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I do like working with my colleagues but I find some consultants are so inflexible and not understanding.

I’ve been sick for one whole week (bad ridden due to an infection). I come back to work and remembered there was a quarterly meeting to review performance with the client on Wednesday. But this has not been done internally properly at all and we still need time to review.

I asked to push our meeting back with the client - they don’t mind. But internally the manager wants it done now. There is literally no reason to other than “we shouldn’t”

At least at my firm, things are looking up and there has been a lot of market activity to the point where we don’t have anyone on the bench and people are having to work pretty rough hours

The work we get is super stimulating and very interesting however so it makes the work much more bearable and this is reflected in much of our consulting group which is why when I see people complain about their suffering I get kind of confused

A lot of companies have picked up hiring slowly and things are looking up (AI has been overhyped for a few years and did no one really expect a competitor to chatGPT, like they are open source I’m honestly surprised a worthy competitor came out so late)

Which brings me to my question of who are these people that are so down in the trenches all the time on this subreddit? Is it MBB? Is it Big 4? Is it more generalist firms?

Some of my friends at other firms that aren’t MBB, Big 4, or Accenture are absolutely killing it for the last couple of months

Looking for job at another big 4 or large competitor, boutique firm or corporate strategy role. Just starting job hunt after 6 years at same company and trying to work through a recruiter

I'm an associate with 2.5 years of experience at a tier 2 in the Middle East, think S&/Kearney/OW. I'm a Saudi national that joined straight out of university and I've practically been trying to exit for 1.5 years with no luck.

Most of my background at the firm has been in Real Estate / Tourism with my focus being in financial modeling.

I've had several interviews with different companies with no luck. RSG / Hasanna a year ago (both positions got put on hold), and other random companies not worth mentioning.

How come it feels like it's so difficult to find a good exit opportunity (similar pay, less hours) after a year and a half of searching. It feels like I'm doing something wrong. Would appreciate some insight into 1. How to optimally approach exiting (recruiters? Any you can refer me to? linkedin application? talent acquisition employees at companies? tenured management?) 2. Is it normal for it to take this long to find a decent opportunity?

I know many consultants thinking of starting a business, but hesitating. I had worked hard to get into consulting and it wasn't an easy decision to leave (after a year at Oliver Wyman and 2.5 yrs at McKinsey). Here are my observations from leaving consulting to start a business.

1. PTSD. In the first months, I struggled with two opposite feelings: a rush of optimism about my idea, and an eerie feeling that I had got off the express train and was left on the platform - without any forward motion. I'd constantly check my emails, only to realize that nobody needed me for anything. It was like I kept the stress of being always-on, paired with disappointment that nobody asked for me anymore - which had been a twisted source of pride for me back in consulting.
2. Lead times are Long in the real world. In consulting - at least at the lower rungs of the ladder where I spent my time - you're always in the action. You get airdropped like a SWAT team into a live case and start swinging right away. Then after a few weeks or months, you move on to the next hotspot. Meanwhile, starting a business, you're the one pushing everything into movement. If you're not out there starting, reminding, and following up on conversations, nothing happens! Every process was 90% planning & pitching, 10% doing; as a new entrepreneur, you have to do all the planning. Only 8-10 months in had I gotten enough balls rolling that things would happen continuously, instead of in slowmo.
3. The golden handcuffs are real. For all the bashing it gets, consulting is a great profession. You learn a ton and it pays well. This makes it hard to leave. Many friends wanted to go start a business, but just never got to it. There's always the next bonus, promotion, project etc. to push for. This was perhaps for the better, for some of them. Meanwhile, for me it took seven years of business-building to reach the salary I had as a Senior Associate. I was lucky I could get by with some savings from consulting, a patient girlfriend now wife, and being OK with a low burn rate.
4. Highest highs and lowest lows. My years in consulting were more intense than anything I had done prior; starting a business was a notch higher. Having bet your savings and ego on a business makes for a hell of a ride. Very painful when things go bad, magical when things go well.
5. Clarity is key. Of all the tools I learned in consulting and business school, one is most important for entrepreneurship: effective communication. Here's a reason why many consultants make good business leaders: you learn to structure your thoughts in writing, call your own bullshit, and make yourself understood to customers, employees, investors, business partners etc. On the contrary and somewhat surprisingly - all my late nights of IndexMatchMatch, Tableau and working capital modeling practice have been much less useful on this side.
6. Taking risk makes you grow. One of my hesitations with leaving consulting was that people might see me as a failure. But when I began thinking of my startup as a practical MBA, I could manage those fears. Nowadays, I know many who tried a business. The ones who struggled learned a ton, and could easily return to consulting or corporate life, an experience richer. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

Now this isn't a suggestion for everyone to go start a business (there's more to life!). But I see it mentioned often enough that it's worth sharing an inside perspective. Entrepreneurship can be rewarding and fun, but most certainly also humbling and extremely demanding. Most people in this sub have the luxury to be able to choose among many exciting career paths. Entrepreneurship is just one of them.

Happy to discuss any thoughts, questions, or adjacent experiences!

You don’t get enough time to look for job or give interviews Not enough options available, exit opportunities are offer less money etc. Should you go on a long leave to search for jobs?

Hi, I'm in my late 20s and still struggle articulating my thoughts in a clear and concise way. I always stumble with words and cannot make it sense with a sentence. I end up complicating what I say and then makes the matter more complicated and misunderstood at work. I struggle with speaking with a good flow and putting together the right vocabs. This lacking is now harming me at work severely and I want to improve. Also FYI, I don't have toastmaster nearby and there was before but it's now closed since there aren't many people who joined it. I'm working in Japan and in global division so mainly have to speak in english.

Most projects I’ve been on had some code name assigned to it.

Some of the few I could recall:

• Symphony - post-merger integration
• Phoenix - product relaunch
• Mobius - metaverse strategy

Just curious if there were cool, weird, quirky project codenames you’ve encountered before and what the project was about?

I lot of consultants in my firm are so fucking negative it's exhausting to talk to them. I know the job is tough but how can someone just always rant and have a negative Outlook on life. Or is it an industry thing, the more you rant how terrible your WLB/manager/client is signals to people that you're hardworking or whatever? Now, coming to the question, can the veterans in the industry please tell me how you keep your energy levels high and ignore the negative nellies ( i think this is important for survival in the long term)?

In my first few months in consulting, I’ve been struggling a lot with summarizing my research and thoughts in meetings. Anything in particular that helped you synthesize insights and key takeaways effectively? Any framework would be helpful, thanks!

I have been looking into starting a side hustle to do consulting on the side for small businesses, but am concerned about consequences of asking permissions from my ethics team. Has anyone ever been canned for asking something similar? I know it seems silly, but I have learned not to make myself a target over my career, and I don't want to raise eyebrows.

I started at this consulting firm about a year ago it lowkey was a move higher in the pipeline because I was a Data Analyst and they hired me as a Data Engineer, but the work has gotten so repetitive. I’m not perfect at what I do which is why I think I should stay one more year, but I also want to go to school. If i go to school I need to stay at least three years with the company after my final semester, if I want them to pay for at least 15K each year.

Should I stay and learn all the technologies on the job? or should I pursue another company with similar benefits but more interesting work? I’m just scared of interviewing again…

Been using ChatGPT to prepare for some case interviews, any other platforms that can help facilitate mock case interviews? Nothing comes close to in-person casing, but curious if anyone has any thoughts here

Hi, I recently found out I have ADHD. I’m yet to get tested. I was thinking to inform HR or my manager about it. Should I? Do you think they will provide any accommodation for trainings, in promotional test or client engagement?

Edit1: How can telling them affect me?

Throwaway account, but work in Big 4 Financial Data Advisory (Data Management, Data Governance) and wondering what exit opportunities would be. Am I limited to Risk/Data Governance positions in banks if I want to go to industry or are my options more broad?

It’s been 6 months since I gotten laid off from AFS due to lack of projects in the QA/SDET area which I specialise in and it’s been hard for me to find a new role I’m literally losing my mind about to crash out because my finances have been extremely affected after getting let go from my former employer I really need a new job because I’m going to lose my car I literally put my life on pause since I was let go life has been ROUGH I’m going to crash out if I can’t find a job idk what to do im losing it mentally I’m tired of applying I did everything under the sun interviewing applying and companies are playing in my face I’m tired tbh

Background: Planning to go full-time as a partner for a new consultancy firm (culture sector) that my friend will start. Been working as a consultant (mainly non-profit sector for several years and had this plan for a while.

All I know is consultancy, and I’m fairly good at it. But owning a “business”? I don’t know much about it. The health insurance, tax benefits (at least what I’ve read at a surface level) are drawing me towards forming an LLC. Is it the only option I have? My friend is an artist and she said there are huge opportunities in that business in Europe.

Any beginner tips on where to start from here?

I know normally to not disclose any client names. However, if I'm applying for a role at a company for which I've led projects before, is it then fair to disclose that? Normally I would reach out to my client contacts from the project but this is a huge org and they would not have connections there. Thanks!

I’m a VP/Partner at a publicly traded professional services/consulting firm. In three years I grew my client from $0 to $7M in booked annual revenue with 45% gross margin. My salary is $250k and my bonus on $7M will be just short of $250k, for a total comp of just shy of $500k.

I’m engaged on projects with every department across the client enterprise, from strategy to implementation/full project delivery, as well as advisory, managed services, and loan staffing.

I am getting offers from recruiters guaranteeing $700k-$1M at their firm for the same revenue. Many are PE backed/owned so flush with cash.

I know the grass isn’t always greener, but I want to make sure I’m maximizing my earning potential. I’m no stranger to starting over and building a new book of business, but it’s always a grind and there is risk of lost earnings if the business takes longer to grow, even with a guarantee.

What is fair or competitive compensation for Partners/Client Partners/Managing Directors?

Seriously, is it mostly financial services and sole-sourced government work? I have a hard time believing even F50 companies are shelling out this kind of money these days… maybe board of directors mandates…

My clients seem to always be asking me for cheaper and cheaper engagements… nothing is ever cheap enough, so I’m trying to figure it out.

Serious question. Do you actually enjoy your job? Do you find it fulfilling? If so, what about it do you enjoy?

If not, why continue as a consultant? For how long will you stay in the game?

As per the title, post anything related to starting a new job / internship in here. PM mods if you don't get an answer after a few days and we'll try to fill in the gaps or nudge a regular to answer for you.

Trolling in the sticky will result in an immediate ban.

Wiki Highlights

The wiki answers many commonly asked questions:

Before Starting As A New Hire

New Hire Tips

Reading List

Packing List

Useful Tools

Last Quarter's Post https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/comments/1g88w9l/starting_a_new_job_in_consulting_post_here_for/

Post anything related to learning about the consulting industry, recruitment advice, company / group research, or general insecurity in here.

If asking for feedback, please provide...

a) the type of consulting you are interested in (tech, management, HR, etc.)

b) the type of role (internship / full-time, undergrad / MBA / experienced hire, etc.)

c) geography

d) résumé or detailed background information (target / non-target institution, GPA, SAT, leadership, etc.)

The more detail you can provide, the better the feedback you will receive.

Misusing or trolling the sticky will result in an immediate ban.

Common topics

a) How do I to break into consulting?

• If you are at a target program (school + degree where a consulting firm focuses it's recruiting efforts), join your consulting club and work with your career center.
• For everyone else, read wiki.
• The most common entry points into major consulting firms (especially MBB) are through target program undergrad and MBA recruiting. Entering one of these channels will provide the greatest chance of success for the large majority of career switchers and consultants planning to 'upgrade'.
• Experienced hires do happen, but is a much smaller entry channel and often requires a combination of strong pedigree, in-demand experience, and a meaningful referral. Without this combination, it can be very hard to stand out from the large volume of general applicants.

b) How can I improve my candidacy / resume / cover letter?

• Read wiki on what firms look for.
• Read wiki on resumes.
• Read wiki on cover letters.

c) I have not heard back after the application / interview, what should I do?

• Wait or contact the recruiter directly. Students may also wish to contact their career center. Time to hear back can range from same day to several days at target schools, to several weeks or more with non-target schools and experienced hires to never at all. Asking in this thread will not help.

d) What does compensation look like for consultants?

• For management consulting, refer to the 2021 ManagementConsulted Compensation survey

Link to previous thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/comments/1g88vau/interested_in_becoming_a_consultant_post_here_for/

What kind of jobs or industry could you possibly be in?

Everyone around me does Tech/Finance/Consulting, mostly consulting. Tell me if I am in a bubble.