How many years of experience for experienced hire in big firm?

I have been working as an associate consultant for a small strategy boutique in my field of interest for 1 year, and I am about to be promoted to consultant. However, the pay increase is minimal

This got me thinking - my goal has been to use my experience in this smaller firm to transition to one of the larger consultancies as an experienced hire (rather than joining at a junior level)

How much longer would i need to stay at my current role for that to be feasible? I was thinking of another year at most before applying to other places (so 2 yrs of total experience)

Would that be seen as too little for bigger firms? And would it be worth moving a 'step back' and applying for associate roles for the prospect of better pay in the future?

 

Honestly, you're going to struggle. I've said this before in previous comments but experienced hires (EH) are only really used to plug short term gaps. MBB much prefer their partnership to have come through from undergrad or MBA (or equiv.). The current market is not one where we have gaps, unless you have some niche specialist knowledge.

If you want to take a shot, apply for a BA position and see what happens. Associate will be tough unless you wait a few years.

 
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We definitely hire experienced hires a lot more these days (although admittedly not really at the moment...). To StratCo's point, the baseline is still to focus on new / recent grads

To that point, for Bain, if you have <2 YOE you are a new grad, so you still fit that criterion. For >2YOE, the value will be determined based on the industry, but you might only be hired as a 2nd year AC

Basically, your best bet would be to apply within the next year, as experienced hiring may still be weak into 2024 (depending on how Q1 and Q2 go)

 

Is it <2 YOE or <2 years since you graduated? Say you graduate July 2024. Take some time off and start work Jan 2025. Can you apply for the MBB entry-level position in October 2026 for example?

 

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