Consulting Careers Quick Sheet

 

Possible Career Paths:

·         Strategy Consulting – includes mergers and acquisitions (M&A), valuation, corporate strategy, marketing strategy, and market branding

o    Starting point companies to research include: Accenture, Bain & Company, Booz & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte Consulting, MarketSphere, McKinsey & Company

·         Management or Operations Consulting – includes process reengineering, change management, supporting IT implementations, operations, and supply chain consulting

o    Starting point companies to research include: Accenture, Deloitte Consulting, IBM, MarketSphere, ScottMadden, PricewaterhouseCoopers

·         Financial/Legal Consulting – includes valuation, account management, financial goal planning, managing internal programs for a firm’s employees

o    Starting point companies to research include: Gleason and Associates

·         Information Technology (IT) Consulting – includes supporting system development life cycle (design, development, testing, conversion, and implementation) of package and custom software/hardware.

o    Starting point companies to research include: Accenture, Cognizant, Deloitte Consulting, IBM, MarketSphere, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tata Consultancy

·         Human Resources/Organizational Behavior Consulting - includes change management, rewards and incentives programs, talent management, leadership development, outsourcing, M&A

o    Starting point companies to research include: Accenture, Deloitte Consulting, Mercer Consulting

·         Internal Consulting – includes managing or participating in internal consulting projects for the company.  This may be similar to other types of consulting, except you are consulting for your own company.

o    Starting point companies to research include: Bayer, Del Monte

 

Career Exploration/Industry Perspective:

Job and Internship Sites:

Networking:

Interview Preparation:

Recruiting Season:

Larger Consulting Firms:

-          Full-time interviews typically begin in early October

-          Internship interviews typically begin in early January

 

Smaller/Boutique Consulting Firms/companies:

-          Might not have a formal recruitment program

-          Hire round-the-year for full-time (apply February - April)

-          Hire on an as-need basis for interns (apply through networking contacts)

 

Industry Outlook:  (Source: Plunkett Research, Ltd. 2009)

  • Growth declined during stock market bust of 2001-03, and now since 2008 due to economic downturn
  • Areas affected: marketing projects, technology implementations, non-essential corporate reorganizations, change management projects, and brand awareness campaigns
  • Offshore businesses also down: India’s largest outsourced business and technology services firms complained that clients delayed or cancelled projects in 2009
  • Growth in some areas due to government-funded economic stimulus funds:
    • Major transportation infrastructure projects
    • Health care reform, with focus on digital health records
    • Renewable energy projects
    • Research and development projects in many fields
  • Projects focusing on cost reduction and operating ratio enhancements have ripe market:
    • Cash flow enhancement projects
    • Supply chain efficiency and manufacturing efficiency projects
  • High demand for consultants with expertise in:
    • Debt restructuring, financial workouts and assisting firms emerging from bankruptcy
    • Layoffs management or benefits cost lowering
    • Environmental specialties such as carbon emissions
  • Opportunities for consultants with knowledge of government interactions:
    • Navigating relationships between government and certain industries
    • Deal with government oversight, particularly in financial services and automobile manufacturing

Consulting Contacts:

Career Services                                                    Don Norrington

Faculty Advisor                                                     Sue Cohen

Club Leaders                                                         Jitesh Desai, Saurabh Dubey, Sharmila Shellikeri, Ankur Sood

Peer Mentors                                                       Saurabh Gupta, Mark Leyenaar, Sharmila Shellikeri     

Consulting Interns (Summer 2009)                  Sivaraman Rajaraman (Deloitte Consulting), Patrick McIIwain (Del Monte)

Current Students with Previous Exp.              Kristina Badali (Deloitte Consulting), Bryan Dunn (Accenture)