Is it practical to join MBB or other consulting firms with 10 years of post MBA industry experience?

Question

Hi all,I’m looking for advice on transitioning into an MBB firm or even another consultancy

Here’s my situation.

Background:10 years of work experience in one profile and sector after doing MBA from top 5 IIM in India. Mid 30s, married, with a family. Worked in fields like digital transformation, costing optimization, revenue management, discounting and trade promotions strategy, sales strategy, market intelligence, regulatory affairs etc. but same company and department.

Reason: diversifying my career and learning through MBB. Significant career shift. Very low pay working in Indian company compared to my peers. Want to learn diverse industries and skills if possible for few years.

Concerns:Age and Family: Will my age and family responsibilities affect my hiring and performance in a demanding consulting role? I'm getting calls but will I convert!

Value of previous experience: Will my decade of experience be valued, or seen as irrelevant? How will this impact my career progression?

If I decide to switch out of consulting later, will my MBB experience enhance or limit my career options? Because a friend told me that at this time, MBB grads look to pivot into industry roles.

I would appreciate your advice and reality check on this!!

Answer 1

Hi Amar,

First of all, congratulations on your career trajectory thus far!

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

First of all, this depends completely on your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. Purely based on the information provided by you, you might be eligible for an Associate Partner or even Partner position, which will dramatically limit your consulting experiences to a few clients and topics.
Moreover, I would highly advise you either way to reach out to the recruiters and current employees of your target consulting firms and have an open and honest dialogue with them about your situation.

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 interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 2

Hi there,

Good questions!

The key question is what position would fit. I am not entirely certain how much leadership experience you have and how strong your network is but usually, with this much experience you should think about AP or Partner roles.

If have focused more on industry experience without the former, it might make sense to enter the Expert track.

In any case, you are definitely not too old and it's not too late.

I would reach out to HR and active consultants of target firms for networking and evaluating where your profile fits best. :-)

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 3

"Will my age and family responsibilities affect my hiring and performance in a demanding consulting role?"

You are the one who knows how you will balance things. This is a demanding role, and the consulting firms puts client work ahead of anything else.

“Will my decade of experience be valued, or seen as irrelevant? How will this impact my career progression?”

Some work experience will be considered. How much will depend on the specifics of your experience and role you're recruiting for.

"If I decide to switch out of consulting later, will my MBB experience enhance or limit my career options."

I don't think so. This is not related to age.