Is it looked down upon to apply for both a specialist role and a generalist role at the MBB firms?

It is not looked down upon, but it’s also important to only apply for that specialist role if you actually have a background and interest in that practice area.

Where we see this hurt people is if they didn’t read the job description or really have no background that’s relevant.

If you have a background that aligns with the specialized role, it doesn’t hurt you to have two applications in. If you apply to a generalist and a specialist role, the recruiters will work internally to decide what makes the most sense for you.