Consulting Network » Consulting http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:39:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Connecting the dots of Consulting http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/connecting-the-dots-of-consulting/2469/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/connecting-the-dots-of-consulting/2469/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:33:59 +0000 Sandeep Chatterjee http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=2469 Two months ago, I was invited as a guest speaker for an orientation seminar in a top B-school in Kolkata. Given the fact that I represent a Consulting organization, the topic was ‘ABCs of Consulting’. The first question which I asked to my audience (a young bunch of boys and girls with lots of dreams) was what is consulting and why consulting. It was a mixed kind of response ranging from glamor to money. People do come to consulting with some perceptions which continuously get drastically changed in course of time.

The example which I usually give to define consulting is from the travel industry. Suppose, I am planning for a holiday in Goa. I go to Travel Agent ‘A’ clearly stating my requirements. This Travel agent does his homework and gives me a schedule for Goa. I seek the advice of another Travel Agent ‘B’ who in turn gives me some options like Goa, Alleppey, Pondicherry with their pros and cons. The Travel agent ‘A’ acts as a Service Provider while Travel agent ‘B’ acts as a consultant.

To put it together, Consulting (which happens to be one of the most coveted streams for B-school grads) involves understanding of the complete picture, exploring options and helping the customer make a decision. It is a high risk -high gain game where each step needs to be planned carefully as credibility and trust are at stake.

Coming to the traits needed for a consultant, the first and foremost is leadership. A consultant is a role model for the customer and any mistake here can prove costly. Right from dressing to articulation to handholding, the customer looks upon the consultant for guidance. So it becomes imperative that consultants demonstrate leadership in course of their assignments.

Secondly, a consultant is exposed to multiple sectors, some known while some unknown. Ideally customers always want to have people who understand their business but it so happens that we always do not get the exact match. There is the additional advantage of a person from a different sector shedding off his baggage and bringing a fresh perspective. (Remember Steve Jobs and his ability to connect the dots. The title of this article is also inspired by him). So a consultant needs to have the mind set of foraying into unknown territories yet come out with flying colors.

Last but the not the least is the entrepreneurship spirit. You will be lucky if you have a big team supporting you. In most of the cases it is a one man army where a consultant has to run the show right from conceptualization to execution. Gone are the days when consultants used to study, submit a report and leave. Today they have the additional responsibility of implementation. This calls for an appetite for entrepreneurship and risk-taking.

To sum it, a consultant survives on credibility and trust. For this it is necessary that he hones the above mentioned skills in order to make the cut. After all, a consultant is not someone who looks at your watch and tells you the time (pun intended).


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/connecting-the-dots-of-consulting/2469/feed/ 0 Three things that can put a full stop (.) to your Consulting Career http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/three-things-that-can-put-a-full-stop-to-your-consulting-career/2389/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/three-things-that-can-put-a-full-stop-to-your-consulting-career/2389/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:01:07 +0000 Mohit http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=2389
It’s not easy to get in; however, if you do manage to get in, things do become simpler – Wrong. Now that I have destroyed the biggest myth about a consulting career let me move on. There are few things that can completely destroy or at least put a lot of hurdles in your growth, here are a few of them:

1. Not taking ownership of your work

I see young consultants failing the ownership test all the time; I remember that not too long ago, we had a team meeting at the end of a financial year that was chaired by our Director (Partner). We had done reasonably well as a team that year and all the graphs had a positive slope.  However, just before our Director concluded the meeting he said – I want you all to take ownership of your work; I think there is still a scope of improvement on that front.

I thought about what he said and why he said it, after all, our unit was doing reasonably well.

Me, being me, I probed further. I went up to him and asked him what he meant by his comment on ownership. He told me that in an entire engagement cycle (from client proposal to final report and follow ups), it is not enough to merely complete the specific task allocated to you. You need to proactively get involved in all aspects of the engagement.

What I realized was that a lot of new consultants mistake an engagement cycle to be modeled on assembly line manufacturing, wherein everyone has predefined task and if everyone were to complete their tasks effectively. The final product would be perfect. There may be some merit to this line of thought; however, ownership is about not only doing your task well, but also making sure that everyone works cohesively. Ownership is also about proactively assisting other members of the team.

So how does this “ownership model” really work? – If you are new in the system. First step is to make sure you do the task assigned to you in the most perfect manner possible. If someone asks you to make two slides in a presentation, make sure that those two slides do not need any rework by the person who has allocated the task to you. Take ownership of those two slides. The idea is to become a stakeholder in a consulting project.  Once you master the task allocated to you. Ask for more work. Go up to the seniors and ask them for work. Keep turning up for more work till they have no more work to give you. Once your team starts to trust you, they will give you more responsibility and before you know it, you will be a critical member of the team.

People who do not take ownership of the tasks allocated to them can quickly have fallout with their team. If over a period of time, you realize that you are not getting more responsibility in projects then perhaps you are committing the cardinal sin of not taking ownership of your work. i’d advise that you take a close look at your attitude towards work and overall commitment towards a consulting career.

2. Not getting along with people you work with

Your Boss or your senior may be horrid to get along with but that does not preclude you from not giving your best on each and every task allocated to you. One of the biggest things I’ve learned over the course of my consulting career is how to build relationships. There have been times when I’ve not got along well with certain people, but I’ve learned to co-exist and in time, how to thrive in such environments.

If you are the junior, then the responsibility to co-exist with the person you are in conflict with falls squarely on your  shoulders.  Conflicts at workplace are appraisal killers. As a junior, you want people to stand up for you and not stand against you.

Ideally, as a junior, you are not allowed to have any conflicts what so ever. Consulting or any business for that matter is all about perception and if you want to thrive, you need to learn how to manage what people perceive about you.

Also, as a junior you must take every opportunity to bond with your team. If there is a team gathering – Be there or better help organize it. If there is a birthday celebration – Take the lead.

3. Saying no before saying yes.

I’ve been guilty of saying no before saying yes during my early days as a consultant; however, over a period of time, I’ve learned how to manage the expectations of my seniors. Whenever, I am allocated work, my first step is to estimate the amount of time It would take me to finish the allocated task, add approximately half hour to that estimate to account for any miscalculation in estimation in amount of work required and then commit a deadline to the person who has allocated the work to me.  Usually, the person allocating the work to me and myself agree on the deadline and I get on with my work.  [if we do not agree, then we get into a discussion where we break the task down into micro tasks and come up with an agreed upon deadline]

However, as a junior you may not have this liberty and you have to somehow get the work done on or before the deadline allocated to you. Seniors who are good at what they do always account for the additional time that a newbie would take to complete a task so usually deadlines assigned by them tend to be fair.

Instead of giving deadlines, I prefer having a discussion with my juniors about when they can finish the work. The idea is to help juniors in estimating the work before they actually get down to doing the work. Life is all about estimation isn’t it?  There have been occasions when I’ve allocated work that should not take more than X hours to juniors and then asked them how much time it would take them to finish the job. There are three responses I usually get

-          “X –X+1 hours” – I like junior who respond in such a manner. An actual number or a deadline within the acceptable range tells me that the junior has thought through the task allocated to him or her, estimated the work required and hence, in his or her mind he or she has already started working on the task.

-          “I don’t know – X+ (4-7) hours maybe” – Red flag alert.  Such a response immediately indicates that the junior is not keen on taking ownership of the work allocated to him or her. What usually follows is a discussion on why X+ (4-7) hours.   Not exactly the situation a junior would want himself to be in.

-          “I can only give the work to you X+ (7+10) hours” – WHAT? WHY? – Clearly, the junior has not broken the task down into micro tasks or correctly estimated the time required; In fact, such a response tells me that he or she has correctly estimated the time required but has also included leisure time (Long coffee breaks, chatting with friends, social networking etc) in committing the deadline.

If your team is stretched for time or working on a weekend, then offer to lend a helping hand. Tight deadlines are opportunities win your team’s trust. If you help your team finish the project on time, you will be a superstar.

These were three things that top my list of “Things that can put a full stop (.) to a Consulting Career”. If you have something to add to the list then please do so by commenting on this post.


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/three-things-that-can-put-a-full-stop-to-your-consulting-career/2389/feed/ 4 Consulting Wallpapers – An ode to the consulting profession http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultingwallpapers/2138/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultingwallpapers/2138/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:40:20 +0000 Mohit http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=2138 Back in September 2008, We started Consulting Network with one simple goal. “To make Consulting Network a knowledge sharing and networking platform for both aspiring and practicing consultants”. Two years hence and with over 1500 registered members, countless email subscriptions and a dedicated fan following on Facebook and Twitter, we think we have climbed up a few stairs towards our ultimate goal. Today, we are going to drift a little from the usual articles that we publish. We are uploading some consulting specific wallpapers for download (click on each wallpaper to download the high resolution version). We hope these wallpapers inspire you. We would love to hear your feedback.

Also, we are soon launching a full fledged blog network. A blog network will help you and your blog reach out to thousands of readers that visit Consulting Network daily. We will be publishing more details on the blog network soon. So if you are an individual blog publisher or a Consulting company. then do get in touch with us at contactus@consultingnetwork.co.in to receive updates on the launch of  our blog network.

No Consulting No Life

No Consulting, No Life

Think, Analyze, Present

Consulting Network

The Consultant

Keep Singing


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultingwallpapers/2138/feed/ 0 Consulting, Money, Differentiation etc etc http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultingmoney/2052/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultingmoney/2052/#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 18:44:38 +0000 Mohit http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=2052 Any job, no matter how minuscule, is tough. Consulting is no exception. In fact, most people will tell you that Consulting is as tough a job as a job can be. Most people get into consulting with one of the two broad aims, Money and Knowledge.  As you spend more time in Consulting you realize that money and knowledge and smartly entwined with each other.

In any top notch consulting firm, you will be working with the sharpest minds around, while having smart people around works well in attaining the “Knowledge Goal”, i.e. learning more about business. The “Money Goal”, i.e. making more money than others, can be a tough job because all those smart people turn into competitors at the time of appraisals. This post offers some insight on managing the “Money Goal” a little better.

In most industries, hard work can be a very efficient differentiator,   i.e. an employee who puts in maximum amount of effort and delivers good result is the crowned out-performer. Sadly, Consulting does not work this way. Everyone you work/compete with is likely to be a hard worker. Though results may vary from engagement to engagement, over a period of time, everyone delivers good results (Most people who manage to break into consulting are inherently smart). So the big question is that how do you differentiate yourself from your competition?

Answer lies in perception. At the end of the year, a Consulting Manager is concerned about two things, a) How did you perform on engagements b) what did you do besides usual work. Most of the people would perform well on engagements, the real differentiator is the second question i.e. b) what did you do besides work. Let me elaborate more on this. For example

  • If a young consultant, primarily engaged in execution of projects, can show exceptional management or marketing skills, he or she becomes the differentiator.
  • If a consultant has already spent a couple of years in consulting and he or she manages to get a big assignment for his team using his or her marketing skills, he or she becomes the differentiator.
  • If during an engagement a consultant can cash in on an opportunity to get the team together, navigate through a difficult client situation and deliver quality result. He or she gains the respect of the people he or she works with (i.e. his team members), doing so showcases his o her leadership potential and with this he or she can earn brownie points with his or her manager.
  • Further, there could be a situation where a consultant might come up with a great idea, if he or she can put that down on paper (i.e. prepare a brief presentation/ teaser document etc) and share, discuss and defend that idea with his or her manager/partner etc, Then he or she suddenly finds  himself or herself in the spotlight. His or her seniors start looking at him or her as a thinker, an innovator and a leader.
  • The above two points are just examples, you can differentiate yourself through little things for example, improving an existing marketing presentation, researching and writing an article and sharing it with the team, helping out a new employee etc.

Many times we find ourselves merely concerned with execution and sticking to the usual routine, however, it’s important at times to reflect on the fact that everyone we work with is most likely to be putting in those long hours and burning away weekends. Surely, the answer cannot be that simple. If it was, everyone would get great ratings/promotions/incentives; however, very few people are able to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Here’s my two cents on how to manage the “Money Goal”:

“Don’t merely be a workhorse, be the differentiator, enjoy your work, work with enthusiasm and eventually the money takes care of itself on its own”


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultingmoney/2052/feed/ 0 Partner with XIMB’s Strategy and Consulting Consortium http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/partner-with-ximbs-strategy-and-consulting-consortium/2008/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/partner-with-ximbs-strategy-and-consulting-consortium/2008/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 05:22:36 +0000 Mohit http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=2008
Constrat – Transforming Strategy

Who says B-Schools are simply temples of learning? From hereon, B-Schools wont remain ‘just B-Schools’ and MBA students would no longer be ‘just students’. Gone would be the concept of Corporate biggies & Companies competing with their rivals ‘only’ on the industrial floor. Companies would bid, outbid, pick up stakes, outperform, leverage partnerships, stage alliances, fight for a board position and all this on the floor of CONSTRAT, the upcoming Strategy & Consulting Consortium of the Xavier Institute of Management Bhubnaneswar (XIMB)

The Concept

“Strategy cannot be taught, it can only be demonstrated!” With this notion at the helm, XIMB now unveils CONSTRAT, the student run Strategy & Consulting Consortium of XIMB which would enable Strategy & Consulting enthusiasts (Management Consulting Companies, Consultants & consulting aspirants) to come together and leverage the combined value proposition in a ‘win-win’ situation. CONSTRAT’s operating model is based on a virtual variant of the Private Limited Corporation model which would enable students aspiring to pursue a career in Management Consulting to learn the tricks of the trade from the industry honchos via a hands-on simulation approach.

Objectives

Being a strategy oriented consortium, CONSTRAT’s model itself reflects strategic glare in the form of ‘never-seen-before’ framework designed to hit the five pronged target of:

  • Helping consulting aspirants at XIMB gain insight into the functioning of the Management Consulting industry
  • Bridging the corporate-academia skillgap, specific to the Management Consulting industry
  • Enabling the Management Consulting industry (Consulting Companies & individual consultants) to become major stakeholders of activities on the premier B-School circuit
  • Facilitating the consortium partners (companies, alumni, media groups, alumni & exchange groups) to leverage the combined value proposition offered by one another via an exhaustive model.
  • Spreading awareness of the functioning & value proposition of the Management Consulting industry amongst the corporate spectrum, student community and knowledge groups

Partners

  • Top league Management Consulting firms
  • Senior Management Consultants
  • XIMB’s high profile Alumni base working in the Management Consulting industry
  • Electronic, Print & Web Media Groups
  • Exchange Groups

Events & Activities

  • Simulation workshops based on the functioning of the Management Consulting industry
  • Knowledge Transition sessions
  • Simulation of Corporate Restructuring activities (M&A, Change Management, Strategy restructuring) via the consortium’s virtual Private Company model
  • International Case Competitions
  • Consulting Conferences & Networking events
  • Career guidance for XIMB’s Management Consulting aspirants

But, what exactly is the framework which would enable Consulting companies, consultants, media groups and others to gain from each others’ value proposition?

A bit of patience is all that is required…

CONSTRAT..coming soon

Update: 19 June 2010 – Click here to download the Brochure and the Application Form

For more details contact us using the form below or call us on

Ashutosh Didwania: +91 977 608 1627

Monodip Chakravarty: +91 943 820 0360

Consulting Network is the exclusive social media partner for XIMB’s Strategy and Consulting Consortium. You too can partner with us. Email us to find out more – contactus@consultingnetwork.co.in

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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/partner-with-ximbs-strategy-and-consulting-consortium/2008/feed/ 0 Internet Networking Etiquette and Some Secrets http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/internet-networking-etiquitte-and-some-secrets/1991/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/internet-networking-etiquitte-and-some-secrets/1991/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 06:21:37 +0000 Mohit http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1991 Networking is a buzz word that is so common that hardly a day goes by in the corporate world before someone mentions it. Companies such as LinkedIn, Ning etc. are cashing in on the craze, its obvious that everyone wants to network and understandably so, having a strong network helps one find that coveted job, expand one’s knowledge and even get new business.

I am going to restrict the scope of this post to ” Internet Networking”.  So here’s the picture, you have created an account with one of the popular networking sites, Linkedin or even on our very own member’s section (Apologies, had to do a little bit of self marketing here), now you want to obviously make new connections and exploit possible job/business opportunities. Sounds simple enough right? Well no not really..

Merely sending out numerous invites to people isn’t exactly what i would call a Winning Strategy. Sure by the end of the month you would have 100 or so connections, but the output would most likely fall to zero. Now here’s a secret.

“Don’t make connections, Build relationships”

That’s all there is to it, Many times people send invites where they directly ask for referrals on the very first contact. Here’s the catch, why would anyone want to refer someone he or she  barely knows? What does that person gain by referring an absolute stranger?  Nothing at all.

Here is a simple run down list that one must consider before sending out invites.

1. Can this person help me? i.e. is the person from the recruitment team of the target company? or is the person from the target department of the target company?  There is no point just sending random invites to people, for example if you want to get a job in the risk management division of a company then sending out invites to someone from the business advisory division would not help.

2. Is the person open to invitations? If a person has limited connections and specifically mentions on his/her profile that he/she does not appreciate unknown invitations, then its best not to approach that person.

3. Is there a contact email listed ? if there is a contact email listed then its better to email the person than to send him/her an invite.  Response rate to emails is much higher than invites. An invite can be looked upon as an attempt on intrude on someone’s privacy but an email is merely a call for help.

Some things to keep in mind..

1. Do not ask for referrals on the very first contact.

2. Acknowledge the fact that the other person has accepted your invitation. Thank him/her.

3. Get to know the person and more importantly ask relevant questions. Some obvious questions include asking about your target organization/department etc. . Don’t ask for a referral but make sure the other person knows your intention.

4. Remember that a new contact would not result in a referral straightaway. Relationships whether they be online or offline are built over a period of time. Little things count a lot, for example if your connection gets a promotion then dropping him a message congratulating him can work wonders, wishing someone on a holiday like Christmas/Diwali etc is also good.

5. Don’t try to con the other person into referring you.

6. Be considerate, be honest, be humble and most importantly be patient.

Here’s an example for a bad first contact email by Person X

Hi Mohit,

I am very much open to a change in my current job. Can you please suggest me some openings you are aware of as you are a inside candidate. Any immediate help will be appreciated.

Person X

Here’s what Person X did wrong. He not only asked me to refer him but also asked me to refer him immediately. This can be quite annoying for most people. I do not know this individual there is absolutely no reason for me to refer him or to accept his invite.

Now here’s an example of a good first contact email by Person Y

Hi Mohit,

I trust your doing well, its a pleasure to be connected. I currently working with Company Y as Designation Z.

I am interested in working for Company A, I would be would be really obliged if you could spare some time and answer a few queries.

(List down some questions you have on Company A/Division at Company A)

Thank you so much for your time. Do let me know if there is any thing I can do for you.

Kind Regards
Person Y

The above email is more likely to get a response.Person Y tells me something about himself, asks me some relevant questions. Though he does not explicitly state that he is looking for a referral, however, he drops a subtle hint in his email that he would not mind a referral.

Asking a stranger for a referral is like asking your neighbor to take you with him on his family vacation to Disney Land, your neighbor can obviously take you provided he is an extremely kind and gracious individual, however in all probability he wont.

Remember people love to help others, but you need to ask for help the right way. Be genuine and that’s all there is to it. I am going to end this post with the one liner that i stated earlier “Don’t make connections, Build relationships”

Drop in your suggestions/queries to the author in the comments section below.


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/internet-networking-etiquitte-and-some-secrets/1991/feed/ 0 Consultants Speak: Common Mistakes By Startups http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultants-speak-common-mistakes-by-startups/1979/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultants-speak-common-mistakes-by-startups/1979/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:54:59 +0000 Guest Author http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1979 Following points have been gathered by collating views of various contributors on our LinkedIn Group.

1, Over projection of business plans(conservative plans are always better)

2.Quick money/overnight money overtaking passion as driver.

3. Too large work force instead of optimum

4. Less control over expenses

5.Failure to asses results MoM/QoQ (since startups are too small hence half yearly or yearly assessment are only good when u have completed 2+ yrs).

6. Poor response strategy to any eventuality or changing economic landscape/dynamics & customer preference/feedback.

7. Enough working capital/monetary support for at least 2 yrs.

8. Loss of faith in the objective/basis of startup.

9. Jumping on any sort of money/investor coming across

10. Diversifying too early

11. Taking curent customers for granted in a zest to get new ones

12. Trying to sell to anyone and everyone

13. Not creating a USP for the product/service

14. Having the wrong people on board (Including friends instead of business partners)

15. Not spending enough time in the initial market research and analysis phase of your venture development.

16. Understanding customer and market sentiments to calculate the size of the market in which your business would be operated. This is very essential when it comes to forecasting sales revenues.

17. Not sticking to your multiples. Remember, multiples are not concrete, when you chose – learn to defend.

18. Too much spending on workforce and office settings.

19. Focusing too much on volume than profit

20. Lack of a proper exit strategy and contingency plan. Investors are very keen on understanding how they can exit, in case the sales do not pick up.

21. Consistent failure in Re-Innovation(once u come up with some new concept/service, people tend to copy that in next 3-6 months, hence one need to keep re-innovating the concept to make it more unique)

21. Failure to focus on your core competency

22. Failure to make an employee owned company(ownership must be distributed so that the sense of belongingness grows, attrition rate remains minimum possible, expenses can can be controlled).

23. Failure to revisit revenue model in a span of every 12-18 months.

24. Lack of patience is also one of the reason.

Click here to contribute to the discussion and join our LinkedIn Group.

Credits: Ashish Jhajharia , Rajat Agrawal, Anand Rao , Kalpesh Modi, Gajanan  Bochare

You too can contribute to this discussion. Leave your suggestions in the Comments Below.


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consultants-speak-common-mistakes-by-startups/1979/feed/ 2 Consulting Jobs: A two step plan to land that coveted job offer http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consulting-jobs-a-two-step-plan-to-land-that-coveted-job-offer/1957/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consulting-jobs-a-two-step-plan-to-land-that-coveted-job-offer/1957/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:47:41 +0000 Mohit http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1957 So, you want to be a consultant? That’s the question i asked a friend (a MBA graduate from a tier -2 business school in India) when he told that he was contemplating a shift to consulting.  He had his basics right, however, no matter how hard he tried he could not land that coveted consulting job offer.

Last week, i sat down with him to grill down the reasons behind his failure to secure a consulting job ( or as most consultants would put it “I decided to conduct a root cause analysis“).  Following were some of the things we (me and my friend) discovered during our little talk.

My friend had done his research, his target firms were the top three consulting firms (Mckinsey, Bain and BCG). He had tried applying through their respective websites, approached a few recruiters and even tried to network through networking portals.  On the onset his approach seemed to be sound. However, as we dove a little deeper, the flaws in his approach became more apparent.

Though my friend had figured out his target firms, he did not have a clear or even a realistic strategy. Chances of a tier-2 MBA landing a consulting interview at one of the top consulting firms in India are relatively slim.  He needed a more realistic approach to break into the consulting firms of his choice. My advise to him was simple 2 step plan.

1. Research,Collate and Analyze Data: I asked my friend to find out exactly what services do his target consulting firms provide their clients and then to understand and dissect each service. This meant doing an extensive research on company’s websites, forums, blogs and other public domain sources.

Once he was done with his research he had to figure out his area of interest based on his strengths. For example he had to figure out if he is good at numbers? or good with technology? If he is creative?. Though each service provided by consulting firms require all round personalities, people with certain traits tend to do much better in certain fields than others. For example a person good at crunching numbers and analyzing financial data is more likely to be relatively better at providing Financial Consulting Services than at say, Strategy Consulting Services.

Further, once he was done with selecting one or two services of interest, he had to find out exactly how consultants provide these services to their clients. He had to understand how a typical consulting assignment is conducted, what are the various steps that consultants follow to successfully provide the services to their clients. How does a consultant spend his day at the assignment?  Such information is usually not available in the public domain, so his task was to try and network through to the right people or find forums where he can seek advise or seek a mentor and get the information he needed.

2. Prepare a New List of  Target Firms: It was clear that without any substantial relevant experience under his belt, chances of him landing a consulting interview with the top consulting firms was extremely low. Therefore, we decided to come up with a new list of Consulting Firms which were smaller (or even start ups) that provided similar services (as researched in the previous step) to what the top consulting firms provide their clients. The idea was simple, he had to get relevant work experience by getting a job at one of his new target firms and acquire the  relevant skills.

At this point my friend had an interesting question, Why would the top tier consulting firms consider me the second time around? he asked. Though there is no certainty, however, by having the right experience in the right field, a potential candidate comes across as a focused candidate, one who knows exactly what he wants. Such candidates are more likely strike a chord with the recruiters than say, a MBA graduate with a keen interest in consulting.

To summarize the main point of my post, to land a coveted consulting job, one has to become a consultant first, the thought process is critical. Dissect problems, Find solutions, Deliver value.

Leave your suggestions/comments below or email the author at: mohit.kant@consultingnetwork.co.in


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/consulting-jobs-a-two-step-plan-to-land-that-coveted-job-offer/1957/feed/ 2 Management Consulting Interview – Beyond the Case Interview http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/management-consulting-interview-beyond-the-case-interview/1816/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/management-consulting-interview-beyond-the-case-interview/1816/#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:49:11 +0000 Blake McNaughton http://consultingnetwork.co.in/management-consulting-interview-beyond-the-case-interview/1816/

people in a general business scene meeting and...

Whilst case interviews are considered the more challenging side of the consulting interview, it is important to be aware of other types of interview questions that you will inevitably face when interviewing with a top management consulting firm such as Mckinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Bain, Booz Allen Hamilton, Mercer, L.E.K Consulting, A.T. Kearney, Roland Berger or others. A case question is often only 30 minutes of a 1 hour interview. This is especially true in long interviews (one hour or more) and later round interviews once you have proven your abilities in answering case questions.

Below you can find some common behavioral interview questions that you may be asked in a management consulting interview as well as some additional consulting specific interview questions. Try to think how you would answer these interview questions if they were asked to you!

Behavioral Interview Style Q’s

  • Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
  • Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
  • Tell me about a time when you had to use your speaking and presentation skills to influence a groups opinion.
  • Explain a situation when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
  • Have you ever had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
  • Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.
  • What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.
  • Have you ever had to motivate others? Tell me about such an experience.
  • Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.
  • Highlight your top achievements accomplishments?
  • What is the most important thing that you have learned in the past year?
  • What has been your biggest setback?

Common Consulting Interview Q’s

  • Why do you want to work in consulting? And why this firm?
  • What do you believe a consultant does? What would you consider to be the three most important qualities of a successful consultant?
  • How is our practice different from other consulting firms?
  • If I was to review your performance after six months, what do you think my evaluation of you would be?
  • Which firms are you interviewing with? How have you gone?
  • If given an offer, how will you decide whether or not to accept it?
  • What do you think are the differences between your current company and this firm?
  • What do you think you’ll add to this firm?

Author: Blake McNaughton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/management-consulting-interview-beyond-the-case-interview/1816/feed/ 0 Management Consulting As A Career http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/management-consulting-as-a-career/1494/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/management-consulting-as-a-career/1494/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:25:21 +0000 Tony Jacowski http://consultingnetwork.co.in/management-consulting-as-a-career/1494/

As a business continues to grow, the procedures and strategies employed become more complex. This increases the challenges and risks involved in routine transactions. Irrespective of the size of the business, there is always scope to employ external experts for advice and guidelines. They contribute towards obtaining optimum results in the most cost effective manner, to yield a good profit. Research reveals that they help to improve efficiency, organizational structure and returns on investments.

The demand for management consultants is high whenever a company is under performance pressure. They welcome professional help to boost the revenues and lower the cost of management. The special ability of a management consultant to identify the issues responsible for stagnation in a business helps the management to focus on developing the areas of concern.

Emoluments Of A Management Consultant

Management consultancy is one of the highest paying careers in the U.S. According to surveys conducted by the Association of Management Consulting Firms, a beginner in management consulting has an average earning of $58,000 annually. Earnings of senior partners are approximately $250,000 annually. A self-employed management consultant usually charges $100 to $300 per hour.

Working Conditions

Management consultancy offers intellectually stimulating working. These conditions expose professionals to challenging situations and provide a platform for perpetual learning. You can enjoy tremendous job satisfaction as a management consultant, especially if you are driven by challenges.

The field is highly competitive, and generally an MBA degree is the minimum acceptable qualification. Management consultancy firms help organizations take independent decisions in the areas of operations, information technology and business strategy.

Attributes Required

Operations consultancy focuses on the organization’s policies and processes, with a view to achieve optimization within the given resources and strategy. Information technology is about developing management information systems to enable the achievement of a company’s goals.

Strategy consulting is determining behavioral patterns in the given business environment, taking into consideration its capability and the effect of external influences. These influences usually include competitors, customers and suppliers.

The attributes required for a successful career in management consulting are skills and experience in defining client problems, to suggest and implement appropriate solutions. You must possess high-level critical business thinking ability and be a team player, with exceptional communication skills. Strong skills in spreadsheet and financial modeling are also required to understand operational and market dynamics.

Designations for undergraduates include the designations of Associate Consultant, Analyst and Business Analyst. The responsibilities include collection of data, data analysis and submission of reports.

Newly-minted MBAs are considered to be Consultants or Management Consultants. They are responsible for business analysis and interaction with clients. They also are expected to manage junior level employees. They get the opportunity to identify and work with a team within the company, who in future generate high returns with the help of the expertise inculcated.

In order to pursue a career in as a management consultant, it is necessary to possess an MBA degree. It is a career that demands a high level of intellect, offering a very lucrative salary, social recognition and prestige.

Author: Tony Jacowski
Article Source: EzineArticles.com


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