Maxime Videmann secured a job in consulting with Accenture – one of the world’s top consulting firms and a Fortune Global 500 company – before he even began his MBA. Maxime is currently on the full-time MBA program at HEC School of Management just outside Paris in France and his studies are sponsored by the globally-renowned consulting firm, who are keen for him to return once he completes his studies.
But while studying in France, Maxime took up an internship offer with social media giant Facebook, in a bid to enhance his experience in a different kind of company. “Facebook was completely the opposite of a consulting firm,” Maxime said. “For me, working for a consulting company was my only experience and I wanted to try something different."
Maxime accepted a Sales internship with Facebook, the infamous social networking service that has more than 1.15 billion users globally and was founded by students from the prestigious, Ivy League Harvard University. Facebook's IPO raised $16 billion in 2012, the third largest public offering in US history and, despite some dips, the social network's market value has now exceeding its float price of $38 per share.
With the help of the Careers team at HEC Paris, Maxime secured a summer internship with Facebook and joined the company in the middle of the IPO, when "everything was moving very fast".
“It was a fantastic opportunity to work for a dynamic, fast-growing company. Very smart people, very intense too. It was a great opportunity to meet new people, to increase my digital skills and to discover a completely different type of company."
“Facebook is a great match for MBAs because it is an international company and MBAs have an international profile.”
Before embarking on a consulting career with Accenture, Maxime worked as an engineer for five years but “it was very intense”, so he decided to step back and “take a look at my career and where it was going”.
Despite his soujourn in the social media world, Maxime says that he wants to return to Accenture after he completes his MBA. “Just to be clear, I am still employed at Accenture and have a contract with them to return after my MBA."
Client interaction is something he particularly enjoys about management consulting: “When you get congratulated by a client, it is a great accomplishment. Consulting asks a lot and you give a lot. When a client says that you actually provided value to his team, that’s what makes me very proud."
“Then, at the end of the month, you can congratulate your team and share this accomplishment with them.”
With strong corporate names like Accenture and Facebook secrued on his resume and an imminent return to the management consulting world, what advice does Maxime have for prospective MBAs?
An MBA is a" truly a life-changing experience", says Maxime. "It isn’t like going back to your time at university, it's very intense. I would say get ready for that."
Read other stories about MBAs from HEC Paris here and other stories relating to Facebook here.
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