Hi all,
I would welcome any advice that can assist me to transition to a career in management consulting. To achieve this I expect my best bet is to do an MBA. My preference would be to do an MBA in Europe over the US (I feel they are generally more international and I would prefer to live and work in Europe), although I would not be averse to studying in the US if I could see it getting me to where I want to be. Australian MBA's are a write off in my opinion, I don't even know if there are any top consulting firms that actually actively target from Aussie MBAs.
A little about myself...
Nationality: Australian
Age: 24 (25 at the end of this year)
Uni: Bachelor of Business, major in marketing at an average Australian University GPA 6 on 7 point scale (Not exactly sure what this equates to, used the forigncredits website, it gave me 3.67, but I have read as low as 3.3 in other places, anybody have experience with this?). I completed my degree in an accelerated program (bachelor degree in 2 years), not sure if that helps or hinders?
Experience:
Spent two years doing religious voluntary service after Uni. Over 1 year was spent in training/leadership roles. I think this is an awesome life and career shaping experience, not sure how favourably it would be viewed. Got to work with people all over the world which I loved.
Worked for a little over 3 years as an Account Manager for a small company which distributes IT vendor software qualifications in Australian, NZ and the Pacific. My role is to consult with High schools, Universities, training providers and corporations to negotiate solutions including, software and learning resources to allow students/employees to obtain vendor qualifications. As such I have some expertise in software licensing (Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk), Education course development consultation (in a variety of areas including IT, Business, Creative Design and Multimedia, and Engineering), Learning and Development and HR. A part of my role has included analysis of opportunities and development of new company solutions such as corporate software skills evaluation and productivity solutions.
Started and managed a small international student agency (ran for two years). The company provided services to international students looking to study in Australia. Had sub-contractors servicing students from a range of countries and in a variety of languages, including English, Thai, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese.
I have also recently applied for a job at Accenture (seems to be a half management consulting half contract negotiation type role). Not sure if it will come through at this point.
GMAT: 700+ Expected
Target Schools: I would Love to get into INSEAD, LBS or IESE as I think these are the main European MBAs that MBB or Stratgey& look for (again open to other suggestions). Not so fond of IMD, seems unnecessarily expensive and like everything is going downhill there atm.
Questions:
What are my chances for INSEAD, LBS or IESE? Am I dreaming or have a got a fair shot?
How much influence will my GMAT score have on my chances? Obviously if I have a terrible score I am not going to get in, but given I didn't study at a prestigious university or get amazing results do I need an overly high GMAT to compensate?
Do I need more experience or could I apply as things currently stand?
If I worked at Accenture for two or three years, how that that impact my chances for my target schools?
Also I could get a professional recommendation from a Dean or Associate Dean at a university due to the work I have done for them through my employment. Is this something that would be viewed more or less favourably than a recommendation from a HR Manager in a corporate organisation?
Any other advice would be welcomed.
Cheers,
Jish![]()
I would welcome any advice that can assist me to transition to a career in management consulting. To achieve this I expect my best bet is to do an MBA. My preference would be to do an MBA in Europe over the US (I feel they are generally more international and I would prefer to live and work in Europe), although I would not be averse to studying in the US if I could see it getting me to where I want to be. Australian MBA's are a write off in my opinion, I don't even know if there are any top consulting firms that actually actively target from Aussie MBAs.
A little about myself...
Nationality: Australian
Age: 24 (25 at the end of this year)
Uni: Bachelor of Business, major in marketing at an average Australian University GPA 6 on 7 point scale (Not exactly sure what this equates to, used the forigncredits website, it gave me 3.67, but I have read as low as 3.3 in other places, anybody have experience with this?). I completed my degree in an accelerated program (bachelor degree in 2 years), not sure if that helps or hinders?
Experience:
Spent two years doing religious voluntary service after Uni. Over 1 year was spent in training/leadership roles. I think this is an awesome life and career shaping experience, not sure how favourably it would be viewed. Got to work with people all over the world which I loved.
Worked for a little over 3 years as an Account Manager for a small company which distributes IT vendor software qualifications in Australian, NZ and the Pacific. My role is to consult with High schools, Universities, training providers and corporations to negotiate solutions including, software and learning resources to allow students/employees to obtain vendor qualifications. As such I have some expertise in software licensing (Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk), Education course development consultation (in a variety of areas including IT, Business, Creative Design and Multimedia, and Engineering), Learning and Development and HR. A part of my role has included analysis of opportunities and development of new company solutions such as corporate software skills evaluation and productivity solutions.
Started and managed a small international student agency (ran for two years). The company provided services to international students looking to study in Australia. Had sub-contractors servicing students from a range of countries and in a variety of languages, including English, Thai, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese.
I have also recently applied for a job at Accenture (seems to be a half management consulting half contract negotiation type role). Not sure if it will come through at this point.
GMAT: 700+ Expected
Target Schools: I would Love to get into INSEAD, LBS or IESE as I think these are the main European MBAs that MBB or Stratgey& look for (again open to other suggestions). Not so fond of IMD, seems unnecessarily expensive and like everything is going downhill there atm.
Questions:
What are my chances for INSEAD, LBS or IESE? Am I dreaming or have a got a fair shot?
How much influence will my GMAT score have on my chances? Obviously if I have a terrible score I am not going to get in, but given I didn't study at a prestigious university or get amazing results do I need an overly high GMAT to compensate?
Do I need more experience or could I apply as things currently stand?
If I worked at Accenture for two or three years, how that that impact my chances for my target schools?
Also I could get a professional recommendation from a Dean or Associate Dean at a university due to the work I have done for them through my employment. Is this something that would be viewed more or less favourably than a recommendation from a HR Manager in a corporate organisation?
Any other advice would be welcomed.
Cheers,
Jish