Hi all,I graduated spring 2010 with a BS in Chemical Engineering from a top 10 engineering school with a decent 3.2 GPA. During my time in college, I was particulalry active in the consulting scene at my campus - competing in case competitions, participating and leading a consulting team that offered pro-bono consulting services to the local community, etc. After graduating, I took a job at a small boutique IT consulting firm. Although I enjoy my job, I feel that I would much rather have a less technical position than what I have now. I've had my fair share of client interaction; however I feel like I'm being pidgeon-holed in the technical position because of my engineering background and that I excel at the technical work/problem solving. In additon, my current employer has a no-references policy, which gets in the way of me getting an MBA in the future.Having been at the firm for almost year, I've been looking into other consulting firms, namely Accenture, Deloitte Consulting, IBM GBS, etc. Given my short work experience, how are my chances of landing a job at these firms? And what other firms do you all recommend I look into given my background? In addition, I have already taken my GMAT and scored in the mid 700's. Should I put my score on my resume or will firms frown upon that? I know that for firms like Deloitte, which promote MBA programs. This might be beneficial, but what about the others? In addition, what can I do at my current position that will help my application? And lastly, since I am currently employed I would rather the firm not contact my current employer (they wouldn't get anything either with the no references policy) but should I check that box on my application or does it hurt too much?Thanks!

Your writing style is a little odd. If I read this as a potential hiring manager I would have serious doubts about whether I could trust the quality of your deliverables, so it would be wise to make sure you are using punctuation correctly. That aside, you could and should apply to the big MCs. You would be a grad scheme entrant not an experienced hire. At the very least your current employer should confirm the dates and title of your employment, and as for references which attest to your qualities look to academic references, perhaps even a client reference, if your employer won't provide one. If they have a real policy of not providing references then they will confirm this when asked for one and no questions will be asked of you as to why they won't provide one. As for putting your GMAT score on your CV, well why not? It's one small detail, and is unlikely to be the difference between a hire and not, but if it's a good score then by all means state it.I think your biggest hurdle is not going to be whether you should apply to the likes of ACN, Deloitte etc but whether you will convince yourself you should or shouldn't apply. The longer you leave it the harder it will be to get that graduate entry, and you will likely either convince yourself that what you don't want to do isn't that bad, or that you will be rejected outright. Go apply, come back here if you need some help along the way.

From certain references in your post (GPA, etc) I’m assuming your are US based? Its some time since I worked in the US, so may well be out of touch with some aspects, but there are a few generic points worth making.The first is that it is entirely normal for recent graduates to find themselves in “technical” roles. In IT firms this really does mean technical, but in other firms it can mean doing excel work or similar “defined-task” activities. In consulting it is not uncommon to find career progression along the lines of Stage 1 - prove you can work by doing defined “technical” tasks, while learning how to behave on client engagements – billing is based on graft and physical attendance.Stage 2 – build up some expertise/subject matter expertise at which point you start to design the tasks, not just do them – billing rate increases to reflect this.Stage 3 – build up sufficient experience from which you can start to express judgements – billing becomes more flexible and detached form a narrow capabilityStage 4 – learn management skills – billing alters to reflect your enablement of a larger group of junior people.Stage 5 – understanding of the entire process – move into sales – personal billing is often irrelevant – income generation is the measure.The second point is that movement between MC firms is normal at 18 months to 3 years tenure. By that time the “cream” of each graduate intake will have established itself and the first class honours students with the skitzo temperaments will have had their nervous breakdowns. The challenge is to do just enough time at your current firm that your new employer categorises you as someone who is in stage 2, and does not just set you back to task based work. To do this you need to show at interview that you have some expertise that your new firm can leverage on a consistent basis. Can you do that?As for the GMAT – yes, add it as one line in your education section. References – state that you will be happy to provide these on receipt of any offer.

Thanks for the replies! I apologize for my odd writing style. I actually typed this out on my phone while jogging on a treadmill last night.I thought of another question about my resume/CV. Since I'm being considered as a graduate applicant, should I have the education section first? I always thought that the most recent experience should be at the top, so in this case, my work experience should be first. What's right?

You can get both on the front page so it won't matter.

Don't apologize for the odd writing style tripleoptiks. The idi*t who commented on you probably is himself a grad entrant as for the first 2 years where the company just makes these mules work on the proposals and check for spelling mistakes. Had this person ever attempted GMAT exam, he/she should have known that GMAT tests english writings skills and does that thoroughly. Since you scored in mid 700s I have no doubt your talents would far exceed your writing skillls. Anyways you are not applying for a proof reader job in a stupid newspaper. And don't worry this idiot will never be your hiring manager but you can see him down under on your way through the fast track promotion. :-)

'I am proud of Grammar skills but am a mule' - dissing Mars a Day is frowned upon in this forum, for good reason. Mars is the most respected poster on this site, and gave considered feedback to tripleoptiks, but thanks for your valuable input anyway.tripleoptike, in my opinion education should come first for you, certainly at grad level. I am 27 and manager level, and still have my degrees at the top of my CV - they only take up a few lines (although I am considering changing).

tripleoptiks - all is forgiven on the grammar front :)As Naive says, you can fit both on one page so I would suggest get your education on first then your experience. Get your role in, title, dates, the usual, a brief note on who the company is, then break your experience down into MC type activities. Frankly using some buzzwords wont hurt either. Dont waste space on a personal profile, nor on interests and hobbies unless you do something very impressive in your free time. Keep it clean, nice font, good wide margins. You'll be fine. Make sure you keep up updated on how you get on though - be nice to see you on here deliberating a couple of offers!

Wait a minute.I thought that I was the most respected poster on this site.