Hello all, Been in Strat consulting with Deloitte for the last 2 years - am Consultant level. Im desperate to get into McKinsey (call it an irratioanl dream or whatever - but i do honestly believe they must live up to their amazing reputation) SO my question is how can i get there (No MBA yet? Do McKinsey have speial recruitment consultants of ther own?

http://www.mckinsey.com/aboutus/careers/experiencedprofessionals/apply.asp

MBA is not a pre-requisite. I worked for ACN for a few years and wasn't even specialising in strategy. Spent a few tough but very enjoyable and challenging years before heading into investment banking.

Hi Helen: Before you get too anxious to get into McKinsey, remind yourself of Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, and, best of all, K-Mart--which was advised to go head first into a price war with Wal-Mart by... you guessed it: McKinsey. Check "Best Business Stories of 2004". It's a great read. You don't need an MBA--McK hires all over the map; brains are the only pre-requisite.

Hi Banker,How did you make the move from consulting into Investment Banking ? I've been trying for years, to no availThanks

It depends what sort of move you want to make and also not knowing your background makes things a bit difficult to assess. But it goes without saying that if you're a project manager, no matter how good a project manager, you're very unlikely to secure a front office position. Myself, I was working in Corporate Strategy for Mck, and from the clients and the sectors that I had exposure to, I was able to leverage a move into the IBD of my current employer. The Mck name obviously helps, but the key is I had applicable experience that could be used. If you're background is more technical, you can still make a move into the operations or technology groups of an IBank. Also such a move is easier at the start of your career. The longer you live it, the harder it is. For example, I did 2 years at ACN and then another 2 years at Mck before moving. The other alternative is to do an MBA, which most people end up doing and I have a number of collegues who were consultants in a previous life, and did an MBA (from a Top 10 school though - this is important) before coming on board. Best of luck.

John Doe, Your post makes for interesting reading, I am 2 years into a consulting career and am looking at formulating a 5 year plan to get out after accruing as much experience as possible. With regards to making the jump into a bank, you mentioned you worked in strat for McK which obviously carries some clout on your CV. What aspects of your strat experience proved useful to get into the banking game and what does you role involve now?Thanks in advance

There are a number of aspects which collectively allowed me to make the transition. I'd be happy to have an offline discussion. Give me a contact email/number and I be happy to spare a few minutes.