After starting his career as an Engineer in the Oil and Gas Industry, Drew Miller (Owen, ‘20) moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Business to pursue a new career. After reflecting on his goals and aspirations, he decided to recruit for an internship in management consulting. Miller shared with us his decision to pursue management consulting, how he navigated the internship interview process, and what he’s learned in his career journey at Vanderbilt.
MBASchooled:What did you do prior to business school, and why did you decide to pursue a career in consulting?
Prior to business school I worked in the oil and gas industry. I spent two years as a process engineer for Chevron where I was responsible for the operations of two gas processing facilities. After my time with Chevron I moved to a solutions engineering position with a private equity owned energy services firm, Axip Energy Services. In that role I managed the company’s relationship with a strategic client, providing technical support and reporting on performance.
I didn’t enter Business School knowing that I wanted to go into consulting. I was looking for a career change, and it was important to me to meet a variety of employers to see what positions were out there. I fairly quickly gravitated to consulting firms, and I think this happened for a few reasons.
First, I was excited by the opportunity to work on complex and pressing business problems. Consultants travel all over to solve problems for executives, and I thought that kind of work would be fulfilling. Also, I liked the variety of industries and companies consultants work with. By moving to new projects and working with different companies, I knew that I would be engaged and excited by the work. Finally, I enjoyed the people and the work culture’s at the consulting firms. Everyone is going to be a little bit different, and I felt that the consulting world was right for me.
MBASchooled: The management consulting internship interview process is a challenging one! What are some of the aspects that make it so challenging?
I first want to say that while the process is challenging, if you are diligent and disciplined with your approach you can be successful and land an offer!
One of the toughest aspects of the process is the case interview. The case interview is challenging because:
1) you have to train yourself to think in a new way and:
2) you have to execute on a diverse set of skills.
Traditional schooling doesn’t fully prepare you for this type of interview, so it takes outside effort to be prepared. Fortunately, Owen’s consulting club provided plenty of support and resources to help me be successful. Search out those resources at whichever program you end up at.
I also think one of the most overlooked pieces of the interview process is the behavioral interview. There is so much focus on case interviewing that sometimes preparation for the behavioral portions go overlooked. It’s important to remember that firms are still evaluating for fit and communication skills and this will come through during the behavioral.
The last piece that makes the process challenging is balance. There is networking, interview prep, class work, social activities, and everything that comes with being in business school. It can all get overwhelming and that’s ok. My recommendation is to be intentional with your time and have your people you can lean on.
MBASchooled: Thinking back to your own experience, what was the high of the interview process? What was the low?
The high of the interview process was getting my internship offer. It was a huge relief and validation that the time and the effort was worth it. It’s a big commitment to come to business school, and you want to know that decision was a good one. Receiving the offer did that for me.
The low of the experience was somewhere in the middle of my case prep when I bombed a practice case. I completely choked and everything went wrong on the case. I felt terrible because I thought I should be able to execute better at this point in my prep. The fact is everyone will stumble and make mistakes through this process, and you have to be resilient and continue to work hard. This is where I think it’s critical to have people you can lean on to lift you back up. For me, it was my wife, but it can be family, friends, classmates, mentors, etc.
MBASchooled: What were some of the challenges you faced in the interview process, and how did you overcome them?
The whole process was one big challenge, and the best resources for how to get a management consulting internship were the consulting club and 2nd year students. Those resources were a guide to the work that needed to get done in order to be prepared come interview time. Through the highs and the lows I stayed disciplined and continued to work the process knowing that would put me in the best position.
MBASchooled: How did you handle any rejections, or any interviews that did not go well? What did you do afterwards?
Everyone handles rejection in their own way, so my approach is just what worked for me. After a rejection, I would give myself an hour (roughly, not an exact science) to feel whatever emotions I had about the rejection. Whether I was sad, upset, disappointed, angry, etc., I would give myself the time to feel it and vent. After that, I would think back to how I could have performed better throughout the interview, and I would carry those learnings forward.
MBASchooled: What was your interview prep process like? What did you typically do before any interview?
Owen’s consulting club provided resources and a timeline for interview prep. Early in the 1st year, 2nd year students taught the basics of case interview prep. After feeling confident with the basics, I would do two-to-three practice cases per week with other 1st year and 2nd year students and this continued until interviews. I supplemented the case prep with RocketBlocks which is a great tool to work on frameworks and mental math.
Before an interview, I would review information about the company I was interviewing with through notes I had taken, news articles, and the company website. Additionally, I would review my resume and ensure I was prepared to respond to behavioral questions. Beyond that, I focused on relaxing, being myself, and enjoying the process.
MBASchooled: With the benefit of hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently?
The only thing I would have done differently is learning about the consulting industry and case prep before arriving at business school. I was considering other career options when I started business school, so I know why I didn’t focus as much on consulting prep. However, the skills are applicable across different job types, so it would have been starting early no matter where I landed.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for first-year MBA students on how to manage the highs and lows of the interview process?
I’ll reiterate that I think the best way to manage is to have a person or people you can talk to. A significant other, friends, family, classmates, mentors, etc. Those people will help you celebrate the high’s and carry you through the low’s. The interview process is long and tough, and the support will keep you oriented towards your goals.