Job Responsibilities
There are two broad streams of responsibilities, and these depend on whether
you're
on a billable job or not. I'll deal with each in turn.
When you're billable, you're the analytical engine behind a consulting team.
You're
responsible for doing, or understanding, whatever it is that's key for the team
to
succeed at that point in time. This may mean doing a "baseline" - where you
model
what it is your team is focused on (costs, head counts, profitability, etc); it
may mean
building up a competitive landscape, where you understand the competition that
your
client faces; you may be working on "decks", or powerpoint presentations, that
will go
in front of clients showing your findings; you could be doing interviews or
surveys,
providing the qualitative and quantitative backing for deliverables to clients.
The work is always varied. Trying to pin down an amount of time that you will
spend
doing a specific task is next to impossible; it's always changing week to week,
client
to client. How hard the work is, how much time it will take, and so on - it all
depends
on the project.
Other than billable work, you'll (obviously) be doing non-billable work. This
might
involve putting together proposals, marketing, other internal stuff. Generally
not as
exciting, but on the other hand typically less demanding; the hours go down.
Though
this doesn't apply if you've got yourself stuck on a proposal due tomorrow!
The amount of oversight you get from above, like with so many components of this
job, depends on the project and the manager you're working with.
If I was to sum it up though, your responsibility is to support the team by
doing
analysis and research to provide a qualitative and quantitative backing (and
understanding) for them to make recommendations to the client.
|
Job Requirements
Hiring for me was out of undergrad (two degrees w/ Hons) at an Ivy-league
equivalent university (though overseas). The consulting firms are getting less
and
less concerned with exactly what it was you did at uni - what counts is that you
did
well. Going to a good uni definitely helps.
Business related education is obviously a plus, however, as so much of what is
done
is business related. That being said, we have people working with us with
massively
diverse backgrounds.
|
Uppers
The travel - you get to see a whole lot of cool stuff all around the world.
Transferrable job - there are consulting firms all around the world, and
generally if you've done well in one of the big ones you'll be in demand no
matter where you go.
Pay - solid pay. It's not IB, but it's definitely up there with law.
The work itself - always diverse, never doing the same thing (unless you want,
or join a boutique consulting firm that just works in one area). If you're not
sure what industry you want to work in, this is a great way of working it out.
The people - some great people to work with. Often find yourself socialising
with them outside of work hours!
The reputation - instant cred for working for one of the big consulting firms.
Looks great on a CV
Support for doing an MBA - this is a massive one for me. Once you've been there
a few years, the firm will support you financially in doing an MBA!
|
Downers
Stress - don't doubt it. This is a stressful job! You're expected to deliver in
a way that
few other jobs will demand.
Surrounded by brilliant people - makes it harder to stand out when everyone
around
you is a chronic overachievers! It certainly makes excelling a lot more
challenging
when everyone around you is truly amazing!
The hours - can get very demanding. Not up with IB levels on a consistent basis,
but
can certainly get there.
Expenses - doing these when you've got expenses in different currencies can in
particular be a real pain in the backside. Don't underestimate how much it sucks
to
do these every month!
|
Lifestyle
Work hours vary depending on billability, the project, and where you're working.
Some projects can be meat grinders - up to 100 hours in a week. This is high even
by consulting standards; hard is normally around 70, whereas a (very) good week
is 50. Non-billable, you'll be getting 50 unless there's a proposal or something
due, then it can get up to billable levels.
Business travel is frequent in this job. If you don't like travel, it's going to
be challenging. I've worked locally, interstate and overseas in less than a year
- and this is typical. Travel internationally is business class, domestically
often economy. They won't normally skimp on providing you good accommodation/food
however; they realise that if they're sending you away from home then they should
look after you. This may only be undermined if a very "cheap" piece of work has
been sold, and even then they make take the hit to look after you.
Company social events split down into three categories; formal, during work
hours, and informal. The formal ones are normally limited to stuff like the Xmas
party; normally good fun. Not too stuffy, and normally at least a reasonable
amount of money is spent! The "during work hours" social events could include
voluntary work or team building exercises - great fun in our office. We've done
work for environmental and charity groups and they're a great way of bringing
people together. Finally, there are informal events, organised by people outside
of work. These are normally the best, and typically you'll fall into a little
clique of people you'll get on well with (if you want to, that is). These can be
weekends away, or going out after work, or whatever.
Dress code is generally no tie in the office. Otherwise, on client site, it is
at least equal to the client, or a "cut above". The office dress code is quite
absurd - very, very rarely are there clients in the "working areas" of the office
(client confidential material lying around), and why you couldn't just come in in
T-shirt and jeans is beyond me!
Diversity is normally staunchly supported in consulting firms - with the belief
that it brings different points of view to client problems. The only problem is,
that the firms very much tend to attract a certain "type" of person - so it's
unlikely you'll get discriminated against on the basis of race, gender or
sexuality; but the probability of you getting discriminated against based on some
other metric is very high. These are less tangible things - the way you talk,
dress, carry yourself, think, or even your personality. The interview process is
incredibly effective, and by and large there are so many potential candidates
that if they're not sure they can usually afford just to scratch you. Go
conservative and friendly, you'll probably be ok!
The interviews are usually case-based; meaning you get a problem that you have
to work through with the interviewer. There are examples up on the websites of
all the big consulting firms - practise, preferably with someone else!
|
Compensation
Pay is generally as good as you'll get out of a big firm short of working in an
IB. Coming
out of undergrad, you'll get a pretty big sign on bonus (~circa 10k), then first
year
around 55k. Second year, salary will go up to around 70k. Bonuses can be up to
15% of
salary. No stock options. Benefits are variable; most include medical, and
sometimes
other forms of insurance.
|
Advice to Jobseekers
Everywhere has it's plusses and minuses. The specific pros and cons of
consulting seem
to attract some very cool people, and there's no doubt you get to do some
amazing
work in exotic locales. But be sure to weigh everything up - the diversity of
work, the
hours, the people - vs the lifestyle issues, and the stress of the work. These
cons may
not be immediate problems in the short term, and may not seem like an issue when
you're reading this - but be warned, long term they can truly eat into your life!
|
|
