Bridge to BCG and McKinsey Insight

Both the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and McKinsey offer 2-3 day summer programs to introduce advanced degree candidates to consulting. The BCG program is called "Bridge to BCG" and the McKinsey program is called "Insight."

I applied for both programs and went to the info session for the BCG program at the BCG office in Boston. Before I get into detail about the program, I must say that the Boston office for BCG is absolutely incredible. It is on the 31st floor of the Exchange building and has an incredible view of the Boston Harbor....it would actually be a little tough for me to get work done with views like that.

Anyway, I heard the pitch from BCG and then did some networking afterwards...this proved to be KEY. I had already been VP of the consulting club for a month or so and had gotten to know a few Harvard students and postdocs that were pretty well connected with the BCG folks. This helped get me some nice introductions at this event. I met one of the principals in the office and also and probably most importantly was casually introduced to the recruiter.

I told the recruiter that I wouldn't be able to make it to the Bridge program in Boston because I had a wedding the same weekend and asked about doing the program in New York instead. I really enjoyed talking to the recruiter and felt like we were able to develop a nice report in a relaxed environment....this was invaluable to my later experiences.

While I went to the BCG intro event, I didn't do the same for the McKinsey program...all they actually offered was an online webinar, which didn't really appeal to me. I didn't see the value in a program where I wouldn't get to network they way I wanted to.

Back to BCG and Bridge...After we submitted applications, I never actually heard back from them. The deadline for hearing back was 2 weeks from the application deadline and that date had come and gone. I sent an email to the recruiter I had met and...no response. This went on for another week or so when all of a sudden I got a phone call out of the blue. "This is Molly from BCG...we loved your application and wish you could have come to Bridge in Boston...we can't allow people to do Bridge outside of their home city, but really loved your application. Instead of doing Bridge, we all agree you should really interview for a full time position to begin in January of 2010!"

I agreed to interview in early August and later discovered it was the recruiter I had met that had really pushed to try to bring me on board. Just a small lesson to all of the potential applicants....don't dismiss the recruiter as insignificant...they may actually be your biggest ally and have more power than you realize!

PS I didn't get invited to Insight either!