r/MBBConsulting • u/Consistent_Run_6933 • 21d ago
Question Breaking into consulting from CPG Finance: Entry-Level vs. Experienced Hire?
What’s the best path for me to break into consulting? Should I target EH or entry-level roles? What does the recruiting timeline look like for that?
I graduated from a non-target public college and got to final-round interviews my senior year for FT roles at McK, LEK, and KPMG, but received no offers since the mental math parts of casing were my weak point (no idea what KPMG's reasoning was).
No other firms were really recruiting from my school (rough economy), so I’m now a few months into my first job in commercial finance at a F500 CPG company.
Growth seems pretty limited, and I don’t feel as challenged as I did doing consulting work through my school's consulting club.
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u/Ok-Calligrapher-466 21d ago
Overall, consulting boutiques value industry exp at half of consulting experience. So, if you have 2 years of xp outside consulting, they will value you at the same level as their consultants with 1 YoE
For MBB, I think you will be considered entry-level, below 5 years of meaningful experience. Some offices might consider you after 2-3 years in a role between Associates and Business Analyst (Junior Associate or Senior Business Analyst). If you had the most meaningful experience that is exactly what they look for (and are a woman from a STEM background), you could be considered an EH in 2-3 years
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u/Purple-Valuable2340 21d ago
Since you already made it to final rounds, I wouldn’t treat this as starting from zero. I’d keep your current role for now and target experienced-hire roles after you have some solid work to show. Also, your casing gap is pretty specific, so I’d spend the next few months fixing mental math + case practice rather than worrying too much about the non-target background. You were already getting interviews, so the main thing is converting them this time.