| Topic Name: |
Consulting Glass Ceilings |
| Message Name: |
Analyst position? Really? |
| Date Posted: |
01/29/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
I sort of agree with the previous poster. You took some shots but really, as a seasoned veteran in consulting, I am gald o see there are people out there like you. But the reality is that 4.5 years of experience is not very much at all. It's not the time or the age. It's the value of that time spent. You say you could work above "lowly" positions such as project manager. Do you know what a project manager does at McKinsey? Do you know how many years of experience they have? You really need to do some homework. There IS a reason why you are not doing well in these interviews. People are not discriminating you based on your age. That is an excuse I am afraid you are making for yourself. I have hired many undergrads because I though they were brilliant. I never hesitated because of age. You need to gain more relevant experience. You're statement about e-business starting in 96 is evident that you do not understand the new economy. The groundworks for the Internet economy, ebusiness and ecommerce began 20 years ago. E-business was "coined" in 1992. The strategy work for large companies to become ready for the Internet began in the late eighties. I believe that you were not even a teenager yet then. You're young, so be patient. No one will throw 6 figures at you and give you a manager position at a top-tier consulting firm. If you want the title and the salary to make you feel valued in the business world, I suggest you go to a smaller boutique firm. Your resume nor your attitude will cut it in the big leagues. Best of luck. |
| Message: |
Thank you for the advice. Allow me to respond to a couple of points you made before I break new ground.
Your question about whether I know what project managers do at McKinsey suggests that I don't truly understand the role they play. I realize that project management is a very broad term and people can be project mangers their entire career and always work on increasingly larger and more complex projects. I also realize that at many I-banks, let's say WDR, for example, the project managers have been with the firm for 10+ years and many of them are in their late 30s. So I understand that there is an incredible range in the term. To clarify, I have never applied for a PM position that has required more than five years of experience. I thought that was well within the range of my expertise.
In terms of revelancy of experience, I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean. My experience is more than up to the task. I would agree with you if I were a standard college student who "project managed" fund raisers for the trip to Colorado and demanded six-figure salaries. But I've lobbied for, and won contracts to plan and develop network control systems for GE Power, to plan and create a VPN for two venture capital companies, to re-develop manufacturing processing algorithms for Revlon, to plan and implement an IT revitalization initiative for the entire City of Albany.
How could these experiences NOT be revelant? Given the fact that I owned the company that completed these projects, that gives at a solid three years of VERY relevant full lifecycle experience in sales, client relations, public speaking, project management and development. Most people spend years in lower roles just to get to the point where they can view the things that I've done. In the past year, I was a "real" project manager for a "real" company, so I've proven myself in the year I've been out of college. I'm not an untested commodity.
Given all of that, I don't see why it is unreasonable for me to only want a project management or consultant-level position with a major firm. Do you honestly think that if I had done all of those things with Andersen, rather than on my own, that these companies would still ignore me, or that if I had done all of these things but was, say, eight years older rather than an abberant, hyper-ambitious "boy", that they would still ignore me? Honestly?
The final point to which I must respond is my knowledge of the new economy. I've read numerous articles about the foundation of electronic commerce and the global economy that dates back to the late 70s (yes, before I was born). I've also talked to a "mentor" of mine who spent years at EDS and has a tech resume that starts a year before I was born, so I'm quite aware of how the new economy has reached the state where it is now. My contention was that this did not become mainstream and recognized as a strategic business necessity until around 1996. I stand by that contention, as even today, many companies are only now coming to terms with the importance of ebusiness. My experience with P&G (which didn't upgrade to Windows 95 until the end of 1997) has provided ample evidence of that, beyond the articles I read. Do you disagree?
To new ground - You mentioned in your header that I should consider an analyst position. Given what insight I provided into my experiences, do you still believe that I should? Will that be detrimental to my career, to take such a major step back? Or is it possible to take one of the PM offers that I received at one of the smaller firms and try to make a horizontal jump to a Big Five later on?
Actually...one last question. Do I really come across as arrogant in my writing? Please elaborate, I'm actually quite curious about this.
Thanks again for your advice. Even if I argue with it, it's not necessarily because I disagree. I just wish to gain and grant insight.
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