How providing MBA prep support to analysts and consultants can give your firm’s recruiting function an extra edge.


Quality of People — this is the primary force that allows consulting firms to make such a powerful impact. Finding individuals with poise, strong analytical and writing skills, and solid work experience, as well as client-facing skills, is the key. When it comes to identifying top candidates for business analyst or other pre-MBA positions, it can be a challenge finding fresh graduates with the “whole package” — especially since candidates for these positions usually have limited work experience (typically internships at best).
  
So when you find just the right candidate with just the right skills, how do you keep him or her interested and focused on joining your firm? What can a firm do beyond the usual to attract the best and the brightest?

The  key is thinking about what is ahead for them. Step into their shoes for a minute. They are excited about the prospects of starting their careers, but many are also looking ahead and thinking about growth beyond their entry-level positions. The dynamic go-getter whom you want to add to your staff is assessing what your firm will be able to give him to enable him to be ready to move up through the ranks and create an awesome experience so that he can get into a top business school.

Business school, so that’s what they’re thinking about? Most likely yes, especially once they recognize the value of an MBA at a top business school for creating credibility in the consulting world. So, that brings me to my point. If you want to excite a candidate and keep him engaged with the idea of joining your firm, go to where they want to go. Go to the topic of “business school.” A firm that provides MBA prep support to their analysts and consultants will find that they have an edge and quite a recruiting tool. But what does that mean?

What goes into “MBA support”? Well, the most common answer to this question is financial support for your analysts’ pursuits of their MBAs — but there is far more opportunity for discussion than making it all about funding.
  
Many consulting companies already recognize that “homegrown” talent is valuable. Business analysts and consultants work intensely for two to four years, becoming intimately familiar with the company culture and offerings of the firm. Providing funding to consultants is a way to lure them back after business school and thus not lose any of that knowledge to other firms.