Nick Johnson (Stern ‘15) went to NYU Stern an MBA as a means to transition from IT-focused consulting to a broader career in management consulting. Now almost 5 years post graduation, we caught up with Nick to get his thoughts on that transition and how time in business school has helped him accelerate his career, and his advice for MBA students who are considering a career in Management Consulting.
MBASchooled: What was the biggest difference pre-business school and after business school as a consultant?
I think that when you are joining consulting out of college, it’s all about showing up, executing, and showing the potential to progress. Should undergrad students still go above and beyond? Bring their opinions to the table? Identify opportunities to lead, manage, and mentor? Of course – and I was fortunate to do some of that in my first consulting career. Coming out of business school, those things become table stakes.
Even if you are a brand new MBA hire from Business School, you are expected to draw on past experiences to add substantial value to your projects – on the client side and the firm side. MBAs also should have more experience working in and leading consulting-sized teams, so even in consulting where the reporting structure is pretty flat, you’ll be expected to show immediate leadership, management, and decision making capabilities.
MBASchooled: What are some of the skills MBA students should develop when in business school if they want to work in management consulting?
As with all things consulting, it depends. Perhaps you dove deeper into an industry so that you can bring a unique perspective on macro level trends to your project. Maybe you were heavy on finance classes and became modeling genius so you hit the ground drawing insights from data in a way that makes you unique. Even if you were always just the “presenter” for your group projects, you could be called on to speak in a client pitch sooner than you think. No two days in consulting are alike and with changing projects, clients, and consulting services in general, MBAs need to be both specialists and generalist simultaneously.
MBASchooled: You’ve worked in some form of consulting for your whole career. What value do MBA graduates bring to firms?
It really is about being both a specialist and a generalist. For example, if you had a pre-MBA background in healthcare and then built a broader business toolkit, then you’d be a perfect candidate for any type of healthcare project – growth strategy, digital, M&A, etc. On the other hand, if you hypothetically were placed in another industry, then you have to lead with your generalist skills and your healthcare specialty takes a backburner. The important thing is to know what your strengths and experiences are, and in any given situation, think about how you can use them to contribute to the project or client in a way that goes above and beyond the face-value ask at hand.
MBASchooled: If an MBA student is evaluating if they want to pursue an internship or full-time consulting opportunity, what are some things they should consider/evaluate?
Don’t worry too much if “consulting is right for you” – there are so many firms, and so many different offices, projects, and people within those firms that it isn’t fair to think you can really learn a firm’s culture and practice groups within a short recruiting time frame. I’ve been with my current firm for almost 5 years and I’m still learning a ton about what we do and meeting the people who do it.
Instead, I would think about what you want to do after business school Not just what career do you want, but what do you want to learn, what size organizations do you want to work with, who do you want to meet, etc. Consulting offers a lot of different answers to those questions and it can be a great second launch pad if you only want to stay for a few years. That said, the travel, long hours, and client service aspects of the job aren’t for everyone. Consulting also isn’t the only place to hone your business acumen, so choose wisely knowing both the ups and the downs.
MBASchooled: How can a few years in consulting after business school be valuable to someone’s future career?
The two biggest areas are continued learning and networking. From a learning perspective, you’ll get a chance to put your MBA skills and knowledge to the test and learn on the job while also plugging into the countless trainings, seminars, and conferences available to you through your firm. From a networking perspective, you essentially get to form two new groups of contacts – those in your firm and your clients. These people are extremely helpful if you decide to stay within the firm (to be your champions and to be repeat clients) or if you chose to leave (as references or even your future employers.)
MBASchooled: While many MBA students want to do consulting, the reality is that for those who go into it, many will eventually move into other opportunities. How should MBA students think about this, as they evaluate consulting?
If you want to go into consulting to become a Partner one day, that’s great. Even then, most firms are setup in a way that allows for natural evaluation points every 2-4 years. If you are going to try consulting and see if you like it, or even know in advance you want to get in and get out, I would say to at least make it to the 1.5-2 year mark. This will ensure you have had the broad exposure you were seeking, met a good number of people, received a wealth of coaching and feedback, and truly got something out of the experience and not just a resume line.
MBASchooled: Since you graduated, you’ve had some of your colleagues leave for industry, while others have stayed. What have you noticed in those who have decided to stay?
Part of sticking it out with consulting is evolving as the roles you are in evolve. You’ll go from a problem solving role to the project manager or manager of multiple projects and eventually into practice development. People that are operators might want to leave for industry where they have P&L responsibility, those who love a new challenge, might prefer startup life where the problems feel more “blue sky” again like the days MBA group projects. Furthermore, there are also jobs that pay better than consulting too – and a lot of people will jump firms, move to Private Equity, or take a job that offers an equity stake before you get that offer as a consulting partner. Does that mean that everyone who stays is boring and has a conservative career mindset? Not at all! As a senior staff or even a partner, you’ll be faced with the constant change that consultants have to keep pace with to ensure you are still selling what clients are buying. From my own experience, I learned a lot in my “first” consulting career in tech and IT about how consulting firms work. That knowledge has been immensely helpful in my current career in M&A, and everything I’ve learned since could enable me to move to a new consulting space in the future without sacrificing the pace of my career growth.
MBASchooled: How important are exit opportunities when you are evaluating a potential consulting firm?
A firm is by no means defined by the exit opportunities it offers, but that said it’s pretty important. Take a look at your school’s alum who have left consulting – where do they go after they leave? Are they in startups? Tech Companies? General management at blue chip companies? Private Equity or Venture Capital? Chances are with most major firms you’ll see a mixed bag, but it is definitely worth doing your research to see if you can spot any trends.