Strategy Consulting

[eliteblaze]

Hey,

For those in management consulting firms how are you finding strategy consulting?
Interesting clients/projects? Super difficult to enter? Unique favour in the firm?

[Rehan]

Lots of info here:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269457

[coolspot]

What I don't get is why do consulting companies hire fresh graduates?

What crediblity do fresh graduates bring? How can fresh grads consult on any matters when they don't have the knowledge/experience themselves? It's like signing an amateur to play in the major leagues.

I think a lot of employers realize this - so consultanting may not be as sexy on the resume as some thing ;)

But overall, it's not a bad job to get... you get to meet alot of people, see a lot of interesting challenges, and work with people to solve the issues. Tho at times... it's a bit strange to be "consulting" to people who know more than you :D

[eliteblaze]

For the most part they don't.. I haven't heard of anyone become a consultant from scratch.

From my understanding they hire "analysts" who do the modelling/projections and after 2-3 years move up (after an MBA) to an associate who's had exposure to a number of different cases/clients. then after 2-3 years of that, they actually tell clients recommendations.

I actually would consider doing consulting long, long term heh. It's funny since one of the recruiters for the Monitor Group was telling me I should think about what I wnat to do 6-7 years from now too when choosing a firm *hint when you jump* but I actually love the whole project/client atmosphere.

What I don't get is why do consulting companies hire fresh graduates?

What crediblity do fresh graduates bring? How can fresh grads consult on any matters when they don't have the knowledge/experience themselves? It's like signing an amateur to play in the major leagues.

I think a lot of employers realize this - so consultanting may not be as sexy on the resume as some thing ;)

But overall, it's not a bad job to get... you get to meet alot of people, see a lot of interesting challenges, and work with people to solve the issues. Tho at times... it's a bit strange to be "consulting" to people who know more than you :D

[eliteblaze]

Yup read the thread - generally I've done my research and understand what consulting is and what type of work an average analyst does, how their compensated and such.

But more I'm interested to hear people's experiences. Their the only ones that can tell you how much face time actually matters, whether analysts get staffed on intersting projects, whether "beach" time is becoming more common with the turndown, some hint of firm's support for a work/life balance. Not too many have the time to RFD I'm sure but you'd be surprised!

Lots of info here:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269457

[springroll]

I wish I get some "beach" time, I haven't even had any "bench" time yet. Wait..I did spend some time on the beach in Santa Cruz the other day, does that count as "beach" time? I kid, I kid... ;)

I've only been in consulting for the past three months, I probably can't tell you much as regards to strategy consulting (I'm in business/technology consulting myself). What I can tell you is that when you are at the analyst/consultant (ie. non-manager/senior consultant) level, you are basically a high-priced temp, you are told where to go, when to go, and what to do. It's up to you to make and learn the most out of it. Work/Life balance can be possible if you work hard at it; would you rather travel all around and meet new people all the time or would you want to focus on your family and friends at your home town? It's up to you, you cannot do one and the other.
Being on the right short-term project can lead to a potential long-term project where you would be involved in a more important role; the choice is yours to take on such role or move on to another project to be exposed to a different set of experience/knoweldge.

I do not know if these answer some of your questions, but I hope it's a good start.
Yup read the thread - generally I've done my research and understand what consulting is and what type of work an average analyst does, how their compensated and such.

But more I'm interested to hear people's experiences. Their the only ones that can tell you how much face time actually matters, whether analysts get staffed on intersting projects, whether "beach" time is becoming more common with the turndown, some hint of firm's support for a work/life balance. Not too many have the time to RFD I'm sure but you'd be surprised!

[eliteblaze]

Heh I think the beach thing is a strategy thing, I guess the bench seems less friendly ;) In the US market I definetely see some weakness but I hope that doesn't have a big impact on consulting - that or hopefully lots of Canadian projects come up.

I'm perfectly fine with travelling all around and getting small pieces projects for a while. Running surveys, crunching data - as long as I'm learning througout the process what are the "right" questions to ask and think about. I tend to absorb information pretty quickly and I'm usually pretty curious so I hope that'll help me get some value out of the first couple years.

That or I can try to join as an associate if I happen to get into a top ranked MBA school like HBS and finish at the top of the my class *hint* that'll probably not happen in my lifetime. ;)

I'm not expecting like a 50 hour week or being in town most of the day but the part of the work/life balance important to me is. I tend to ask myself.. Do I get to sleep for more than a few hours on a regular basis? Any time to take someone out for dinner every now and then? Can I live like a normal person for the most part with time for phone calls and newspapers heheee

[commie]

Springroll - good to hear you are well on your way to becoming another 'android'... ;).....at the early start of a consulting career you don't want beach/bench time....stay busy......even if its B&P activities

Eliteblaze - Sorry haven't responded earlier...I have been very busy the last couple of weeks....Just starting a new project...a supply chain strategy engagement for a US-based company that has international locations...so been travelling overseas....Will be in Germany next couple of weeks...then to China to check out their 'cheap' manufacturing sites...

Its getting very hard to distinigush the strategy consulting firms with the IT consulting firms nowadays.....the traditional strategy consulting firms are moving towards more process/IT transformation work,....while the traditional IT/process consulting firms are doing more strategy & change work...

In general, its probably much harder to get into the traditional 'strategy' firms...Like Mckinsey, Bain, BCG, Monitor......You need top GPA, from a TOP recruited university...and you need to fit into their 'Profile'...
right now the market is still very tough in Canada for strategy work...Most of the good strategy projects are in the USA.....and typically the project duration for strategy & change tends to be shorter in life compared to a technology consulting project....


What I don't get is why do consulting companies hire fresh graduates?

What crediblity do fresh graduates bring? How can fresh grads consult on any matters when they don't have the knowledge/experience themselves? It's like signing an amateur to play in the major leagues.

I think a lot of employers realize this - so consultanting may not be as sexy on the resume as some thing ;)

But overall, it's not a bad job to get... you get to meet alot of people, see a lot of interesting challenges, and work with people to solve the issues. Tho at times... it's a bit strange to be "consulting" to people who know more than you :D

Consulting firms like to hire fresh grads, because they like to train and mold them into their firm's consultant....After couple of years of those brainwashing, then the new consultant will be more experienced and ready to handle the client issue..

If you think about it, what is the skill of a consultant? or better question would be, why are companies paying big dollars to hire Strategy consultants?
One of the big reason is the firm's Methodology.....thats what is valuable...not the consultant.......The consulting firms, especially the strategy firms, where the consultant does not need to know specific Technology skills(IE. SAP or Oracle)....tend to prefer to hire young grads, train them up on their Methodology...
With the methodology, the young consultants will be in a better position to faciliate the client's projects, and help them identify their core issues, benchmarking, develop alternatives, and solutions.
Most new consultants, will be expected to fully participate in consulting engagements after about 1 year of doing the data analyzing.....The firms will provide the methods and tools,....
thats why a 25 year old Consultant, can confidently walk into a room of senior executives who are 20-30 years his/her senior, and still be able to faciliate the room....The clients are paying for this consultant to use the firm's methodology to solve their problem.....the client knows more than the consultant in terms of the industry/products/experience,etc.....but the client typically does not know the steps involve to solve the problem...thats the job of the consultant...its not to know the answers right away...but to know HOW to get the answer...

[TheGoods07]

Don't mean to thread jack but does anyone know what the chances are of a grad (Graduating next year with a bcomm) from Ryerson getting into the consulting industry is?

[cihanlee]

Hi guys,

I just had a question, I currently attend University of Toronto at Scarborough and am Majoring in International Studies and Human Geography, eventhough I am in my third year, I was wondering if Consulting firms hire Management Analysts or Consultants from these Majors or Bachelors in Arts.

Thx for any input.

[Kerby]

I doubt it --> the good ones only go to St. Grg, Queen's, Ivey. It's esp. hard for 3rd years

suggestion: go to their websites and find out how to apply outside of campus recruiting. if you're at the top of ur class then you may have a shot --> at queen's, for example, only the best students got into consulting firms.

[springroll]

I doubt it --> the good ones only go to St. Grg, Queen's, Ivey. It's esp. hard for 3rd years

suggestion: go to their websites and find out how to apply outside of campus recruiting. if you're at the top of ur class then you may have a shot --> at queen's, for example, only the best students got into consulting firms.

How the hell did I get hired then? Sometimes I still wonder (or screaming in my sleep) what the hell happened. :confused:
To the Ryerson graduate, I have a BComm from RyeHigh too, too, but I was an experienced hire. You can always try. Even if you don't get hired and go into other industries, you can still apply again afterwards (provided that by then you are still interested in consulting; consulting is not for everyone).

Springroll - good to hear you are well on your way to becoming another 'android'... .....at the early start of a consulting career you don't want beach/bench time....stay busy......even if its B&P activities

Hello commie..thanks for the good words. It's going well and I will probably go right into another project or join a longer term project with the same client right after my mid-September roll-off date.
Have fun in Germany (is this SAP-related?) and China!

[commie]

How the hell did I get hired then? Sometimes I still wonder (or screaming in my sleep) what the hell happened. :confused:
To the Ryerson graduate, I have a BComm from RyeHigh too, too, but I was an experienced hire. You can always try. Even if you don't get hired and go into other industries, you can still apply again afterwards (provided that by then you are still interested in consulting; consulting is not for everyone).

Hehehe...sometimes I have to wonder how I got recruited out of university as well....sure I was from a targeted school...but my gpa was anything to talk about.


Hello commie..thanks for the good words. It's going well and I will probably go right into another project or join a longer term project with the same client right after my mid-September roll-off date.
Have fun in Germany (is this SAP-related?) and China!
good to hear...from experience its good to have a fall roll-off date.....lots of projects starting in the fall.....worse is a summer roll-out..typically hardly any projects start in the summer, with vacation schedule conflicts..
No its not SAP related....at least not for now.....just a supply chain strategy assessment project........its a pretty large private multi-nation company that specializes in patented materials.....looking to expand their sourcing without exposing their IP. Their security is tighter than Fortknox. I have to get a guide to take me to the washrooms.

[eliteblaze]

wow sounds like quite the experience!

[springroll]

To this year's graduates interested in Accenture, here's their campus recruitment/information session schedule:
http://careers3.accenture.com/Careers/Canada/NewGraduates/OnCampus/

[eliteblaze]

question for anyone working for an US strategy firms

If you do a summer internship in Toronto what are the odds you can get a full time offer in NY/Boston? Would it be almost as likely as getting a full time offer for Toronto?