Sally McKenzie

Hi Patrick! Welcome to the community! Marks are important, in the sense that the HR people at a consulting firm will use marks as a way to filter applications. Don't forget though that consulting firms are looking for signs of success. This is not limited to academic success, and can also include sporting achievements, leadership of community groups, or other noteworthy achievements. Which consulting firms are you thinking of applying to? Best wishes, Sally

Responding to the recent post on "Gatekeepers vs Enablers", I wanted to share my two cents worth of strategies to deal with gatekeepers. In fact, they are not even my two cents, they are ideas I picked up from Alan Weiss. Alan talks a lot about "getting to the economic buyer", that is, getting to the person who can write the cheque or give the order to commence a consulting project without needing to get sign-off or approval from other people. Gatekeepers are the people who stand between the consultant and the economic buyer. In this context, Alan provides three ideas to get around the gatekeeper: Appeal to the gatekeeper's rational self interest - Explain how the project will be a success and make or save the company lots of money and so arranging an introduction with the economic buyer is a win-win situation; If rational self interest fails, try guile - Explain that "ethically" you need to hear about the project requirements from the ultimate decision maker in order to avoid miscommunication etc.; If rational self interest and guile both fail, then blow up the gatekeeper - Find a way to get to the economic buyer independently. Don't bad mouth the gatekeeper in the process, but don't let them stand in your way. I'm not sure that these three points are particularly relevant in the context of reaching out to students with career resources, but they will be relevant for independent consultants wanting to sell consulting projects to potential clients.

Responding to the most recent post, my view is that this will not affect the major consulting firms. The website appears to serve an entirely untapped part of the market. If you are an established consultant or consulting firm and have a lot of clients then there would be absolutely no need for existing clients to contact you through a third party website, they would just call you directly to discuss their needs. Thoughts?

Hi all, I'm aiming for the MBB but I've also been recently looking at LEK. In terms of global office locations, LEK look very strong. I'm interested in Australia but there are offices across America, Europe and Asia which fits with my goals to study/work abroad in the future. I'm wondering about the strength of the LEK brand, the quality of the people and the exit opportunities. Can anyone fill me in with their experience? Cheers, Sal

Great!

If you were an undergraduate student considering your career options, would you say that management consulting is the most intellectually stimulating career path you can follow out of undergrad? Interested to hear your thoughts x

Hi Bec, Nice to meet you. Addressing your quesitons: What would you reckon to be a good way to gain entry into the field given my situation? When it comes to breaking into the industry, there are two steps (1) get the interview, and (2) ace it. Both are difficult, and it sounds like you are still looking at step 1. Getting an interview does not require past experience, but firms do look at grades. If your GPA is low then this may present an obstacle. In broader terms, consulting firms are looking for are examples of success, or outstanding achievement e.g. president of a student club, Olympic gold medal, high grades, work experience at brand-name firm. If your grades are poor then you could try to structure your CV and cover letter in such a way that you downplay your education, and emphasise other activities you have been involved with. Am I on the right track? Yes, although it's not clear to me what you're planning as a next step. If you have the option of taking a job at a lesser known firm in the next few months, or waiting a year to apply for your dream consulting firms, then you should probably take the first option. You can't know whether your applications will be successful, and so while it's good to be idealistic you need to temper this with an element of pragmatism. If waiting creates a big gap in your CV then this may make consulting firms wonder if there's something wrong with you. Is there anything I might have missed? Not sure, but if you need more firms to apply to then there is a good list which Tom created here. What's a good way to find a mentor in this field without having a strong network? Not too sure about this one, but there is something known as "the reciprocation tendency" which you can make use of. Basically, if you help someone then this will usually generate in them a strong bias towards wanting to help you in return. And so, if you can identify a mentor then try to figure out how you can help that person. Maybe offering to do something for them e.g. work as an unpaid intern. What ever it takes. Hope that helps.

Let us know how your applications go, and which firms?

Hi Rachel, Spend a lot of time doing case prep, there is really no short cut to practicing the style, structure and approach that you need to do well in the case interview. In this regard, take a look at Victor Cheng's Case Interview Workshop Series and the Case Interview Prep Notes. Other than that network with alums and consulting firms. MBB will always need to hire lots of freshly minted MBAs because turnover is constand, and engagements continue to grow. Does that help? Good luck!

Great resource, thanks for posting this!

Eric, If you don't apply and get in after undergrad, the next easiest entry point into management consulting is after doing an MBA. However, you can apply at any time, these are not the only two options. It is important to demonstrate that you have excelled at what you do, and this does not need to be in the academic arena.

Is this EY's response to Deloitte University?

Advantages Money - the pay is good, and especially in a world where many people are unemployed or just getting by. Although, if you're already working in a consultancy then you need to consider your current position. If you're in America, based on my own research (which is pretty limited and will not be totally accurate) a first year out undergrad could hope for around US$70K all inclusive, and a first year out MBA could hope for more than $160K all inclusive. Skills - you already have specific industry skills but consulting could help you pick up more high level strategic skills Network - Management consulting firms make a point of recruiting the best and brightest. As a result, if you work at a top management consulting firm you will be surrounded by smart and hard working people. In my mind, this is a plus since you get to make smart friends and will be pushed to do your best. The flip side is that the hours can be long and the pace of work can be incredibly difficult. Management consulting firms (unlike some other kinds of consulting) tend to work directly with the CEO and executives of a client, and so you can build a relationship with the people who count. Branding - MBB have the strongest brand names, but they are by no means the only firms out there. I have heard stories of Bain requiring a four year consultant from Deloitte to take a one or two year pay/title reduction in order to move from Deloitte. If you're at the right management consulting firm, then the brand name has value which you can use later in your career or to help open other doors. Disadvantages the hours the stress the frustration/limitation of being able to give recommendations and not being able to implement or execute them Starting at the Bottom I can't give you specifics, but if you at a lesser known consultancy and want to move to an MBB then be prepared to take a hit on pay and perhaps even a demotion. Money is not everything, but then again neither is prestige. My suggestion is that if you feel it's a good opportunity and if it opens doors for you rather than closes them, then it's worth considering regardless of lower pay. I obviously say this with no knowledge of your other life commitments, so you need to decide whether it makes sense for you based on everything you have going on for you right now. Helpful?

Helpful, thanks Tom!

Hi Tone, I know that people don't use Facebook to buy things, but why not? A lot of people spend 30 minutes per day on Facebook, why does Facebook not try to sell people anything while they are there? It seems like a missed opportunity. What do you think? I'm interested to get your thought.

Hi everyone, I thought this would be of interest to those with a technological bent and based in Oz. Capgemini Australia has appointed a new top dog, Deepak Nangia, who has made a few big changes during his first month in office including making senior appointments and sharpening Capgemini's focus on its top 10 clients. He has also created a new chief technology office to help clients exploit upcoming tech trends. I think focusing on key clients and on exploiting tech trends are interesting strategies and most likely good ones. They follow the 80/20 rule, that is, the idea that 80% of your returns come from just 20% of your efforts. The implication being that you should figure out which activities produce most of the value, and focus mostly on those activities.

M K, Here are some of the best resources I can find which give you an insight into the main Management Consulting Frameworks: Tom Spencer's Consulting Frameworks Victor Cheng's Case Interview Marathon Workshop Harvard Business School Management Consulting Club Case Interview Guide, pages 3 to 32 Columbia Business School's Case Interview Guidebook, pages 28 to 32 Tuck Consulting Club Guide to Case Interviews, Strategic Tools & Frameworks, pages 9 to 19 MIT Case Book and Interview Guide, Chapter 6 Darden Consulting Club Interview Guide, pages 14 to 26 Does that help? Best, Sal

Hi Ashley, Great to meet you. I am in my first year at LSE studying Economics. Lavish food is wonderful, isn't it? Have you been to the Fat Duck? Sal

Oh no! Tom! I missed the deadline to download this for free! Are there any plans to issue a new Coupon Code? It would be really helpful! Thanks! Sally

What Tone said.

Despite having offices in more than 19 countries, they are yet to make it down to Australia. Maybe 2014 is the year!

The NHS is a wonderful system in terms of providing basic accessible care for everyone. One of the problems with the system though is that many people can afford to pay, and if it means they will get better service or more priority then they are typically than willing to do so. The system is equitable (in that its services can be accessed by all) but it has lots of in built inefficiency. I would be interested to read the terms of the original McKinsey brief. I'm sure they provided the government with what was needed at the time, or at least what was politically acceptable.

Hi Tom, In my opinion we are pretty likely to see more consolidation in 2014. I was reading today on ConsultingNews about Simon-Kucher & Partners whose revenues have this year exceeded £125 million mark for the first time. Simon-Kucher is a German-based firm which pitches itself as a global specialist having 27 offices in 22 countries. I think this firm would be an interesting takeover target for EY and KPMG. As you mention, Deloitte and PwC have made big consulting acquisitions in the last year. KPMG and EY will need to consider how they respond. There are big regulatory risks for accounting firms becoming too involved in consulting, but there are big growth opportunities also. KPMG and EY would risk being left in the dust if they sit on their hands for too long. That's my two cents. Sally xx