| Topic Name: |
Cover Letter |
| Message Name: |
"relevant business experience" |
| Date Posted: |
02/02/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
For NYC, send it to Erin. I don't think Stacy is with the firm anymore.
Otherwise, here's what I suggest. If you have a lot of relevant business experience (e.g. three years in an i-bank, McKinsey, or P&G brand management) or a PhD in a business field, such as econometrics or finance, then send it to the MBA contact. In other words, if you think you're equivalent in business skill to someone who has an MBA, apply to the MBA contact. If you have less than two years of relevant business experience or a PhD not directly related to general management of a business, use the AC contact. The AC contact coordinates recruiting for both new ACs and Senior ACs (SACs). |
| Message: |
I have business experience, but the key word seems to be "relevant" experience. I have managed projects, teams, and so on. I've even been involved with R&D consulting work with fortune 500 firms, as well as startups. The thing is, I have little to no experience in accounting, corporate finance, and the typical core of an MBA. I'm largely self-taught in these areas -- meaning i'm conversationally fluent enough to understand anything you might freely talk about in conversation. I have read case-studies, keep up with the Harvard Business Review, and read the Wall Street Journal. I've certainly done my homework on the different areas of the corporate world in my soul-searches. I spend my free time reading stuff about M&A (e.g., the book by Donald DePamphilis) (disclaimer: contrary to the image i'm painting here, i'm not a boring man). I have a "speaking" knowledge of financial markets (bonds, equities, options, hedging). I just haven't "done" anything with these things, so I can't say that i'm as fluent as an MBA might be at say coming up with a financial model (and I may require help setting up a spreadsheet model with respect to the accounting aspects of it). But the process is very scientific (basically its about simulating scenarios, testing assumptions numerically, and coming up with "reasonable" solutions), which means my PhD gives me the strengths to get up to speed and possibly contribute in a more critical way.
So, when you say "business skill" is it possible for you to be more specific about what that might entail? Is it simply a question of being able to "hit the ground running" if they threw you in a room with a PC and excel and told you to build a model?
This then leads me to my next question: What type of training do the big firms offer M/B/B for their associate level hires? I know McK prides itself on its mini-MBA program designed to bring non-financial types "up to speed". Does Bain do anything like this?
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