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Down On Consulting

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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   23 Jan 2014, 12:52
chestud13 wrote:
Thanks for the reply mxm!
Are consulting companies able to work with you in terms of placement location? For example, if you graduate from a NE bschool (IE. Harvard, Duke, MIT,etc) and you get placed in SF , but you want to work in the south where an office is located, is that feasible?

Disclaimer, I don’t work in Consulting. From my knowledge, where you get staff is firm and economy dependent. Some firms have a local staffing policy; however, if there’s a huge need in another location, and they can’t staff locally, they may reach out to you, especially if you have a specialization that matches the project. Other firms, staff nationally, so you can be in the SF office, and get staffed on a case in NYC. The more experience you have and the better your network, the more likely you’ll get staffed on a project higher on your preference list.

For post-MBA office location, all of the top MC companies make you to choose your post-MBA office. It is very difficult to switch office initially. In another word, McKinsey won’t turn you down for the NYC office for and offer you a place at the Dallas office. This is critical choice, since the hiring is done by the office, and supply and demand comes into play, as well as strength of alumni at the office.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   18 Apr 2014, 03:33
I read through some posts here,and it is extremely informative and gives a great perspective on the consulting job function.However I just wanted to know, about the kind of work that a management consultant does.Can anyone provide some inputs on that,or even direct me to any other posts in this thread,that i might have missed.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   20 Apr 2014, 11:58
For tier 1 and tier 2 consultancies, which offices are generally the most and least competitive. How much difference in the competition?

For example, would getting a MBB offer in Atlanta be significantly easier than NYC, or only marginally easier?

my current plan is to work a couple of years in a low cost of living environment to pay down debt and build up my resume, so I care more about getting the best brand than where the location is.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   20 Apr 2014, 12:09
mgg234 wrote:
For tier 1 and tier 2 consultancies, which offices are generally the most and least competitive. How much difference in the competition?

For example, would getting a MBB offer in Atlanta be significantly easier than NYC, or only marginally easier?


For my firm, the competitiveness of an office is based on supply. If there are many clients and projects in a city, e.g. oil and gas in Houston and the government in D.C., then it's pretty easy to get that office. A lot of people in my firm actually received emails offering $$ to relocate to Houston! If there aren't as many local clients / projects (e.g. Denver and Austin), then it's a lot harder. Demand plays into it as well, though not as much; some offices receive more transfer requests than others. But generally speaking, if you can get onto a project in the city you want to work in, it's easy to transfer.

However, I assume not all firms care about staffing locally, in which case you could work out of any city / office with equal likelihood.

Now, I don't think there is a correlation between offices and chances of landing an offer. In other words, your likelihood of getting an offer isn't based on the city / office you expressed a preference for. Yes, you are asked to rank your choices. But if the firm wants you and can't accommodate your preferences, they'll still make an offer - just for another city. Then it's up to you whether or not to accept.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   20 Apr 2014, 12:59
In any given year, there will be some differences between offices, but it's impossible to predict. Supply/demand for offices like Chicago or NY is pretty stable. For Atlanta or Detroit, it depends on the firm and the year. There is much more variability; trying to time the market is a very risky proposition. Recruit for where you want to work. In all likelihood, if you're good enough to get an offer in Houston, you're good enough to get one in NY and vice versa.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   28 Apr 2014, 00:08
amorica wrote:
johnnyx9 wrote:
I've been thinking all along that I would like to work in consulting after school, but the more consultants I talk to, the more I think it may not be for me. Literally every single one of them that I have talked to has absolutely no social life and no significant other. The worst part is that they don't seem to recognize that as a serious problem or void in their life. More like they just see it as a funny sort of side-effect of working in consulting, like, "Oh yeah, one thing that kind of sucks is I don't have any friends other than the concierges at the hotels that I live in."

Does consulting attract people that don't have anything going on with their life besides their careers, or am I reading too much into what the five or six people I have talked to have said? In other words am I just dealing with a small sample size of people who have no social lives?

Is anybody else struggling with this? I really think I can kick *ss in school and land a consulting gig at a good firm, and I think the work would be incredibly interesting and challenging, and I would enjoy travelling and the lifestyle, but only up to a point. I just don't think I could handle 80 or 90% travel. I know some places like Bain apparently have much less travel so I think I could handle that, but in general I just don't think I could deal with hardly ever seeing my girlfriend or other friends.


Actually..my friends who are in consulting have the exact opposite experience.. I think consulting lends itself well to a 'player lifestyle'. You are constantly traveling and visiting new cities. I have many good friends who have build a network of friends in a bunch of different cities..depending on where they are...they can call up some people and meet up w/ some friends...girls included...

As far as stable relationship is concerned..i agree..its gotta be hard to keep one going...but if you are young, single,..and looking to meet as many girls as possible...consulting might be your ticket...


What you mentioned about Management Consulting sounds quite alluring. :punk But,is this applicable for consultants right from the time they join a firm after b school ,or is it at a later point in their careers?
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   28 Apr 2014, 05:22
I went to an admit weekend this weekend, and pretty much every consultant there was married or in a relationship, so I think it's being a bit exaggerated here.

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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   28 Apr 2014, 06:49
Agree with mgg234. I'm interning at a consulting firm this summer and everyone I met during recruiting who was a PL/CTL/EM (and probably a third of the post-MBA crowd) was married... to their first spouse.

Consulting is not an easy route to go. You're looking at 55-65 hours/wk and significant travel. Travel may be a bit less with B or B than M because of their local/regional models, but still likely at least 3 days/wk. Other firms in the next tier may travel far less. Either way, consulting is less demanding than banking, which averages 100+, but more so than most corporate roles, which average 40-50.

Whatever you choose, make sure you set boundaries. The comments above make it clear you've run into people who struggle with that. I know consultants who've worked 2 weekends in 2 years and others who prefer to network and cut out early Fridays that don't mind logging in for a couple hours on Sunday evening.

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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   28 Apr 2014, 10:22
missxmelon wrote:
Of course, other consultants may work much longer hours. I attribute my more relaxing schedule to the energy industry; my clients care a lot about work life balance!



This is a great point. If you're consulting for banks or doing due diligence for PE firms, you're doing to work their hours.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   28 Apr 2014, 23:06
And what about the travel part?Do management consultants who join the firm straight after graduating have to travel to client locations,or is it their managers or other senior members in the team who get to travel,and stack up those frequent flyer miles.Also,are consultants sent for overseas assignments?in that case does the 4-1 work routine hold good?
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   29 Apr 2014, 05:06
Most consultants at most firms travel 2-4 days/week. Occasionally, you'll land a local or internal project, more often if you seek them out. International travel usually only happens if you seek out projects requiring it.

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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   29 Apr 2014, 05:57
DebWenger wrote:
And what about the travel part?Do management consultants who join the firm straight after graduating have to travel to client locations,or is it their managers or other senior members in the team who get to travel,and stack up those frequent flyer miles.Also,are consultants sent for overseas assignments?in that case does the 4-1 work routine hold good?


Everyone travels, and at my firm it's almost always Monday through Thursday.

We've brought in international folks onto our US projects and vice versa. As brandon432 said, if you're interested in overseas travel, you have to make that known.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   30 Apr 2014, 04:54
brandon432 wrote:
International travel usually only happens if you seek out projects requiring it.

Posted from my mobile device


@mxm, @brandon
Noob question - how do you seek those out? Let the firm know and try to get into one? I'm assuming those are highly sort after, right?
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   22 Dec 2014, 18:02
Just want to say thanks to all the contributors on this thread - it was a really great window into the consulting industry. Kind of wish I knew about this in college - but then again, why would I be on a website called gmat club during undergrad?
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   02 Mar 2015, 23:16
I would like to know how hard it is to transfer from tier2 management companies such as Deloitte to Tier 1 companies.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   03 Mar 2015, 12:32
brandon432 wrote:
Ergenekon wrote:
I would like to know how hard it is to transfer from tier2 management companies such as Deloitte to Tier 1 companies.


Hmmm. I'm not quite sure I understand what you're asking. Their isn't really a mechanism for "transferring" between firms.

If you're currently employed full-time at one consulting firm and want to move to another, that's just a job search. Your network, skills, and experience will all come into play. It's exactly the same as trying for consulting from finance, engineering, or social work.

If you mean switching firms during your 2Y of an MBA program, after interning, that's a slightly different process. For the most part, you will follow the OCR program, although the emphasis on self-directed networking is usually higher. You'll probably want to rely on contacts you made during 1Y intern recruiting.

Hope this helps. If you have more details on the situation, I can try to provide more info.



Thanks for you answer Brandon. I meant that you know finding a job in MBB is much more difficult than finding it in Deloitte or other tier 2 companies. How recruiters from MBB look at other consulting companies?
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   03 Mar 2015, 13:41
This thread is awesome and contains a wealth of knowledge for those considering a consulting career post MBA! Truly appreciate this!
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   03 Mar 2015, 22:25
brandon432 wrote:
As far as I know, it is pretty uncommon to lateral from non-MBB to MBB unless one of two things happens:
1. MBA - Both pre-MBA consultants and non-MBB summer interns find their way to MBB regularly.
2. Acquisition - Quite a few Monitor and Booz folks ended up at MBB after they were bought. This tends to be more likely with senior staff who can bring clients with them.



Thanks for your answer Brandon.
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Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   03 Mar 2015, 22:28
hopeful101candidate wrote:
This thread is awesome and contains a wealth of knowledge for those considering a consulting career post MBA! Truly appreciate this!


Indeed it is. However, it is not so active as it was before. We should try to revive it somehow.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink] New post   19 Mar 2015, 08:10
I posted this on another discussion, but maybe someone here can answer these questions for me too.

A few questions for people who are pursuing a career in consulting post-MBA:

I've done some basic research on numerous consultants' LinkedIn profiles and noticed that a large number of them have a background in engineering/technology. How important do you think is it to have this background to have a successful career in consulting? I understand that IT consultants would definitely need this background to be successful in their field, but what about general strategy management consultants? Do you feel that not having a tech/engineering background is a disadvantage?

After my MBA, I'm hoping to land a consulting gig at one of the 'Big 4'. How prominent do you think these companies are at the so-called trans-elite schools (Georgetown, Emory, Kelley, Rice)? I see quite a few of their MBA graduates end up in Big 4 consulting positions, but are these the same positions that are earning the salaries mentioned above (ie. $120k - $135k base, etc.)? When I do a glassdoor search for the salaries for these positions, they seem to be closer to the $90k - $100k mark.
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Re: Down On Consulting [#permalink]
19 Mar 2015, 08:10
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