How should I plan the next 12 months to maximise my chances of being hired to MBB in the next hiring period?

This is totally doable if you play it right. Use your current role to build some amazing stories—anything involving analytics, problem-solving, or cross-functional work can be gold in PEI. Also, start tracking your case practice, not just in volume but in quality. You want to be actively learning from each one. The bootcamp from High Bridge Academy helped me a lot making this part easier with their structured content and peer drills—I didn’t realize how much I was plateauing until I got structured input. Just don’t wing it solo the whole time.

Hi Joseph,

I was at UCL as well and made the move into consulting after graduation. You have plenty of time to position yourself well for MBB, Prescient, or LEK—here’s how you can make the most of the next 12 months:

1. Build Relevant Experience in Your Current Role
    •    Focus on problem-solving, analytics, and strategy—look for process improvements, customer insights, or cross-functional projects.
    •    If possible, take on initiatives that showcase leadership and structured thinking.

2. Network Early and Strategically
    •    Start connecting with consultants (especially at MBB, Prescient, and LEK) for informational chats—this helps with referrals.
    •    Target UCL alumni and career switchers who moved into consulting.

3. Strengthen Consulting Skills & Case Prep
    •    Begin case interview prep early (Victor Cheng, CaseCoach, PrepLounge).
    •    Join a case prep group or practice regularly to refine structured thinking.

4. Optimize Your Resume & Profile
    •    Highlight consulting-relevant skills in your role (problem-solving, data-driven decision-making).
    •    Consider side projects, strategy courses (Coursera, Strategy& Business Acumen), or freelance consulting work to boost your profile.

Key Resources:
    •    Networking: LinkedIn, alumni databases, consulting events
    •    Case Prep: CaseCoach, Victor Cheng, PrepLounge, Casebooks
    •    Resume/Interview Help: Happy to review your CV and help refine your story when you’re closer to applying!

Stay consistent with networking and case prep, and you’ll be well-positioned by September 2025. Let me know if I can help in any way!

Best,

Evelina

Hi Joseph,

Your preparation can be structure in 2 tracks.

The first track consists of networking. Try to attend online and in-person event of the preferred offices. Develop your network and seek for a referral to maximize chances of receiving an invite for the interview.

The second track is developing your casing skills. Start by reading case books and get an understanding of the core principles. Afterwards, you can practice cases with peers and refine your skills with coaching session.

Let me know if you need further help.

Mattijs

Four things you can do:

1. Do a great job in order to have increasing responsibility and gain a good reputation. Hopefully, be assigned some interesting projects that can make for great personal interview stories and good resume bullet points.

2. Prepare case interviews and polish your CV (consider professional help here).

3. Network in order to better understand the role and hopefully get a referral.

4. Map the consulting market and find out the consulting firms and boutiques that interest you.

Great question—and you’re in a solid position to make a pivot if you use the next 12 months wisely. Here’s how I’d recommend structuring your plan to maximize your chances of breaking into MBB.

 12-Month Game Plan for MBB Success:

Now → Q2 2025: Foundation & Differentiation

• Excel in your current role – Show quantifiable impact, leadership, or cross-functional exposure. If possible, highlight analytical/strategic thinking in your CV.

• Build your story – Craft a compelling narrative: “Why consulting?”, “Why now?”, “Why you?”. Your pharmacy background + customer-facing experience is actually a unique angle.

• Network monthly – Reach out to alumni, pharma consultants, and former MBBers for 15-min chats. Build 1–2 warm referrals by summer.

• Start light casing – Do 1 case/week. Focus first on mastering structure, mental math, and synthesis.

Q3 2025: Application Prep (July–August)

• Refine your CV & cover letter – Tailored to MBB consulting; highlight achievements in your role with action verbs + impact.

• Ramp up casing – 3–5 cases/week; start mock interviews with peers or coaches.

• Focus on fit questions – Prepare strong stories: leadership, conflict, failure, impact, teamwork.

• Continue networking – Reach out to recruiters and consultants at target offices.

Q4 2025: Application Window (September)

• Apply early to MBB and target firms

• Use referrals where possible

• Keep mock interviewing and prep consistently

Hi Joseph!

That’s a very good question. I would break your efforts into: career development and interview preparation.

For career development, it is important that you use your new job as a mean to collect achievements. It is a great opportunity for you to proactively build stories to enhance your CV and serve as behavioral interview’s answers. Having a coach that can support your journey here could make a difference depending on your past experience and professional approach.

For interview preparation, specially for the case one, you could start by understanding your current level to develop a solid plan for the next 12 months. Study the foundations now, learn about different industries and start casing in a moderate way (one per week should be fine), and 6months prior to the interview season, make it more intense, casing more, studying to fill the gaps and having a coach to evaluate your progression.

If you need additional details, happy to help.

Best,

Mari

Hi there,

You can start preparing from 2 fronts:

(1) Try to build consulting relevant skills in your job. Look for assignments that can help you develop your analytical skills, give you leadership experiences, allows you to practice more on communication or customer relationship etc. This would help when you write your resume after a year. 

(2) Start preparing for consulting interviews. It might sound a bit far, but since you have the time, there is no harm to start early. You can start slow, gradually getting to know how case interview works, read up on some business / industry fundamentals.

As for resources and more details, you can DM me for more specifics. 

best,

Emily

Hi Joseph,

Now that I’ve seen your CV, I can say you have a strong academic background. What’s currently missing for top-tier consulting is relevant work experience -specifically in strategic, impactful roles that also demonstrate leadership.

If possible, try to land a role at a boutique consulting firm, a smaller strategy house, one of the Big 4, Accenture, or in a corporate strategy department. (Not easy either, but doable with targeted effort.)

In parallel, start networking with consultants who have a similar background to yours - referrals can make a big difference if the resume is good but the profile a bit non-standard. A 1–2 year timeline is a realistic path to strengthen your profile.

Cheers,

Florian

Hey there 😊

Thanks for sharing so openly—and first off: you're not late at all. Lots of people make the move into consulting with 1–2 years of experience, and you're planning ahead smartly 💪

Here’s how you can use the next 12 months in a focused way:

👉 1. Build your consulting narrative: Show impact, not just responsibilities. In your current role, try to lead or improve something (process, client outcome, internal initiative), and quantify results (revenue retention, satisfaction scores, etc.). This can mirror consulting-style achievements.

👉 2. Start prepping early: Case + personal fit prep take time. Block 2–3 months to prep seriously starting in summer 2025, but you can already do 1–2 hours/week now to slowly get comfortable. I can guide you here if you like!

👉 3. Network strategically: Start connecting with current consultants on LinkedIn (ideally UCL alumni or people in your target firms). Don't just ask for referrals—ask for advice, show interest, and then build those into warm leads for referrals later.

👉 4. Be smart with your application: Have a top CV and cover letter. Highlight transferable skills (structured thinking, communication, problem solving, leadership) and make it easy to understand why you want to do consulting now. I’m happy to help here as well 😊

👉 5. Practice early for Solve / Casey / OW Online Tests: You don’t want this to be the surprise blocker!

Let me know if you’d like to set up a plan or want help structuring your prep—I’m always happy to support 🌟

Best,
Alessa 😊

Hi Joseph,

First of all, congratulations on the offer!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, I would advise you to get clear on your story and angle: Why consulting, and why now. Find a strong narrative that links your current job to consulting. This matters more than people think.
• Moreover, I would highly advise you to prepare early for the case interviews – at best 4-6 months before applications, considering you will be working full-time. Do mock interviews on PrepLounge and get feedback from peers and an experienced coach like me.
• Lastly, I would advise you to network smartly. Reach out to consultants and alumni from your school working at your target consulting firms. Have short chats, ask for their advice, and try to get referrals when the time comes.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming applications, pre-interview assessments and/or interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi!

You've really sound advice already, but I thought I'd add 2 new things I've learnt:

• When you practice cases, practice with people who know how to case, or who are from the industry: Quality cases outwin 20-30 cases with poor feedback. You want thorough feedback.

  I'd recommend once you've learnt some frameworks, please watch a case e.g. 2. Youtube clip of a real case to see what happens (but imagine this online) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuys5fWCxJM 

• Network! Cold Linkedin, look up people who've left your current company to go to an MBB - reach out to them, how have they done it. Use your school network, who of your peers have gone to an MBB, get coffee with them. 

Good luck!