| Topic Name: |
Consulting Glass Ceilings |
| Message Name: |
Very insightful... |
| Date Posted: |
01/29/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
i not the most experienced person as i am just graduating college but here are my guesses to your questions. i started a dot com myself.
1) Can't I sue for age discrimination?
good luck. :) i dont think you have a chance in hell in pulling that off. maybe if you threaten to sue if they dont give you a job it will work :) i tried to claim that companies were not giving me a chance because of big penis envy but it didnt work.
2) Where should I go from here? How do I get out of this situation and play with the "big boys", where I know I belong?
networking is key, see next response.
3) How do I break into Big Five/I-banking with no Big Five/I-banking experience?
first decide which you want to do then go after it. i would go to all campus info sessions and mingle like hell. (recruiting for the big firms is in fall only) you need to get a personal relationship with recruiters. even better than forming ties with recruiters is forming ties with partners. the big players usually look at the big picture better than some stupid fake recruiter does.
4) Must I swallow my pride and take a cut in pay/rank in order to escape this dead end, or should I stick with the boutiques for a few more years and try to break into the big market later?
you could probably do either way. some big 5 people have told me that they do hire from boutiques. if you joined a big 5 immediately you should be willing to take a pay cut. your only 22 years old and your not going to get 80 Gs to be an analyst. whatever you do try to think long term. also pick a place that you will be happy culturally. i have a feeling that you arent the kind of person that likes to take orders so make sure you dont get in trouble (just a hunch)
if you just try to get a job harder than the rest of the competition i think you should be okay.
kg
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| Message: |
Thank you for your thoughtful responses. I must admit that I laughed out loud when you made the observation that I'm not the kind of person who likes to take orders. It's absolutely true! How did you know?
I think that approach has gotten me in trouble in the past. I don't mean discplinary trouble or anything, but I've butted heads with management in a few organizations. In fact, I was a member of ROTC in college, where conformity is the key to survival, and I was almost thrown out for auditing every aspect of the organization and publically criticizing every process. "If you're not a team players, quit the team!" So I did...and turned my back on a full scholarship, which is kind of what led to the creation of my company.
I realize that people with that kind of personality are born to be entrepreneurs, but I'm really worried with the current climate. Also, I'm a better consultant than I am an executive (probably because of my age, but more because of my character). I'll never make more than about $125,000 owning my own consulting firm...and I want to break into the big time, because I'm competing with my girlfriend, who is going to law school this fall.
I was under the impression that Consulting firms liked people who "thought outside of the box" and developing creative strategy is my forte. But you think that would get me in trouble in a Big Five?
Since your background is similar to mine, I'm curious as to what your career plans are.
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