Consulting vs I-banking

Graduate School Business School - MBA
1

<p>I realize that acceptance into MBA schools depends on numerous factors.</p>

<p>However, with all else being equal, are MBA schools more likely to accept applicants from the consulting industry or I-banking? To rephrase that question, would an applicant with 2 yrs of experience with Citigroup Ibanking have an edge over an applicant with 2 yrs at Deloitte consulting (all else, like GMAT scores, grades, work responsibility, etc being equal)?</p>

<p>Again, I realize that there is no single correct answer, but I would appreciate input on this matter.</p>

2

<p>The difference is so small it doesn't even matter.</p>

3

<p>dc isn't all that impressive imo compared to citi ib</p>

4

<p>yeah, change that to monitor consulting and you got my dilemma ;)</p>

5

<p>all else isn't equal, sadly, because the types of projects you could be on, or the ways in which your skills get applied to the job, will be wildly different. The end result is, you want to be able to say some of the following things (taken from the resume of an ibanking analyst friend of mine, modified slightly)</p>

<p>• Construct financial models and perform detailed financial analyses on various transactions including mergers, leveraged buy-outs, equity and debt financing, and real estate investing for a variety of public and private companies
• Analyze financial impact of mergers and acquisitions including FFO accretion/dilution and return on investment analyses
• Value real estate companies and assets using comparable company, precedent transaction, discounted cash flow, leveraged buy-out, and net asset value analyses
• Advise on potential strategic alternatives for various real estate companies and investors
• Contribute to new business development, generating presentation materials and participating in client meetings
• Transaction experience:
– Ongoing transaction: Sell-side advisory for a major REIT ($XBn+)
– Ongoing transaction: Capital raising for a private investment fund ($XXXMM)
– MSREF V: Acquisition of a 49% interest in Crescent Resources ($XXXMM)</p>

<p>or, you might say the following things if you're in consulting (from my resume, modified slightly)</p>

<p>• Worked in a team of 20 consultants & partners on the consolidation and cost reduction of a global Financial Services firm, with 2008 projected savings of $150MM from sourcing and shared services.
• Coordinated, researched and presented a strategic valuation for a major [snip] organization which resulted in renewed sales contracts with an increase of $10MM in revenue.
• Served as primary organizer and logistics handler for global 2006-2007 firm recruiting efforts.
• Currently sourcing commodities for a national waste management company, in a team of 8 consultants.</p>

<p>You'll note how my friend in ibanking mostly lists <em>duties</em> on hers, with verbs like advise, construct, value, analyze... whereas a consulting resume tends to look more like an accomplishments list, and goes over projects with results and dollar figures attached. Hers does this to a lesser extent, but hers sounds like more of a real "job", as opposed to a string of projects.</p>

<p>Both paths will look good to business schools, but in the professional world what impresses people about resumes (generally speaking) is accomplishments, and so the best thing you can ever really say is "I saved the company $<strong><em>MM by doing _</em></strong>", or that you led a group of X people to accomplish something like that. So to the extent that your job gives you that ability, you'll be helped dramatically in your b-school applications.</p>