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19 Dec 2008, 14:31
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey all,
given the following facts:
- I have worked as a management consultant my whole career so far, both in a boutique firm and in a big 3, in a small office and in as big an office as can be;
- I am officially on holiday until January 6th (yes, MCs do get lots of vacation time);
- I have talked about this with the chat buddies and got warm feedback:
I am going to start a management-consulting-focused thread, as it seems there is no recent one on this board. My goals:
- Being the center of attention (first and foremost!);
- Contribute to bring a wider perspective to GmatClub: we are very focused on how to ace the gmat, how to get into business school, how to get into our dream industry. Lots of assumptions lie in these "hows".
I want to help you question these assumptions, so that you can make a more informed choice two steps before. This is a very broad thread, and I'd like it not to be about how to break into consulting, but about why go into consulting and, most of all, whether you will be happy in consulting, for some MCs are the happiest people in the world and some the most miserable.
Caveats:
- I'm not from the US or living in the US. I live in Europe, so process/practices questions may get you answers that do not represent the US reality, even if the firm is the same: this is good because I'd like to get to the fundamentals, which are the same worldwide --and boy do I like to mull over the subtleties of my profession!
- I am not an English native and my English is quite poor, so definitely ask for clarification!
- MC is a small world and I have many friends at the other big 3. I interned at one (not the one where I am employed) and had interviews with all three. I feel confident in answering firm-specific questions as long as it's a big-3 or tier-2 European (e.g. Roland Berger). I do not when it comes to US boutiques (river and msday just handed my Italian ass back to me about Parthenon).
- It could take me a lot to answer you due to the typical long hours: however, I'll try my best not to leave questions unanswered. Please ask in this thread and not in private for the sake of sharing and avoiding repetition;
- Obviously everybody is welcome to post and answer questions --no need to say that as I am not entitled to have a thread of mine.
I am structuring this as a Q&A since, were I to post a guide to MC for dummies, it would be one useless, narcissistic, humungous digression. But I leave you with 10 things that you need to be to be a happy consultant (no reflection, just what comes to mind in no order):
- attention deficit disorder
- love scribbling and writing with a pen
- like teaching
- like film-like situations
- as few habits as possible, of whatever type
- being a nerd of not-being-a-nerd
- love the quick and dirty more than the polished and perfect
- like time alone
- astuteness, sometimes deception
- thrive on others' consideration of you
given the following facts:
- I have worked as a management consultant my whole career so far, both in a boutique firm and in a big 3, in a small office and in as big an office as can be;
- I am officially on holiday until January 6th (yes, MCs do get lots of vacation time);
- I have talked about this with the chat buddies and got warm feedback:
I am going to start a management-consulting-focused thread, as it seems there is no recent one on this board. My goals:
- Being the center of attention (first and foremost!);
- Contribute to bring a wider perspective to GmatClub: we are very focused on how to ace the gmat, how to get into business school, how to get into our dream industry. Lots of assumptions lie in these "hows".
I want to help you question these assumptions, so that you can make a more informed choice two steps before. This is a very broad thread, and I'd like it not to be about how to break into consulting, but about why go into consulting and, most of all, whether you will be happy in consulting, for some MCs are the happiest people in the world and some the most miserable.
Caveats:
- I'm not from the US or living in the US. I live in Europe, so process/practices questions may get you answers that do not represent the US reality, even if the firm is the same: this is good because I'd like to get to the fundamentals, which are the same worldwide --and boy do I like to mull over the subtleties of my profession!
- I am not an English native and my English is quite poor, so definitely ask for clarification!
- MC is a small world and I have many friends at the other big 3. I interned at one (not the one where I am employed) and had interviews with all three. I feel confident in answering firm-specific questions as long as it's a big-3 or tier-2 European (e.g. Roland Berger). I do not when it comes to US boutiques (river and msday just handed my Italian ass back to me about Parthenon).
- It could take me a lot to answer you due to the typical long hours: however, I'll try my best not to leave questions unanswered. Please ask in this thread and not in private for the sake of sharing and avoiding repetition;
- Obviously everybody is welcome to post and answer questions --no need to say that as I am not entitled to have a thread of mine.
I am structuring this as a Q&A since, were I to post a guide to MC for dummies, it would be one useless, narcissistic, humungous digression. But I leave you with 10 things that you need to be to be a happy consultant (no reflection, just what comes to mind in no order):
- attention deficit disorder
- love scribbling and writing with a pen
- like teaching
- like film-like situations
- as few habits as possible, of whatever type
- being a nerd of not-being-a-nerd
- love the quick and dirty more than the polished and perfect
- like time alone
- astuteness, sometimes deception
- thrive on others' consideration of you
19 Dec 2008, 17:07
Kudos
Bookmarks
Paradosso, great that you are doing this for newbies like me - thank you!
A couple of questions:
1. How are staffing decisions made? Is it entirely based on availability, or do they care about what your preferences are? For example, if I like the Energy field, will they take that into consideration when placing me to different clients?
2. What % of workweeks include at least 8 hours of work on a weekend (Sat + Sun)?
A couple of questions:
1. How are staffing decisions made? Is it entirely based on availability, or do they care about what your preferences are? For example, if I like the Energy field, will they take that into consideration when placing me to different clients?
2. What % of workweeks include at least 8 hours of work on a weekend (Sat + Sun)?
19 Dec 2008, 23:37
Kudos
Bookmarks
The top exit opportunities are widely said to be from McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. After approximately 3 years at M/B/B, many people are able to exit to a Director or VP level position doing Strategy, Corporate Development, or similar work at a Fortune 500 or similar company.
How are exit opportunities out of firms such as Monitor and Booz? How about Accenture and Deloitte? Are there even solid exit opportunities out of these firms, or do some of these firms recruit with the intention of having career-track consultants?
Also, how are the assignments at firms like Accenture and Deloitte, and how do they compare to the actual assignments at M/B/B? Some people have mentioned to me that they do similar work, but just that Accenture/Deloitte have more middle-market clients. Others have mentioned that Accenture/Deloitte do more operationally focused work, and less high level strategy/CEO/Board of Directors type assignments.
How are exit opportunities out of firms such as Monitor and Booz? How about Accenture and Deloitte? Are there even solid exit opportunities out of these firms, or do some of these firms recruit with the intention of having career-track consultants?
Also, how are the assignments at firms like Accenture and Deloitte, and how do they compare to the actual assignments at M/B/B? Some people have mentioned to me that they do similar work, but just that Accenture/Deloitte have more middle-market clients. Others have mentioned that Accenture/Deloitte do more operationally focused work, and less high level strategy/CEO/Board of Directors type assignments.
) questions for you. Can you give examples of typical assignments at an M/B/B firm? Are you doing things like helping firms understand why they're losing market share or seeing profits decline? Are you helping them decide whether to enter new markets or launch new product lines? I'm just trying to get an idea of what the typical engagements are at one of these firms. Also, what is the typical size of your team on one of these engagements. Thanks! 
