the LGO journey

Anonymous asked: I've gotten this question from a few people and thought I would share my response:

"How can I convince/prove to admissions that even though I've been in consulting for the past 3 years, I'm ultimately passionate about manufacturing and operations? Does my consulting-only background disqualify me from being admitted?"

I was also Industrial Engineering undergrad and did a few internships in that area (Quality with Pratt & Whitney, Lean project with GE Consumer & Industrial), but ultimately ended up in finance with GE for a year (still was close to operations in supply chain and product development) and then in management consulting for 2 years (but again, in operations). I definitely know how you feel. I felt like I was learning a lot from the high level about operations, but was not getting the hands on practice that I missed (from internships) and that I needed (for my development). I did learn a lot in consulting, especially in terms of soft skills, but was to be back in industry close to a product or service that is delivered to a customer.

What it comes down to is what you are interested in. It sounds like you have pretty honest intentions about pursuing an operations career in industry. Just articulate that and be honest in your admissions material. Not saying that I know the magic formula, but that seemed to work for me. The program does look for people that want to work for one of the partner companies, so it makes sense that they look for those type of people and not just ones that want to go back into consulting etc…

29 August 2010 · Comments