For anyone with insight on the matter, which of the three MBBs is most likely to interview a candidate with a non-target background (engineering, not a "grande ecole")? What about tier 2/boutiques?
Thank you.
Hi there,
Instead of trying to play odds on imperfect information (I imagine you're deciding which ones to apply to?), get "around" this by networking!
Network aggressively to try and get your foot into the interviewing door across all of these firms. With enough positive interactions/referrals at any of the MBBs/Tier 2s, any candidate with a strong resume (read: not necessarily a target school) can get invited to interview!
Hello!
I think perhaps you are looking at this from the wrong angle.
Who cares which schools? I guess you are not in the point of choosing one of the other based on that.
Same with the companies, who cares which list comes out from the comments here? Try them all, it´s for free! Don´t limit yourself before even starting the game :)
In McK Madrid, there were plenty of unique profiles from non-target schools.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
There's a fantastic BA in the McKinsey Paris Office who joined from a non-target school. He was highly determined to join where he really went above and beyond to prepare and network with the office. He didn't get the internship but kept his head up and re-applied the year after where he managed to get an offer. He's a superb guy and a strong performer. I'm glad that McKinsey didn't miss out on great talent just because he didn't come from the traditional path!
I'd say chances are similar with the three MBB. If you're not coming from a target school, your profile would need to be outstanding in other aspects (work exprerience, extra-curricular achievements, etc) to get an interview invitation. I don't think that a significant differentiation can be made between the three.
Thinks that speak in your favor would be work experience with rapid progression, ideally at blue chips, starting a successful business, significant experience in foreign countries, special skills e.g. in digital, data science, machine learning, or other achievements like athletics, builiding a charity, or others that make you "stick out of the croud".
Beyond the MBB, it gets more likely to get an invitation (obviously the smaller the firms the higher the likelyhood). But also here I wouldn't feel comfortable giving any meaningful differentiation between the firms.
Hello there!
Basically, you can apply to all of them and see how it goes! :)
But make sure you have a referral and your profile is outstanding.
If that's already done, prepare for the case interviews to perform well, there's plenty of information on PrepLounge.
Good luck!
GB
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