BCG Lead Knowledge Analyst to MBA

Hi - given the timeline you mentioned, are you considering leaving CPG to be a BCG LKA for ~1yr before applying to MBA programmes? Plenty of considerations come to mind:

• There is no decision to make until you have a job offer. Everything until then is valuable learning and testing of assumptions
• Ultimately, make sure the LKA move aligns with your long-term career goals beyond just the MBA (and MBB consulting path, assuming that's the idea), both of which are uncertain
• I believe the move would not be critical to either your MBA admissions (or subsequent MBB applications) - may help but no harm
• I encountered quite a few BCG consultant colleagues and MBA classmates who started their careers with such CPG roles (those in BCG came either directly or via MBA)
• I recall far fewer MBA classmates with knowledge team- type backgrounds, but in the broad scheme of applicants it would still be an attractive profile. I suspect you would be assessed vs. non-consultants given the MBA schools allot a certain number of seats each year to sponsored consultants. And there are certainly students with less prestigious, less relevant backgrounds than BCG LKA. Within the consulting realm, I even had an MBA classmate who came from an MBB recruiting team and they are now close to Partner at their original firm
• If MBB consulting is the aim, it's possible (though rare) to go directly from knowledge team to client-facing consultant (where you would then be eligible for a sponsored MBA)
• You already have a solid brand on your CV and while MBB might value the BCG LKA experience, without it you would already stand a decent chance of getting an interview during a top MBA
• Getting the LKA role will require passing a case interview so by preparing for that now you will be better prepared later on for MBA/MBB interviews

Hope it's helpful! All the best for the decisions ahead.