Evaluation of career goals

Question

Hi

It would be great if I can get a critique of my ST and LT goals.

My passion for products that paved way for the Internet era and interest to know how a market grows around such products, have motivated me to seek out a business position in the tech industry. I believe I am made for the role of SVP of Product in a major hi-tech company, where I can establish the company’s strategy and direction for the product portfolio. This will involve working and empathizing with different cross-functional teams, which include operations, sales, and finance, and engage them appropriately in the decision-making. To do this, I require the knowledge of how business is managed across functions of a company.

After getting a MBA degree, I aspire to work as a consultant for a top firm such as Accenture. I hope to leverage the professional experience I have with the knowledge gained through MBA to work with hi-tech and IT industry clients, providing solutions for business problems, such as risks of acquisition, weak operational performance and low market share. My career as a consultant, solving issues faced across different functions in the industry, will help me understand the various nuances of managing different functions, thus helping me transition into the role of SVP smoothly.

Thanks in advance.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey there - so without knowing more about you, here's our thought. Your LT goal could be fine but it's your ST goal that's strange. Accenture is IT consulting, not product management. Why would any company hire you as the SVP of Product without direct, hands-on product experience? You might need to revisit those ST goals...

vincenm · Answer

Hi Thank you for the reply. My ST goal is what I want to post-MBA and I would want to stick to it. It is the journey from ST to LT goal that I want to have better handle on. The reason why i believe a career in PRODUCT 20 years down the lane would be plausible is because the way management consultant gets to work in different various functions. It is said that working as consultant for a year i equivalent to working as a manager for two years becasue fo the diversity and load of work done by the consultant. I plan to work as a consultant for a a decade at most most preferably in consulting for product development and management as seen at Bain and Accenture. After 10 years I would like to move to Product management somewhere in the chain of hierarchy in the Product division of a company.. I have provided some links that convinced me that these companies do have the opportunities for consuoltants to get the experience of product development. https://www.accenture.com/us-en/service ... t-overview https://www.bain.com/consulting-services ... ement.aspx https://m.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDo ... vation.pdf https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240 ... 0976281022 You have the experience of seeing many such goals and hence your opinion on this would help.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey there,

You're most welcome! A few thoughts. First off, we're ignoring what you do NOW. So, for example, if you're in investment banking, then your experience to date is relatively useless for product, right? But if you're in brand management or product marketing, more utility and leveragability. That's just a side point we wanted to make - something to think about.

To your post. Let's be very clear in delineating between "diverse experiences" and "relevant experiences". Yes, consulting provides a lot of exposure. Now, you're assuming you get to jump around like a grasshopper. You don't. Politics and performance management will dictate you find a home. Therefore, you'll need to lock in either a service offering, function, and/or industry. So very quickly you'll find the range of your experiences limited. IF (and that is a hugeeeee IF - and keep in mind, Accenture or Bain will look at your previous experience too to see if you're a good fit - if you're not, why put you in front of their clients?) you can get into the product offering, then MAYBE you could make a transition to your LT goals. But, keep in mind, goals are A (where I am now) > B (what school will do for me) > C (what A and B will lead to) and > D (what that will eventually lead to). If A doesn't make sense or B doesn't make sense or C doesn't make sense, then the train breaks down.

PS - keep in mind the product and innovation practices at these firms are "sexy" but small. They aren't the engagements that generate a ton of revenue - they're shorter engagements and they're marketing gold. So your odds of getting into a small practice like that are low. Also, because those practices are small, they tend to hire a lot more from the experienced pools.

Make sense?

ca662 · Answer

Hi guys,

I'm a second year MBA student and I'd like to share my 2 cents of advice with you.

It's never too early to begin your career search. You need to arrive with a game plan. A very cool and helpful resource i've been using since I started my MBA is pymetrics. pymetrics is a neuroscience game-based career assessment test that reveals your cognitive and social traits. Then you receive a full career profile that determines in which industries and functions you are most likely to succeed. The platforms suggest you companies and actual jobs that are posted there. If you are a match and express interest, you will likely be contacted by the company.

It's awesome for internships and full time offers. Instead of writing endless cover letters and tweaking your resume, you play games: literally.

Check it out:
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vincenm · Answer

Hi

Yes it makes sense. Thank you.

Like I said in my ST goal I would prefer to do consulting engagement across functions but in one single industry : IT / Hi-tech.

I understand your point that the company wouldn't give the opportunity to move across different functions or industries easily. So with these things I mind, what LT goal do you think would be most apt for someone with IT industry background and works as consultant for such IT/hi-tech clients? Would it be VP of operations ? or finance? Or partner at a consulting firm?

If you can make some suggestions from your experience it would help me do further research for the LT goal.

Thanks again.

AugustAcademy · Answer

Vince,

My first question for you would be:

1) What do you do now? At some level, your experience should make sense to Accenture in order for them to want to hire you, even after the MBA -> either from a knowledge of the industry perspective, or from a transferable skills perspective.

2) Accenture, while a great company to work for, is not going to help you transition to products. Becoming a product manager at Google or Facebook or Dropbox will help you do that. Put yourself in the hiring manager's shoes: Who would you hire for SVP of your company - the veteran from within (or a rival) who's had 10 years of experience building successful products from scratch and who currently manages a portfolio of products that generate Billions of dollars worth of revenue, or the hotshot IT consultant, who's spent a third of this time consulting for IT deployments? (in your best case scenario - where you get to do a lot of things)

Regards,
Karthik

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey there - yup, you're on the right track. Common paths for consultants are either a) stay where you are and go Partner or b) jump ship to industry and become a Director or VP doing what you were doing in consulting. The latter is far more likely. Go do some LinkedIn stalking - check out folks who worked where you want to work in the ST and see what they're doing now. Map it all out!

vincenm · Answer

Hi Karthik

I did some more thinking on the goals and I do fisn that the LT goal might seem too much of a strecth.

A brief of my work experience: 
Within three months of joining the company, I started working at a position that was a level higher than my contemporaries. I personally maintained a minimum of 95% fulfillment of key performance indicators and proactively advised the team to make sure that 90% fulfillment of such indicators was met. I analyzed the major cause of the contract violations made by my team and advised changes in business process to higher-ups, reducing no. of violations by 40%. I was involved in creating a procedure that brought down the lead time in the supply chain by 1.5 days; received commendation from client CIO after presenting the innovation. I had compiled technical details of various HP and client teams and trained my team in using those to streamline communications, thereby reducing interactions by 30% that allowed for quicker implementation of solutions. Thus my career till now solving issues in the IT operations network of my client and advising changes to business process have given me the right foundation needed for me to make my career jump.

ST goal: 
I aspire to work as a consultant for a top firm such as Accenture. I hope to leverage the professional experience I have with the knowledge gained through MoM to work with hi-tech and IT industry clients, providing solutions in operations such as making cost reduction program by offshoring, boosting the 'Customer Experience' in sales, and redesigning the procurement of raw materials. I would operate as part of delivery teams responsible for projects, supporting business development opportunities through the development of proposals, and acting as a subject matter expert in operational activities. My career as a consultant, solving operational issues faced in the industry, will help me understand the various nuances of managing operations of a product or project, thus helping me transition into the role of SVP smoothly.

LT goal: 
 The movement towards a connected global economy and unprecedented explosion of technology has brought about immense opportunities to develop newer processes, tools and methodologies. I believe I am made for the role of SVP of Operations in a major hi-tech company, where I can establish the company’s strategy and goals in the day to day operations of a company. This will involve working with different cross-functional teams, which include finance and sales, and measuring progress and adjusting processes accordingly, thus adding to the bottom line of the organization. To do this, I require the knowledge of how business is managed across functions of a company.

I kept my ST goal the same but changed the LT goal. I have also included my worke xperience to make a case for why I can move to Accenture's operation management consulting projects.

Thanks in advance.

AugustAcademy · Answer

Vince,

Good to know the details. And great job on the rethink - your goals look much more aligned now.

Best wishes,
Karthik

Evaluation of career goals

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