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Hi Jason, Your approach sounds fine. For this question, I think it is interesting, and helpful, to note that stealing involves two parts: (1) the act, and (2) the intention. In Australia, theft is broadly defined as "taking with the intention to permanently deprive". So, if you take a pen home from work at night, and have an intention to bring it back to work the next day, then this is not stealing.

This is an interesting one. If you say "no", you are almost certainly lying. If you say "yes", then you are admitting to stealing property from work, which shows that you lack the social awareness required to know that "stealing" and "admitting to stealing" are both actions which demonstrate anti-social behaviour. How would you answer this one?

amitb, Salary data is kept confidential, and so it is very hard to say for sure what you should expect. Based on the opinions of a small sample of consultants that I canvassed, the salary range is most likely $150K - $250K. Hopefully this gives you something to go on. However, consider this an opinion based on limited research, so you should ask other contacts you have if they can give you their opinions. Let us know if you manage to get a more definitive guide on salaries. And, please let us know how the interviews go. :-) Cheers, Tom

A nice HBR article about the value of hiring people with passion, and finding passion for your own work. To read the article: click here.

Max, That makes sense and doesn't sound crazy at all. And I think that having less than 2 years of experience in a law firm is a good time to make escape plans. Otherwise, you may get sucked into the law firm vortex. I understand what you mean when you say "stuff businessmen hand their lawyers to close the deal". Corporate transactions seem to begin with the strategy work and finish with the lawyers (hello, please document this deal as soon as possible). If your objective is to work for a strategy consulting firm then what are the options? 1. Commerce/law is an attractive double degree. Do you have good marks? Top strategy firms may be willing to interview you without further experience. 2. Have you applied anywhere already? Generally speaking, recruitment for Business Analyst positions in Australia are in Feb-March for positions starting in the following year (ie. you interview for a position in March 2012 for a position in March 2013) - though once they want you, they are often flexible on the start date.

Hi Max, Welcome to the Consulting Forum! You have a Commerce/Law degree with experience working for a law firm in Sydney. This is a good grounding because it likely opens up lots of options. Although, it also means you need to decide what to do next. The allure of consulting is understandable. However, before discussing "what" you should do, would it be okay if you tell us a little bit about "why" consulting? Where do you see yourself heading over the next 5 or so years? How do you see consulting playing into that story?

ikry, Good questions. What things do you consider when weighing up an offer? I think all of the factors you listed are relevant. However, you need to determine which factors are important to *you*. Here are three factors which I think are important: Branding: working for a firm with a strong brand will help you open new doors. For example, working at McKinsey would almost certainly help someone get an offer from a top business school. Training/experience: the experience and skills you pick up will stand by you later. Are there differences in the training programmes that the firms offer? You can probably get great experience working at any of strategy firms listed here: list of strategy firms in Australia People: the people who interview you will be asking themselves whether you are someone they would like to be stuck at an airport with, and you should be asking yourself the same question about them. Should you accept the offer? This is a judgement call. At a minimum, you need to be satisfied that you would be happy to work with the firm. In making your decision, it is worth remembering two things. Firstly, offer and acceptance are not sufficient to create a legally binding agreement (you also need consideration and an intention to create a legally binding relationship). If you haven't signed anything, then it may be difficult to prove that there was an intention to create a legally binding relationship. If there is no legal agreement then you can walk away at any time. This is likely to ruffle a few feathers and possibly burn bridges, but it's your career. Secondly, even if it would result in a legal agreement being put in place, you may want to consider accepting the offer and retracting it later if you get a better offer. Again, this is likely to ruffle a few feathers and possibly burn bridges. However, it is unlikely to lead to anything more serious for three reasons. Firstly, a consulting firm that tried to enforce an employment contract through the courts would most likely receive negative news coverage. Since reputation is everything, they would not want to risk this. Secondly, if you are applying for a graduate role there will be lots of other people who want that job. It would be easy for a consulting firm to find a replacement. Thirdly, consulting is a professional services business which requires energy and dedication. If you don't want to work for a firm, then they are unlikely to want you there either.

Michelle, Thank you for ALL the questions. My view is that you do need to prepare for case interivews. I have three reasons for this view: 1. Prepare you for a consulting career: case interviews are preparation for the real life consulting. If you get good at the case interview (and enjoy it) then this suggests that you will be good at consulting (and enjoy it) 2. Practice makes perfect: case interview questions are often based on common sense, but you have very little time to think and respond. Preparing allows you to get the easy things right so that you have less stress and more time to think. 3. Process not intelligence: Doing well in the case interview is largely about having the right approach, not about being "smart". There is a particular way to structure the case that will maximise your chances of (1) impressing the interviewer, and (2) providing a solid answer. The only way to learn how to do a case interview is to practice. I believe a good place to start your study of the case interview is the Case Interview Workshop run by Victor Cheng (former McKinsey consultant). Also, here is a list of Strategy and general business consulting firms in Australia. Hope that helps. I would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this...

Hey Jason, I haven't seen Moneyball, but I loved the article! Here are my favourite quotes:

Hey Andy, Thanks for joining the Consulting Forum! I take it that you're looking to find a role in a consulting firm. Are you looking at strategy consulting in particular? As you have probably gathered, the field of "consulting" is very broad and so there are lots of different kinds of consultants. I am not an expert on enviro consulting firms. However, I did create a list of Sustainability Consulting Firms which may be helpful: http://www.tomspencer.com.au/2008/11/23/sustainability-consulting-firms-in-australia-csr/ As for the application process, recruitment for Business Analyst positions in Australia are generally in Feb-March for positions starting in the following year (ie. you interview for a position in March 2012 for a position in March 2013) - though once they want you, they are often flexible on the start date. What do you mean by upper education? Do you mean Masters? If you are a recent graduate of a top NZ University and your marks are strong then that will put in you in a good position to get interviews at top consulting firms. And, by the way, engineering is a really great degree to have done if you're interested in strategy consulting because it teaches you to solve problems and think in a structured way. If you want to apply to strategy consulting firms in Australia, you can take a look at the list I put together here: http://www.tomspencer.com.au/2008/07/27/strategy-consulting-and-business-consulting-firms-list-australia/ Does that help?

To make the discussion even more interesting, a new member joined the Consulting Forum two days ago with the email address "*@a-b-s.ws". The email address suggests that that new member is associated with the Academy Business Strategy. However, when I emailed that member to thank them for joining the Consulting Forum I received the following bounce-back email: I welcome the ABS to contribue to this topic to clarify any issues raised above.

Hi Lamont, There seems to be quite a few people on forums asking the same question. This does not inspire me with a lot of confidence about the ABS or Berkeley Square Management Group. See this link, Steve B briefly mentions Berkeley Square Associates Ltd: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/management/business-analytics/MGM_ANA/352083-11222616

Hi MSM, Over the last 4 years, I have prepared guides for a number of analysis frameworks. To see the full list: click here. Hope that gives you a good starting point. Let us know how you go! Cheers, Tom

Lamont, Let me know if my comments above are helpful. Cheers, Tom

Hi Lamont, I don't have any personal experience with the Academy of Business Strategy. However, they appear to run training programmes for people who are interested in working as consultants. You can see the ABS website here: Academy of Business Strategy Although it may be unwise to judge a book by its cover, the quality of the ABS website appears to be quite low. I think this raises three issues: Education quality: If ABS cannot create a quality website, can they create a quality training programme? Branding: If you study the CPC with the ABS, would you feel comfortable pointing your future clients to the ABS website? Fees: Given my concerns noted in 1 and 2, the CPC course fees appear to be very high. US$20,000 with 50% paid on enrolment and 50% paid 30 days before commencement. When you consider than a Masters from the London School of Economics costs around £22,000, it is reasonable to wonder whether the CPC course fees are too high. I would not hand over any money until you are 100% comfortable that this opportunity is right for you. There appear to be quite a few online forum topics about the Academy of Business Strategy. Here are three that may help you get a feel for what people are saying about the ABS: The Academy of Business Strategy CPC from the Academy of Business Strategy Is a job offer from Academy of Business strategy a real thing? Let me know your thoughts.

Hi MSM, Welcome to the Consulting Forum! What kind of business research are you doing? Cheers, Tom

Hey Lamont, Welcome to the Consulting Forum! Here's another MC joke for you: The Oldest Profession... A medical doctor, an engineer, and a management consultant were arguing about what was the oldest profession in the world. The doctor started… "Well, in the Bible, it says that God created Eve from a rib taken from Adam’s body. This must have required surgery, and so I can claim with a high degree of confidence that mine is the oldest profession in the world." The engineer responded, and said, "But earlier in the book of Genesis, it states that God created the order of the heavens and the earth from out of the chaos. This was the first and certainly the most impressive application of civil engineering. Therefore, dear doctor, you are wrong: mine is surely the oldest profession in the world." The management consultant leaned back in his chair, smiled, and then said confidently, "Ah, but who do you think created the chaos?"

Hi Mon, Welcome to the Consulting Forum! There is a lot of competition for positions in top consulting firms, so having the "big name university" brand name obviously helps in getting yourself an interview. Here are my slightly more detailed thoughts: In a previous forum post I summarised 7 key qualities that consulting firms are looking for (click here). After taking a look at that list, your response might be, I have all of those qualities! Why did I not get an interview?! Good question... Top consulting firms receive thousands of applications each year, and there are lots of people who would make excellent consultants who will miss out on interviews. What the consulting firms are looking for is a "distinguishing feature", something which makes you stand out from the crowd. One distinguishing feature would be to have a "big name university" brand name on your CV. This is by no means the only distinguishing feature which can get you in the door. I'd be interested to hear from other members what kind of distinguishing features you believe can open the door to consulting firm interviews...

Hi Bill, Thanks for joining the Consulting Forum! I think you're asking two related questions: 1. do consulting firms have a rigid hiring process?, and 2. is it possible to delay your start time? For example, apply in January with the intention of starting in July-August I'll give you my thoughts below, and I'd be interested to hear from others. 1. Hiring process Each consulting firm will have a slightly different hiring policy. However, take McKinsey as an example. I understand McKinsey hires in two different ways: The milk round - They have an annual milk round. That is, they have a formal hiring process targetted at top students from top universities. Experienced hires - they also interview experienced hires, and I understand that these interviews are done in batches. So, if you apply today and they like your application, they will likely hold your application until they have enough suitable applicants to do a batch of interviews. However, it is worth noting that if you apply as an experienced hire during the milk round then your application (even if quite impressive) may fall through the cracks. 2. Delayed starting time If your intention is to delay your starting time, then I would suggest that you hold this information to yourself until you get an offer. Interviewing with consulting firms is very competitive so your primary objective should be to get offers. If you get an offer, then you have bargaining power to negotiate a suitable start date. Hope that helps. Cheers, Tom