You attend the McKinsey presentation.
Two hundred MBA students hear the same partners, see the same slides, and ask variations of the same questions.
Everyone leaves having “networked.”
That should make the event valuable.
But attendance alone creates almost no separation.
The event gets you into the room... not into anyone's memory
Info sessions and treks are useful because they compress access.
You can hear how a firm describes its work, meet consultants, learn which offices or practices are represented, and generate names for follow-up.
That is a lot of value.
But notice what the event usually cannot do.
Give someone 20 uninterrupted minutes with you.
A crowded reception creates fragments.
“Hi, I'm a first-year MBA.”
“I worked in consumer goods before school.”
“I'd love to learn more about your Chicago office.”
Then another student joins.
The interaction ends.
The event creates a thread. You still have to pull it.
If you are deciding which events deserve your time in the first place, read Do You Need to Attend Consulting Info Sessions to Get an Interview?.
A trek looks high-value... until everyone comes home with the same contacts
Treks feel different.
You travel to an office. You meet consultants where they actually work. You may hear from partners, recent MBA hires, recruiters, or practice leaders.
It feels closer to the firm.
And it is.
But thirty classmates may have had the same experience.
So the question becomes: what happens next?
Suppose you met a manager who mentioned moving from operations into consulting after their MBA.
You also came from operations.
The weak follow-up is:
“Thank you for speaking with us during the trek.”
The sharper follow-up is:
“I kept thinking about what you said about moving from an operator mindset to an advisory one. I am making a similar transition and would love to ask you two questions about what changed most in your first year.”
Now the event has become a reason for another conversation.
Follow-up converts access into relevance.
The mechanics of these events, and what you should actually be doing inside them, are unpacked further in How Consulting Networking Events Actually Work.
So should you attend everything?
Probably not.
MBA calendars make this surprisingly dangerous.
Another presentation can always feel productive.
Another trek can always feel important.
Another panel gives you an excuse to delay the more uncomfortable work of following up with someone individually.
Try a different test.
Before attending an event, ask:
- Will I learn something I cannot easily learn elsewhere?
- Will people from my target office or practice be there?
- Is there a realistic opportunity for follow-up?
- What will I do within 48 hours afterward?
That last question changes everything.
An event without a next move is mostly information.
Sometimes information is exactly what you need.
But do not confuse it with relationship-building.
The best networking event may finish after you leave
Picture two MBA candidates leaving the same Bain session.
Candidate one adds the event to their tracker: completed.
Candidate two writes down three names, sends one thoughtful follow-up, and schedules a conversation the following week.
Same presentation.
Same speakers.
Same recruiting cycle.
Completely different outcomes.
That is why the question is not whether firm events “matter.”
They can.
The better question is what you can make happen because you attended one.
And that work begins when everybody else goes home.