实战：三个MBA毕业生的职业三级跳

    梅利塔•西里尔

    跳国家：从斯里兰卡跳至加拿大

    跳行业：从金融业跳至咨询业

    跳职能：从金融衍生品交易跳至战略咨询

    梅利塔•西里尔现年26岁，三级跳对她的挑战不是移居加拿大，甚至不是尝试一份全新工作，而是闯入竞争极其激烈的咨询业。

    西里尔出生于斯里兰卡，在伦敦经济学院(London School of Economics )完成学士学位，2007年毕业后加入雷曼兄弟公司(Lehman Brothers)。随后，她又在瑞士信贷集团(Credit Suisse)伦敦分公司干了3年的利率掉期交易员。但她当时的男友（现在的老公）后来接受了一家加拿大公司的工作邀请，她随即抓住了这个“从头再来”的机会，转战咨询业。

    她在加拿大接连申请了好几份工作，但都以失败告终。西里尔于是决定去罗特曼管理学院攻读MBA学位。她说：“我初来乍到，人生地不熟，更谈不上什么人脉资源了。我认为上商学院是一个绝佳的途径，能够让我认识更多人，在这个陌生的国度构建人际网络。”此外，罗特曼管理学院的两年MBA项目提供一个暑期实习机会，这样她可以先在咨询业试试水，不用破釜沉舟地投入这个行业。

    西里尔在管理咨询机构科尔尼公司(A.T. Kearney)获得了一个实习机会。这段经历让她进一步坚定了这项新的职业选择。但要想登堂入室绝非易事。西里尔所在班级大约有263名学生，据她估计，其中至少有一半人起初都钟情于咨询业。大约60名学生将向每一家大型咨询机构申请一个或两个咨询岗位。“竞争太惨烈了，”她说。“有些学生确实拥有咨询业背景，他们上商学院其实就是为了换一家待遇更好，规模更大的公司。这就意味着，如果你没有这种背景，你就必须具备某种完全不同的竞争力。这种要求当然更具挑战性。”西里尔打过好几次退堂鼓，准备从事非咨询类的工作。“除选项A以外，我确实制定了选项B和C，”她说。“这种选择有时沦为数字游戏，你只是不走运而已。”

    2013年5月毕业后，她接受了科尔尼公司提供的一个助理咨询师岗位。回首往事，西里尔现在想给打算尝试三级跳的MBA学生提一些自己的建议。“一般情况下，我们必须得更加努力才行，因为你要证明的东西比别人多得多，”她说。“因此，务必确保你有一个足以打动人的好故事，你需要完成一个积少成多的过程。这样的话，你真的就可以兜售自己，让别人信服你为什么想完成这么大的跨跃。”   

    Melita Cyril

    Country jump: Sri Lanka to Canada

    Industry jump: Finance to consulting

    Function jump: Trading to consulting strategy

    For Melita Cyril, 26, the challenge of triple jumping wasn't moving to Canada, or even trying on a new job title. Rather, it was breaking into the extremely competitive consulting industry.

    Born in Sri Lanka, Cyril completed her undergraduate degree at the London School of Economics (LSE) and joined Lehman Brothers after graduating in 2007. She then spent three years as an interest rate swaps trader at Credit Suisse (CS) in London. But when her then-boyfriend, now husband, accepted a job in Canada, she jumped at the chance to "start fresh" and start a career as a consultant.

    After unsuccessfully applying for a few jobs in Canada, Cyril decided to get an MBA at Rotman. "I was new. I didn't know anyone. I didn't have a network, and I thought this would be a great way for me to get to know more people and build my network in a new country," she says. Rotman's two-year program allowed for a summer internship, so she could dip her toes in consulting without making a commitment to the full dive.

    Cyril landed an internship with management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The experience confirmed her new career choice. But breaking in wasn't an easy victory. Out of some 263 students in her class, Cyril estimates that at least half were interested in consulting initially. Roughly 60 students would apply for one or two consulting spots at each of the big firms. "It's highly, highly competitive," she says. "Some students do have a consulting background, and they want to basically switch to a different or bigger firm, which means if you don't have that background and you have something completely different, it is definitely more challenging." Cyril thought about turning back several times and prepared herself for careers outside of consulting. "I did have options B and C to go with option A," she says. "Sometimes it becomes a numbers game, and you're just unlucky."

    After graduating in May 2013, she accepted an associate consultant offer from A.T. Kearney. Looking back, Cyril has her own recommendations for MBA triple jumpers: "We, in general, have to work harder because there is a lot more to prove," she says. "So make sure you have a very good story and that it all adds up, so you can really sell yourself and sell someone on why you want to make this big jump."