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Sites such as Vault do this, featuring insights and commentary from employees and industry analysts.” — The Washington Post “A rich repository of information about the world of work.” — Houston Chronicle Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) CARE VAULT CAREER GUIDE TO GUIDCONSULTING CONS © 2007 Vault Inc. Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) CARE VAULT CAREER GUIDE TO GUIDCONSULTING LAURA WALKER CHUNG, ERIC CHUNG CONSAND THE STAFF OF VAULT © 2007 Vault Inc. Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Copyright © 2007 by Vault Inc. All rights reserved. All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to the accuracy and reliability of the information contained within and disclaims all warranties. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Vault Inc. Vault, the Vault logo, and “The Most Trusted Name in Career InformationTM” are trademarks of Vault Inc. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, contact Vault Inc., 150 W. 22nd St., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011, (212) 366-4212. Library of Congress CIP Data is available. ISBN 10: 1-58131-531-7 ISBN 13: 978-1-58131-531-8 Printed in the United States of America Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are extremely grateful to Vault’s entire staff for all their help in the editorial, production and marketing processes. Vault also would like to acknowledge the support of our investors, clients, employees, family and friends. Thank you! Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 THE SCOOP 3 The Basics of Consulting 5 What is Consulting? . .5 Consulting Skill Sets . .11 The Traveling Salesman Problem . .14 Who Hires Consultants, and Why? . .17 Industry History and Trends . .19 Current Trends . .20 Consulting Versus Other Career Paths . .27 Consulting Categories 31 Types of Consulting Services . .31 Types of Firms . .39 GETTING HIRED 47 Targeting Consulting Firms 49 Researching Companies, the Right Way . .49 Interviewing the Consultants . .56 The Hiring Process 59 The Recruiting Process: An Overview . .59 Tailoring Your Resume for Consulting . .60 How to Strengthen a Non-Business Resume . .61 Sample Resumes and Cover Letters . .64 Building and Maintaining a Network . .72 Applying to the Firm . .74 Lateral Hires . .77 The Interview 81 What to Expect in the Interview . .81 Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at www.vault.com/consulting - with C A R E E R insider firm profiles, message boards, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more. L I B R A R Y ix Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Vault Career Guide to Consulting Table of Contents The Resume/Behavioral Interview . .82 Behavioral Questions . .83 Practice Behavioral Interview Questions . .83 The Case Interview . .85 Sample Qualitative Case Questions . .88 Guesstimates . .92 Sample Guesstimate . .93 More Sample Guesstimates . .94 Brainteasers . .94 Sample Brainteasers . .95 Practicing with Your Friends Before the Interview . .96 Questions for the Interviewer . .99 Interview Questions that Never Get Asked . .99 Behavior . .101 Post-Interview: Accepting, Negotiating, Declining 103 After the Interview . .103 Accepting an Offer . .104 Negotiating an Offer . .105 Turning Down an Offer . .107 What to Do When Things Don't Work Out . .109 ON THE JOB 113 The Project Life Cycle 115 The Project Life Cycle . .115 Tips for High Performance 121 Troubleshooting . .121 How to Survive Your First Month on the Job . .125 Getting Staffed . .131 On the Beach . .132 The Consulting Career Path 137 Training for Consultants . .137 Consulting Job Descriptions and Career Progression . .138 Visit the Vault Finance Career Channel at www.vault.com/consulting— with C A R E E R insider firm profiles, message boards, the Vault Finance Job Board and more. L I B R A R Y xi Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Vault Career Guide to Consulting Table of Contents Mentors: Top-Level Backing . .148 Exit Strategies . .149 Our Survey Says: The Consulting Lifestyle 151 Diversity Issues in Consulting: State of the Industry . .159 Days in the Life 163 Associate . .163 Consultant Project Manager . .165 MBA-Level Strategy Consultant . .168 IT Strategy Consultant . .172 CONCLUSION 175 APPENDIX 177 Industry Buzzwords . .179 About the Authors . .184 Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at www.vault.com/consulting - with C A R E E R insider firm profiles, message boards, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more. L I B R A R Y xiii Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Introduction Your dream job? Love the idea of jetting to locations both exotic and banal and getting paid very well for your intellectual capital? A lot of consultants (current and prospective) do, too. Management consulting continues to rank among the most popular professions for emerging MBAs and college graduates, and for good reason. As one of the better-paid professions for recent graduates, consulting offers lucrative salary packages and the chance to meet elite Fortune 500 managers. Moreover, consultants get to work on high-level strategic decisions for their clients—certainly some of the most interesting issues in business management today. But consulting careers are no walk in the park: Pressures are high, travel can be onerous, the interview process can be painful, the work content isn't always glamorous, and job security is low relative to many other professions. Before setting off on the consulting route too enthusiastically, you need to get a sense of how you might like it. This requires an understanding of where the industry is going, your role in the industry, and how closely it fits with your needs and personality. You may have picked up this guide in an attempt to decide whether or not consulting is for you. We suggest you start your journey by doing a personal inventory of your skills and talents, as well as your interests and sources of intellectual satisfaction. Also, find out about other professionals' experiences —both the war stories and the rewards. If your network doesn't include other consultants, use the message boards on Vault's consulting channel or join an industry organization for leads. And read this guide to see if consulting really interests you. This book is not meant to pump up consulting. Rather, it's meant to be a reality check to give you a practical understanding of what consulting is really like. If you decide it's for you, the top-notch advice you'll find in this guide will give you the best shot of breaking in. Just remember that positions are limited, and competition ranks among the highest of many industries. Even if you attended a top-five MBA program or have decades of experience, breaking into consulting requires perseverance and the sharpest of networking and persuasion skills. Furthermore, consulting firms tend to hire disproportionately from the so-called top schools. One third Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at www.vault.com/consulting - with C A R E E R insider firm profiles, message boards, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more. L I B R A R Y 1 Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Vault Career Guide to Consulting Introduction of grads from the most prestigious MBA programs join a consulting firm, while just a small fraction of those from lower-ranked MBA programs make it into the industry. And, the skew toward higher-ranked schools is equally true for undergraduate institutions. No matter where your school ranks and no matter where you are in your professional career, this guide will help give you a shot at one of these coveted positions. The road to consulting is challenging; the potential rewards, however, are great. C A R E E R 2 L I B R A R Y © 2007 Vault Inc. Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) CONS THE SCOOP Chapter 1: The Basics of Consulting CAREChapter 2: Consulting Categories GUIDE Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at www.vault.com/consulting—with insider firm profiles, message boards, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more. Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) Customized for: Kirsten ([email protected]) The Basics of Consulting CHAPTER 1 What is Consulting? A giant industry, a moving target Consultants offer skill in assessing and solving business problems, and are hired by companies who need their expertise, fresh outside perspective, and/or extra set of hands. Some management consulting firms specialize in giving advice on general business strategy questions, while others are known as technology, marketing, finance, operations or human resources specialists. Some concentrate on a specific industry area, like financial services or retail, and still others are more like gigantic one-stop shops with divisions that dispense advice on everything from top-level strategy, to choosing customer account management software, to saving money on paper clips. But consulting firms have one thing in common: they run on the power of their people.