How to Plan Your Career Path | Career Planning Guide

Best Choice 

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) runs an MSc Economics and Strategy for Business Programme. The program is full-time and brings together contemporary economics and strategic analysis to prepare students for successful careers in finance and consulting. Given my career background, I have chosen the Consulting Sector for large corporate companies. The Consulting Sector is crucial to the corporate world as it helps business entities in making decisions that impact their performances. I am confident that the interdisciplinary program will equip me with significant expertise in research. By the end of the session, I expect to have a better understanding of how digital economies and innovation promote globalization and prudent financial management. I believe taking this career path will help me work on my marketing analytics skills. I will be able to perfect operational management consulting, investment consulting, and relationship marketing skills. 

Organizations and Roles 

China hosts some of the largest corporate companies in the world. According to Ed Tse, most corporates have lately opted to recruit and train young talents. Fresh recruits, especially youths who have just graduated from college, mostly have lower salary obligations. Tse is a renowned management consultant who founded Gao Feng Advisors, China (Debter, 2017). My main target organization is Bain Capital (BC), with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. The organization is among the leading capital investment firms in the world. BC has branches in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. The main operational areas at BC include private equity, credit management, public equity, venture and real estate. I have got knowledge in Merger and Acquisition, Business forecasting, and Corporate Finance. These are the necessary foundational skills for financial and consultancy services for the private equity sector (Bain Capital, 2019). 

I am also looking at Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), which is one of the biggest equity firms in China. The firm makes buyouts that target businesses which have between USD 100 million and USD 500 million in enterprise value. BPEA has a large team of diligent and hardworking employees who manage operational investments exceeding eighty in number. The main departments are Credit, Investor Relations, Operations, Professional Support, Private Equity, and the Real Estate Department. Private Equity and Investor relations are my main areas of interest at BPEA. The two departments heavily rely on financial consultancy services for progress (Baring Private Equity Asia, 2019). 

Recruitment Criteria for Bain Capital 

Recruitments through Organization Websites 

As one of the biggest firms that deal in asset investment, Bain Capital needs professionals with knowledge in credit management, private equity, and venture. The company posts an application link specifying required qualifications through its website. Given the nature of their operations, I am confident that Bain Capital will be looking for individuals from the Finance and Economics field. I got a Master of Finance degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). I attended classes in Business Forecasting, Advanced Financial Risk Management, New Venture, as well as Merger and Acquisition. This makes me the most deserving candidate to either the Credit Department or the Ventures Team. 

Use of Behavioural Interviews 

Bain Capital is committed to effecting the greatest partnership deals by coming up with strategies whose impacts are global. Behavioural interviews enable the company to single out candidates who can apply their analytical skills to compare situations and effect great collaborative partnerships. Behavioral interviews simulate situations that often prevail in a business environment, where candidates are asked to suggest solutions to specific challenges. By partnering with two of my classmates to build a Badminton club in school, I showed my ability to work with teams. The exercise involved three apartments where we organized ten competitions and fifteen open free lessons.  

Raiding Talents from Competitors 

By recruiting the best talents from competitors, an organization will have the potential to assert its position even in new market zones. The main intention of private equity at BC is to empower appreciable companies so that they can thrive in a competitive world. The sector demands great investment expertise to ensure continuous improvement of operations and positive income growth. Having worked in an asset management company and a commercial bank before makes me the most appropriate candidate for consultancy services. 

Use of National Hiring Days 

Large companies often conduct nationwide recruitment events on a single day to enhance publicity, and as a marketing technique. As a return-oriented company that deals in capital investment, Bain Capital will consider publicizing the recruitment process in search of the most eligible candidates for their consultancy sector. Being a student at the London School of Economics and Political Science will come as an advantage to me. Success in such exercise calls for one to be outstanding in terms of character and credentials. I have held leadership positions in my graduate school and have excellent skills in data analysis. I also had extensive interaction with Matlab and Python. 

Skillset Gaps that I must Develop 

Bain Capital uses an approach that features essential foundational research to construct scientific portfolios. This strategy helps the company in exploring equity market opportunities on a global scale. We used Matlab and Python for data analysis in most of the classes at UIUC. I was able to acquire skills in advanced financial risk management, business forecasting, corporate finance, as well as merging and acquisition. At the LSE, I expect to learn new skills on entrepreneurial strategy, marketing analytics, and digital marketing. I want to be able to find solutions to real-world business challenges through interdisciplinary research approaches. The LSE has an ongoing relationship with major employers. Enrolling in the school will be an opportunity for me to meet with leading global organizations, where I will learn how they enhance brand popularity and analyse consumer behaviours. Networking with world-class business leaders including Joshua Bekenstein who is a chairman at Bain Capital. By the end of the programme, I expect to be able to present myself with confidence to the world’s top companies. 

Short-Term and Long-Term Career Plan 

UIUC equipped me with great adeptness in the area of finance. I have also had three internship programs, all under the financial industry. Going forward, I intend to focus on finance and consulting in the short term. The intention informed my decision to apply for the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)’s MSc Economics and Business Strategy. Exposure to real-world business challenges will be an opportunity for me to understand the corporate world better. I want to take part in offering great financial and consultancy services by making informed decisions at Bain Capital. 

In the long-term, I intend to build my career by focusing solely on consultancy under the private equity sector. This branch involves equity firms that source capital from institutions and individuals. An equity firm invests the capital in any active company, where it then gets equity proprietorship. Companies are increasingly relying on digital media and exploring internet capabilities in enlarging the scope of their operations (Cendrowski, 2018). Therefore, I also intend to focus on digital marketing in furtherance of my mission to be a diligent and tech-savvy consultant. Bain Capital will be the right place for me to lay a strong foundation for my career in the long term. 

Alternative Sector 

If I do not get a chance at Bain Capital, I have identified Baring Private Equity Asia as my alternative company. I will focus on the investor relations department if I am not enrolled to the private equity department. My knowledge in Merger and Acquisition, as well as in Advanced Financial Risk Management makes me the right candidate for the investor relations department. I will still be able to learn and gain experience on digital marketing, brand strategy, and entrepreneurial strategy while working for BPEA. Offering consultancy services in the sector will give me the opportunity to implement my long-term career plans. 

References

Bain Capital. (2019, July 17). Committed to Lasting Impact . Retrieved from https://www.baincapital.com/ 

Baring Private Equity Asia. (2019, August 13). Our Team . Retrieved from http://www.bpeasia.com/our-team/ 

Cendrowski, S. (2018, July 21). China’s Global 500 companies are bigger than ever—and mostly state-owned . Retrieved from https://fortune.com/2015/07/22/china-global-500-government-owned/ 

Debter, L. (2017, May 24). Global 2000: The Largest Companies in China in 2017 . Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2017/05/24/2017-global-2000-the-largest-companies-in-china/#4e4515ce67c3