Job Seeker Megathread ||| New Consultant Megathread ||| Posting Guidelines

I just made Manager in MC at KPMG and got an offer from a previous colleague (managing director) who are trying to get me to join the team he is in charge of at Accenture. I would be joining at manger level there as well.

I really like my team and my boss at KPMG, but am hesitant to pass an opportunity. Please give me your thoughts! What should I do?

Hey all,

Im looking for a library/repo of consulting materials such as frameworks, decks, templates, financial models etc that i could use for my own purposes. Now i dont have an exact need at this very moment, and i appreciate such resources arent generally free, but ive a gut feel there's a repo out there that i dont know of and form which i, and many other lurkers/subs, would benefit from!

Thanks

To make this short, I run my own education consulting business. I was a teacher for about 10 years and have a Masters in special education. I also led teacher trainings when I worked in the public school system. Most of my work for my small business comes from management consulting companies who pay me to build online programs and run their learning platforms. Think SaaS and financial planning type companies.

I recently started developing special education curriculums with this small business who has a large contract from a public school district to fund the project. The curriculum is about career readiness. The project continues to grow and I’m really passionate about it. They have asked me to fly across country to lead teacher trainings for them since they don’t have any teaching experience.

They offered me a flat rate, which would include my travel and expenses. Where do I even start with pricing out my services? Right now, the fee they offered would pay me about $1000 for each day of training (5 hour training with a lunch break). Travel takes up 50% of the fee since I’m flying very far.

Anyone in the education field that could weigh in on pricing my services? My curriculum design fee is currently $55 per hour for reference.

I work in a large team that has 5 different CoEs with significantly different project types between them. Been in the team for 1.5 years now, have worked across all CoEs on at least one project and I have a clear lean towards one of them.

I think I want to specialise to support progression and expertise, but lots of people at my grade are still generalists. I’m concerned specialising early will impact performance reviews, and limit my options too early.

When did you specialise? Do you think you did it too early or late? Any advice on working out when the right time is?

Appreciate this is extremely broad.

I’m a management consultant - will soon make the jump to manager at which point I would like to start winning new business and flex my commercial muscle more.

I think we all know that revenue is king, so the ability to bring that in to the firm will tangibly result in quick progressions.

The problem is, on most if not all of my projects, directors/partners own the relationship with client buyers. The majority of commercial conversations happen in the more senior levels.

How do you build these relationships? Is there a networking / BD cheat sheet somewhere to help with this?

Even if I wait till SM, director, partner levels. I still don’t quite understand how these relationships are built aside from working together occasionally or just simply being friends prior.

Any advice appreciated

How can I start consulting business. If talking about interest, then I would go with IT governance, IT risk consulting, It Audits etc. I have a working experience from an mnc in this of 6 years.

My question is if I go with a specific niche then how do I approach my client that this is an important thing for them as well. Also, what exact services are most selling per say in this domain for mid level organisations. I am not targeting very big organisations because there are big boutiques already out there.

One last thing, consulting is a team’s job. I am alone at the moment, would always be great to have team members :)

Hello everyone,

I'm reaching out for advice on expanding my client base internationally, particularly within English-speaking markets. I'm fluent in English and hold a certification for therapy under supervision.

For the past six months, I've been actively working with clients and now I'm eager to extend my clientele into English-speaking regions. I'm looking for tips, strategies, or even potential networking opportunities that could assist me in this endeavor.

If you have any insights, recommendations, or experiences to share on how to attract clients from English-speaking countries or if you know of any platforms or resources that could be helpful, I would greatly appreciate your guidance.

Thank you in advance for your support and suggestions!

Hey,

I joined as an analyst in a Big 4 firm right after my graduation. I am really enjoying the work and the exposure I am getting through work I feel I have performed well enough for a fresher and also being the only analyst in the whole team.

However as the appraisal cycle begins I wanted to know the state of salary hikes for analysts in Big 4 Organisations.

I have been told that the industry standard is 10%-15% but is this applicable for Analysts too?

And how are Analysts assessed for promotions or even a bonus?

Hi all. I've been in talks for a short fixed term contract role with a consulting company. They made an offer including a compensation identical to the one I'd be getting if I were a permanent employee. I asked for the additional +30% that contractor roles are expected to receive, considering there are no benefits and no security guaranteed with this position, unless they decided to proceed with a permanent contract after the FTC expires. Now I haven't heard back since mid- last, even though interviews were very fast and we intended for me to start as soon as yesterday, should the salary matter had not delayed the process. I'm starting to become anxious about this and even though it doesn't make sense for a company to rescind an offer over something like this (the logical thing to do is at least come back and let me know that they're not able to offer the +30%) I'm considering letting them know that I'm happy to proceed with the initial offer.

Do you think this is wise? What's your take on the situation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c4CNB80SRc

Your thoughts?

Two things that stresses me out in tech implementation:

-Technical issues

-Timesheet

I know it’s the business model, but I’m looking to find a way out. Does project management get any better? The late nights fixing issues and absorbing the hours are killing me.

Throwaway account because my fiance follows my OG account.

Tldr: Engaged - laid off - Jobless for a year - Can't face people on wedding day.

A year ago, I got engaged to the love of my life. A week after the engagement, I was laid off from a top global consulting firm (non-MBB). I was at the firm for less than a year (MBA hire).

Things have been rough to say the least. The layoff took a toll on me and my relationship. I tried looking for a job but consulting wasn't hiring and industry hasn't heard of any consulting firm beyond MBB and the Big-4. Got an offer around October and it was recinded. Apart from that I have been getting sales roles which I know I can't do.

I have kept myself occupied with start-up work for a friend's startup but I haven't been myself in a long time.

A year has gone by and I am ashamed of facing relatives and family members this weekend. I feel like running away and I don't see things getting better.

Edit:

I didn't expect this to blow up the way it did especially in this subreddit. Thank you so much for not judging me and offering a human perspective both in the comments and the DMs.

Knowing I am not the first and people before me have made it give me hope.

About my fiance sharing : That's my fiance's support system and it's a good one. I am not going to take that away by putting boundaries.

Here is what I plan on doing: I am going to have a conversation with my fiance about how I feel (I won't start the conversation with wanting to postpone). I will talk about how I feel and what specifically is bothering me.

What I expect : Be on the same page as my fiance. Have a list of people that might bring up the job situation. Possibly meet them before the wedding and get done with that so that I can be at peace at my wedding. I'll keep you updated.

Thank you again for putting things into perspective. Unlike most recruiters I have been networking with, most of you aren't judging me for the being underemployed for a year. This has been the most overwhelming response I have received in the last 2 years. Since most of you understand my situation, it'd really help if you could point me in the direction of someone (firms/people/reputable 3rd party recruitment firms) hiring for strategy roles (industry/startup/consulting) in the US.

I work in the professional services arm of large tech company. For an upcoming, regularly scheduled, day-long team meeting (run by my manager), I made a proactive suggestion that I’d like to present on a few topics to our team. This was in response to an earlier suggestion that he (my manager) made that I should work on improving my presence as a “thought-leader”.

Something about my request seems to have rubbed my manager the wrong way.

My manager and I have a good professional relationship (🤞) and we’re very prompt in responding to each other’s communications. This specific request he ignored, and then came back a few days later stating that somehow he’d missed this and will respond shortly, which too he ignored.

The topics I proposed while not contentious, are slightly unconventional, but are of general interest. I proposed to talk about some concepts covered by Taleb in his books, Black Swan, Antifragility, etc.

For whatever reason, my manager seems to have difficulty okaying the idea, and I too feel a bit discouraged and have now lost my initial enthusiasm.

How can I back track out of this suggestion? Could I perhaps say that on hindsight, I feel the proposed topics may not be the best idea and if could perhaps speak on some other topic of his choosing.

How can I get out of this, without digging myself in deeper?

Hi folks, let’s say you’re running your own consulting business and you can get one AI powered tool to manage everything.

I’m thinking of a combination of CRM, HRM and PPM features plus AI built in to automate/streamline tasks. For example: generate proposals, evaluate potential hires, recommend people for projects, generate project management reports, recommend actions to improve profitability, etc.

What are the features you would want built into such a product?

I just got a job as an associate at a boutique firm and am not sure how to describe my role because I’m new to the consulting world. Our firm calls ourselves a business advisory firm and does things such as: forecasting, sharpening accounting processes, interpreting financial info to make business decisions, and other things that are super similar to fractional CFO work but maybe less hands on. We also help them get set up for sale or do succession planning and are a general sounding board. What am I or are advisory and consulting not interchangeable?

TLDR I have a concussion and likely need rest but I also don't want to get fired in this market

Hi everyone, 2 weeks ago I got a concussion and took 5 days sick leave to try to manage it. My doctor's cleared me to return to work but has recommended lots of breaks.

My team's been ok understanding/not sure how far they can push me on work because of the concussion. So far it's only been 3 days since I came back and I can kind of work but I need to take breaks every 30 mins and definitely no overtime. I think I can get a doctor's note to justify short term disability.

I'd consider going on short term disability(max 6.5 months but realistically 1-2 months) if it weren't for the market/fear for my job. For reference:

• Am a Senior Associate
• Firms been doing layoffs left and right and especially in my practice(20 people including SAs in Nov last year, 1-5 Partners and Directors) with likely more to come in the next 2 months

I'm really lucky that I just got staffed on a long term implementation project(10 months) so (hopefully) protected from layoffs. The practice does a lot of technical coding work and implementation projects are hard to come by. The problem is that I can kind of work but with my concussion it's definitely been difficult and best case scenario would be to take 1-2 months off or working half days which in consulting is never real.

I'm looking at a couple options

• Keep working and hope I don't get dinged for too many mistakes - Maybe get fired maybe not? I'm technically cleared for return to work and I AM getting better but who knows with concussions.
• Go on short term disability in 2 weeks after second client travel trip for 1 month - Time to see if I can get better and also our offshore person comes back next week so gives my manager coverage since it's just me and him right now
  • Outcome 1 - They find a replacement for me for coverage and I get to keep my job AND my health. Best case scenario!
  • Outcome 2 - They completely replace me on the project since I could be gone for 6.5 months(I'd prefer not to). When I come back, my schedule is wide open and I get laid off.
• Ask to go half time for 2 months - Really not sure if they'll honor this given coverage. I'd just get paid less for the same work
• Take one day off a week or take a week off every other week - Not part of short term disability so I'm just eating my vacation hours. Also on and off like this will probably piss them off

What would you recommend? I know health is number one but finding a job in this market with a concussion is also not great for my health and neither is unemployment. When it comes to my team, there's lots of patience right now but I'm not sure how much will be left after all this if things wear on.

Your recommendations will be highly appreciated.

I’ve been a consultant for my entire working career and pretty burned out. I’ve gone to therapy, I exercise, tried a lot of different things, gave it time to simmer in my head (honestly for years if I’m being honest). I’m currently searching for new jobs but prepping for interviews is very time consuming on top of my mentally draining 50 hr/week job. I really, really want to just quit, even if I haven’t secured another job yet.

A few questions about quitting:

• why is it so bad to quit without another job lined up? I’ve heard of a lot of people who are able to find jobs just fine after taking time off. Employers these days don’t seem averse to the idea of taking a mental health break or some time simply to travel and focus on personal interests. Wouldn’t they prefer someone rested and ready to be back in the zone vs. someone fresh off burnout from another job?

• those who have quit, did you get negative backlash from your company for leaving mid project without a good reason?

Hi all, I am a junior at a boutique consulting firm (1+ year) and I've been struggling with quitting for a while now.

I really need some perspective/help on this topic so I am reaching out.

Context: I got placed into a really shitty project and management haven't done anything tangible for me. Every time I am called in for "a conversation" its fake promises to convince me to stay on the engagement.

Once, twice, I did sincerely voice out my concerns on the project but after the third time I just kind of mentally checked out from work and with my MDs speaking to me directly to convince me to stay I really don't/didn't have any choice than just to nod and smile to whatever they had to say.

However, a few of my coworkers who also got placed on this project quit earlier in the quarter and things have escalated since then. I've gotten more responsibilities (e.g. leading the team, getting granted a budget to frequently treat lunch to the team, working closely with the MD to manage stakeholders, etc). Honestly I have better plans than staying at this job that offers me nothing. I always planned to relocate but with things at this job and some factors outside work convinces me every day that the time is now.

I am planning on quitting tonight by sending an email to HR, reason being relocation. I want to make this process as quick and involve as few people as possible. I know many people will be shocked or at least act like they are.

I don't see myself returning to this firm in the future, but I still want to keep things professional, respectful, and not burn any bridges. Please share your advice on how I can resign in a "nice" manner but any opinions/comments are also appreciated. Some specific questions I have are:

• Should I inform/hint to the MD or my direct manager before sending the resignation letter to HR? The reason I wanted to send the letter to HR only is that this company is quite small, and things can get informal sometimes. I just want to handle this professionally.
• Is there a recommended template for the resignation letter that you suggest I use?

Thank you so much.

Edit: Thank you all so much for your comments. I currently have a few options I am working towards (another job at new location, grad school etc) but to be honest I am not that worried about quitting without a job lined up immediately. This current project is actually making me dumb and I am not happy at all in the city I’m in, so switching to another company here is also not an option.

I agree at the end of the day nobody cares whether or not I am gone, and the business will continue.

Your comments definitely gave me a new perspective, I will reach out to my manager and the MD, then make it official with the email with HR. I was also verbally promised a promotion mid-year in return of staying in this project, which I considered briefly knowing that the senior title may be beneficial to me in the future, but I think even 2 more months of this is not worth it. Nothing is guaranteed and every second, minute, hour and day matters so much to me. The past few months was more than enough for me to get to a point where I can confidently say this city and this job no longer serves me which led to making this decision with conviction.

I value each and every one of your input, thank you again and wishing you all the best.

This is in California if it matters for any reason legally or financially.

I’ve been for years involved in the operation and maintenance of coffee roasting equipment. This has always been me getting hired to roast coffee for already existing companies at an hourly rate.

After some company budget cuts and layoffs i’ve been looking for more work in the industry and came across a unique offer.

An investment company wants me to start and operate a coffee roasting company for them. I have had 2 interviews with them so far and i have a 3rd scheduled a few weeks from now.

They want me to give them a potential business plan before giving me a job offer. I’m fine with a salary or hourly rate once im employed and setting up and operating the company, if hired. However, what they are asking of me right now is about 10 hours of work making a budget for machinery, green coffee beans, and other expenses.

Am I right to ask for compensation for this consultative type work? If so, how do I politely and professionally go about asking for this? What kind of legal paperwork should i expect for this consulting project? (w2,1099, etc)

I’ve only worked conventional, hourly wage jobs and some short term gig jobs up until this point so know absolutely nothing about what to expect as a consultant, even if it’s a one time thing. Thanks in advance for all your help. If there’s any better sub for this kind of situation let me know and i will repost

Finally quit after wanting to do so for over a year. The comfort, the applause, the "good job" always kept me in the grind. Work (calls, calls, excel, pptx, some design work) ranged from 25 to 50 hrs a week. Comfort, consistency and money.

Loved working with my team, and the people around me (internal projects). Gen AI changed the landscape and the shock of how good some tools got in the past few months changed my views on the work I was doing.

Due to some circumstances, had an opportunity to move to a new city, get promoted with 20% pay increase and lead an AI department.

Surprisingly, if I had to make this decision to quit 3 years ago, I would be shitting bricks. The comfort of a consistent paycheck and status wouldn't let me.

Overall I love the work we do, regardless of how little / much impact it has. It's the people and problem solving that makes it worthwhile.

This time around the decision a felt easier, and weirdly, I am at peace. Looking forward to learning something new. I will focus on health, startup ventures, volunteering, NGO, and some hobbies.

I have made some great friends in the company. I know, in an emergency I could join back again; built great relationship with folks in three regions.

Thought I'd share this with y'all. I will still be part of this subreddit.

any advice is appreciated.

While working in consulting, there was a high expectation for the quality and timeliness of communications. Emails from clients are not supposed to be responded to quickly, and they absolutely shouldn't get lost or go unanswered. I put in a lot of effort to nail that communications aspect down, with tons of great feedback from my PDMs etc.

Now that I'm on the industry side (big-pharma), I see so many things just not being followed-up on after meetings, tons of emails not being answered internally (even when coming from VP/C levels). Sometimes I don't get a reply from a vendor at all. For example: Our VP requested 3 people follow up with me individually and I cannot get a hold of any of them.

It's really throwing me in for a loop. I got a merit raise after being at the company for just short of 4 months with accompanying high reviews from leadership. At the same time, I keep feeling like I'm screwing something up sufficiently badly that people are ignoring or deprioritizing my emails.

Did anyone else who made the pivot experience the same thing?

I have generalised anxiety disorder and it’s very up and down. Sometimes I have it under control and can function without anyone noticing. Other times, like now, I feel paralysed and in constant fear.

I often question my choice in career but feel stuck as I have become accustomised to the money and the life it gives me - nice house, holidays, financial freedom etc.

I've been in consulting a few years now and I'm considering a move back to industry.

I'm currently what would be the equivalent of a Senior Manager/Associate Director. I've been doing pretty well, I have my own team, developed a strong pipeline, brought on board multiple new clients and big contracts. However, this has never been something I've wanted to do forever.

I'm considering a job opportunity to move into industry at a Director level.

The things I'm considering are:

- Work/Life Balance: I'm currently working 50-60 hour weeks and I'd like some balance again
- Pay: The new role is about 50K more a year which is hard to look past
- Learning opportunities: I love consulting for all the opportunities it's given me to expand my skillset over the last few years and I'm nervous I won't have as much of that

How did you know you were ready to leave consulting? What other things should I consider?

Hi, I am writing to get some advice about what to do. I am being owed money for a consulting job for almost a year now, at first I let them make promises, but I am fed up now. They continue to allege "financial problems" and many of the employees have admitted that they haven't been paid themselves for even longer. This business might not even have a valid business license to operate. This is located in California.

Last week I decided to restart my effort to contact the CEO of the startup, three days later he called me back, saying that I have gotten into the nasty behavior of calling everyone associated with the business, to which I was called names, and also the title of this thread. The "best" he can offer are $1k payments a month until the full amount is paid. This is nonsensical to me.

​

My question to the forum is, WWYD? but also, is he right in calling me "unprofessional" for pursuing my debts? Any advice is appreciated.

Updates: Thanks everyone, the consensus is to move into small claims court and take it from there. I am going to do that this upcoming week. From the information I've gathered, these seem to be serial scammers, churning different business licenses from the same physical address that have changed hands within the same 2-3 families, a half dozen times in the last decade. I have sent them an ultimatum to pay or be served. I think I have enough information about them now. Thanks, public records!

Hi Everyone,

I have 2 YOE in NYC tech consulting, been a good run, but recently due to personal circumstances, my mental health has been deteriorating drastically the past six months, I struggle to do day to day activities and became severely depressed. These personal circumstances weighed down on me heavy and I find no joy in doing anything in life anymore. The work environment has also been increasingly toxic (bad manager, consultants leaving mid project leaving me with all the workload, racism) I struggle to do my job and i think I’m burnt out. Ive saved over $110k (got lucky with an investment), and I’ve been considering quitting everyday for the past 6 months. I know how horrible the job market is right now, but i wanted advice, If I could afford time off. My expenses are relatively low around $1,500 a month. Im aiming to take the summer off possibly and get back into the job market around September. Do you guys think its doable, I would like some advice. Im afraid quitting now will ruin everything i have been working for, hinder my career, maybe even push me out of consulting. Im struggling and need guidance.

I'm a development consultant (fundraising). I mainly work in politics, but I've provided stakeholder relations, sales, and strategic communications consulting services for campaigns, political organizations, charities, and companies.

I've noticed a supremely irritating trend, where clients are increasingly asking me to work on a commission basis.

The argument goes like this: We can't (don't want) to pay your fee, but how about you get 10-15% of whatever you bring in?

I find this bizarre. I feel like if I branded myself as a communications consultant or a strategist, they wouldn't even consider profit sharing. But because I do all of this plus fundraising and donor relations, they try to de-risk the business relationship.

For some reason, because I deal directly with money (donor relations) prospective clients try to move directly into zero fees, all commission structure, as if I am a traveling salesman that can take bad products right to someone's doorstep immediately, and as if there isn't a ton of preparatory work involved before a client is in a position to better sell their value proposition to patrons.

I'm fairly new as an independent consultant (2 years in business - 9 years of experience), but I have enough wins under my belt to know that my processes and services work and I'm priced competitively. Oh, and I've never, ever left a client in the red.

Also, just because I am a consultant, doesn't mean I don't have hard costs as a business.

Have you ever been pushed into a percentage or commission arrangement as a consultant? How do you steer away from this? What do you think I am missing or have failed to do?

I'm stuck in a constant cycle of needing to write a 20+ page grant application (I'm in transportation consulting for a small firm), getting distracted after a couple of hours and then needing to bring the work home because I feel guilty about charging 8 hours worth of work and not doing 8 hours of work. Anyone ever been in a similar situation? If so, how'd you solve the issue?