead of rewriting any of my insights here.
That’s about all I have on your questions. I hope some of the insights above are helpful as you consider your approach to McK’s Philippines office.
Take care and good luck.
Marquis
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