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Hey guys, I've been working at a consulting firm for over a year now and I suppose I just wanted to share some of my insights into consulting. Hopefully it is somewhat useful for prospective graduates interested in joining an consultancy firm.
The Market: There are consultants available for every single industry, from telecommunications to marketing to supply chain. Just like the accounting firms, the big consultants serve the big corporations. Although many people lean towards management consulting as the sexier arm (also very well compensated). I am currently in a mixture of management consulting, supply chain and procurement role, so I scope is more limited to those 3 functions.
The Big Players: Within management consulting, the top tier firms are Boston Consulting Group, Mckinsey, Bain, Booz and AT Kearney, get into any of those 5 and you’re doing very well for yourself! The big 4 accounting firms also offer advisory services and cover a broader range of industry market. IBM/Accenture are huge in the IT market and SKM is a large pillar for engineering services.
Entry: Just like you would imagine, gaining employment in the top tier firms isn’t easy, spectacular university marks (I’m unsure what the American/EU standards are) are necessary, work experience is essential, powerpoint/excel competency is a prerequisite and anything beyond is a good premium to have. One thing all these firms have in common is that they ask the same bloody interview questions! And this is where I hope I can add the most value here, to provide an insight into what the employers are seeking. You may or may not heard of these questions but they are industry standards, they will put you on the spot with what you might perceive as absolutely random questions:
1. The most infamous: how many golf balls are there on a jumbo jet? The answer isn’t “I don’t know, never been on a plane” or “162,452”. You must note that they are NOT after a discrete answer but what they ARE seeking is a structured approach to tackle the solution and the assumptions you make (I’ll come back to this key point later). The way you should answer this is by making a whole load of realistic assumptions; e.g. jumbo is a 3-4-3 with 2 aisle configuration, assume 40cm widths per seat and etc etc until you derive the volume of the jumbo and divide it by the assumed volume of the golf ball.
2. A ramp up on difficulty might be something like: how many 10cent coins are there on X Street at any point in time. Again, this comes down to developing key assumptions such as 10cent coin per pedestrian/household/business, then start extrapolating on number of pedestrian/household/business and finally incorporate external factors like time of day (more pedestrians at 9am and 5pm), public transport and entertainment events etc etc. Employers do not care about the answer, they don’t expect a discrete answer (they wouldn’t know themselves), all they want to see are good assumptions and a structured approach.
3. The hardest one I’ve heard was: how many rats are there in New York city: I’ll leave that one to you guys to see how you would answer this one.
The remainder of the interview questions will usually consist of basic set behavioural questions that you can google yourself (this is dependent on the role you applied) the more senior it is the less behaviour and more experience related questions you will be asked.
The Cost/Benefit: Remind yourself that working in a big consultant company = working long long hours, almost approaching investment banking hours. You don’t get compensated as well as the IB guys buy the reward is EXPOSURE. Being a consultant means that you will be working all the big industries out there, banking, construction, telecommunications and so on. You get to develop a rapid understanding on the mechanisms of each industry and if you are lucky, you meet the right people that like you (hang on to these people), the exposure allows you to pursue an industry role that you desire knowing the exact preference. You will definitely at some stage be offered a job by your client, if you don’t then you’re not a very good consultant. While the bonus and pay are pretty decent, the biggest reward for myself is the industry exposure and meeting the key stakeholders, in other words – resume building and social networking. The downside however is the long hours, and depending on your rank, you will either be an excel drone or a powerpoint monkey although both are good skills to have and you will eventually “fall in love” both programs. At some stage you will realise that the work you are doing is all bullshit, and you would be right. There is a saying that goes something like “Consultants borrow your watch to tell you the time then walk off with your watch”, however hilarious the analogy goes, it is fairly accurate, coming back to the “assumptions” point above, consultancy is all about making assumptions to reach a conclusion (telling you what time it is) and we’ll charge you a crap load (getting the watch back). So don’t be surprised that you will be frustrated with the deliverables and the long hours you are putting in all end up down a garbage chute. This shouldn’t come at a surprise that given the allotted timeframe, consultants must understand the functioning mechanisms of the business unit to make a quick judgement that may have significant impact on the company’s strategy (see, I just wrote a line of fluff).
You will also be travelling…A LOT…I am lucky because my company has a policy of returning to office on Friday so I get to be home at least 3 days a week but it also means I’m flying 2-4 times a week. It might sound exotic and exciting at first, but the dread you get on a Sunday night and the notion of living out of a suitcase is straight out of Clooney’s “up in the air” and for those who have watched the movie knows how bad it can get. Subsequently, consultant firms are generally younger in medium age and would be a terrible profession for a family man.
Conclusion: I guess this is more of a TLDR, being a consultant will pay you well, allow you to travel a lot, meet the right people and provide you with exposure with multiple industries but you will be working long hours, doing BS work and never be home! I hope I provided everyone with some useful insights into the consulting world. Please do not hesitate to ask questions for any clarifications. Do note that I don’t know too much beyond the industries I work in currently, although I can safely assume that it’s all as BS as mine.
Oh yer, as Idra would say, excel/powerpoint is a good skill toi have
Thanks for reading TL’ers =]
 
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Consulting: If you're not part of the solution, there's money to be made in prolonging the problem!
Just kidding 
Much appreciate this blog. I've wondered often about doing Software consulting, but the idea of travelling a lot plus the responsibilities of being a consultant is something I'm not sure I'm ready for just yet, thanks for the insight! :D
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On June 27 2011 10:47 prOxi.swAMi wrote:Consulting: If you're not part of the solution, there's money to be made in prolonging the problem!Just kidding Much appreciate this blog. I've wondered often about doing Software consulting, but the idea of travelling a lot plus the responsibilities of being a consultant is something I'm not sure I'm ready for just yet, thanks for the insight! :D
hahah you're not far off! i mean, if there's no inefficiencies in the market then there's no room for consultants! one thing you will find when you worked on enough projects is that in general, industry is very very inefficient due to the heavy political drivers. very sad to see.
I suppose travelling would depend on where you are and the company you work for, if there is a lot of local work then you won't be travelling as much. In terms of responsibilities, the right company will provide you with enough resources to help you adjust. You will have a brilliant time working on a project with the right people, regardless of the content of the work.
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On June 27 2011 10:04 Doraemon wrote:
Conclusion: I guess this is more of a TLDR, being a consultant will pay you well, allow you to travel a lot, meet the right people and provide you with exposure with multiple industries but you will be working long hours, doing BS work and never be home! I hope I provided everyone with some useful insights into the consulting world. Please do not hesitate to ask questions for any clarifications. Do note that I don’t know too much beyond the industries I work in currently, although I can safely assume that it’s all as BS as mine.
Oh yer, as Idra would say, excel/powerpoint is a good skill toi have
Thanks for reading TL’ers =]
Just read the TLDR, since you have long hours, I'd assume there's good job stability eg. lots of work and people don't get laid off more than in the average job?
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We all know the reason to do consulting is to get those Starwood points!
Consulting seriously is a drag, traveling all the time is not for the lighthearted. Props to you!
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Zurich15325 Posts
On June 27 2011 11:01 kakaman wrote:
We all know the reason to do consulting is to get those Starwood points!
Consulting seriously is a drag, traveling all the time is not for the lighthearted. Props to you!
Platinum Starwood here. (Feels like the strat forum haha)
Been doing consulting for 4 years now and I still enjoy it. Although these days I don't see the point in tidying my apartment anymore so it's a constant mess. So I don't really want to spend time there, and travel even on weekends :-(
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What sort of education do you need to get into consulting? Masters needed?
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I just applied at McKinsey; I know it's really competitive but I'm still hoping for the best!
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I had a friend who worked for Mckinsey and now works for Goldman Sachs. He skipped high school, graduated with nearly a 4.0 in Computer Science from Cal Poly, went to Harvard Law (got on law review), clerked for the chief judge for the federal circuit, and taught intellectual property at Oxford for a year. My impression is that the barrier to entry into these firms is quite high. That being said the benefits are pretty awesome, he was saying that you get top law firm like pay, but without the ridiculous hours. Seems like a great life to me (or at least a well paying one)!
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Just saying, it's much, much better working in a product based company rather than a consulting company, as far as software goes. A lot more freedom, better working conditions, more creativity involved in the job, and more satisfaction. But the problem is, atleast here, they are few, and financially it's easier for a consulting company to take off.
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On June 27 2011 11:13 The_LiNk wrote:
What sort of education do you need to get into consulting? Masters needed?
Most of the jobs I looked at when I was hunting required a minimum of a bachelors I believe. Masters cant hurt though and will almost always lead to better salary/offer.
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On June 27 2011 11:26 LuckyFool wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 11:13 The_LiNk wrote:
What sort of education do you need to get into consulting? Masters needed? Most of the jobs I looked at when I was hunting required a minimum of a bachelors I believe. Masters cant hurt though and will almost always lead to better salary/offer.
Any bachelor as long as you get good marks? Are there bachelors that are favoured? Personally I'm looking to do Financial Economics or Applied Mathematics in Finance and Economics at my school. Would it be better to be a BBA or BComm than BSc?
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On June 27 2011 11:13 The_LiNk wrote:
What sort of education do you need to get into consulting? Masters needed?
you can get by with an Associates, or even nothing, if you have the right people saying your name when you apply
(obviously you will get weeded out in the interview process if you aren't worth your salt)
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On June 27 2011 11:09 zatic wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 11:01 kakaman wrote:
We all know the reason to do consulting is to get those Starwood points!
Consulting seriously is a drag, traveling all the time is not for the lighthearted. Props to you! Platinum Starwood here. (Feels like the strat forum haha)Been doing consulting for 4 years now and I still enjoy it. Although these days I don't see the point in tidying my apartment anymore so it's a constant mess. So I don't really want to spend time there, and travel even on weekends :-(
hahah. yes! you will get so stuck into frequent flyer miles and stuff. i'm at my apartment like 1 day a week now == living out of a suitcase
On June 27 2011 11:00 Hidden_MotiveS wrote:Show nested quote +On June 27 2011 10:04 Doraemon wrote:
Conclusion: I guess this is more of a TLDR, being a consultant will pay you well, allow you to travel a lot, meet the right people and provide you with exposure with multiple industries but you will be working long hours, doing BS work and never be home! I hope I provided everyone with some useful insights into the consulting world. Please do not hesitate to ask questions for any clarifications. Do note that I don’t know too much beyond the industries I work in currently, although I can safely assume that it’s all as BS as mine.
Oh yer, as Idra would say, excel/powerpoint is a good skill toi have
Thanks for reading TL’ers =]
Just read the TLDR, since you have long hours, I'd assume there's good job stability eg. lots of work and people don't get laid off more than in the average job?
stability is good because the skill you have is very transferable anyway. plus you will get job offers from clients and etc. however, if you're not a very good consultant, you will be shown the door just like any other job you have
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I'm in this industry as a recent grad (Chartered Accounting), but it's quite depressing as I'm unable to find work.
I had only 1 interview from the big 4 accounting firms from campus recruiting, and I was unable to get in. Later I heard the recruiter (manager, not the HR) that interviewed me didn't hire a single student whereas another recruiter hired 4 students. I'm not sure was it because of bad luck that I selected that recruiter's slot or that the other 4 students were really superior. They only asked behavioral questions, although I was prepared for the questions mentioned in the OP. I will try again in september when they are recruiting.
For now, I have moved on to CFA, as that at least allows me to take exams. I'm hoping that when I pass level 1 or 2, I can land interviews easier.
If anyone can provide some comments on my progress or some tips to increase my chances of an interview that would be great. I currently just send cover letter, resume, and transcript to job posts from job sites and my university's career site.
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On June 27 2011 11:20 Ingenol wrote:
I just applied at McKinsey; I know it's really competitive but I'm still hoping for the best!
good luck mate 
On June 27 2011 11:13 The_LiNk wrote:
What sort of education do you need to get into consulting? Masters needed?
not in Australia at least, like i pointed out, having a structured thinking is the best skillset you can have as an analyst. however, learn excel! both are reasons why consultant firms love engineers.
bachelors is sufficient
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On June 27 2011 11:40 Ryshi wrote:
I'm in this industry as a recent grad (Chartered Accounting), but it's quite depressing as I'm unable to find work.
I had only 1 interview from the big 4 accounting firms from campus recruiting, and I was unable to get in. Later I heard the recruiter (manager, not the HR) that interviewed me didn't hire a single student whereas another recruiter hired 4 students. I'm not sure was it because of bad luck that I selected that recruiter's slot or that the other 4 students were really superior. They only asked behavioral questions, although I was prepared for the questions mentioned in the OP. I will try again in september when they are recruiting.
For now, I have moved on to CFA, as that at least allows me to take exams. I'm hoping that when I pass level 1 or 2, I can land interviews easier.
If anyone can provide some comments on my progress or some tips to increase my chances of an interview that would be great. I currently just send cover letter, resume, and transcript to job posts from job sites and my university's career site.
i think one thing people should realise is that over-qualification is a reality. you want to focus on the most basic skillsets that match the requirement of the employer. cover letter is important, don't bs on your resume (it will haunt you) but do embellish during interviews. i suppose it comes with practice, hope you get there mate, the market is picking up from what i heard.
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1019 Posts
thanks for writing this, I learned something new today
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I Interned at an acoustical consulting firm in high school that did consulting work for concert halls/opera houses/theaters etc. Its vastly different from the types listed here XD, but thanks for the post. Now I understand more of why things in the company where the way they were.
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So in terms of travelling. Where have you consulting guys on TL gone to?
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EPT
