Presentation on the pros and cons of a career in management consulting, with focus on the later-stage roles (manager, associate principal, principal, partner, director). From a long-time Bain & Company senior manager. Given as a webinar on Evisors on February 7, 2013. More on me at http://www.careandfeeding.com.

1. The Long-Term Consulting
Career Value Proposition
featuring:
James Weiss
Former Senior Manager at
Caitlin Quan
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2. Agenda
1. About James
2. Why are we talking about this?
3. Being a Manager
4. Being a Partner
5. Q&A
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3. About James
“Entrepreneur and Reformed Consultant”
• >6 years post MBA at Bain NYC, Singapore, HK
• Promoted early to Manager, then to Senior Manager
• Specialized in PE, Media, and FS Tech
• Left in „10 to start up / advise early-stage companies
• Princeton AB, Wharton MBA
• Started career at DreamWorks in LA, then built two
Internet companies
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4. Why are you here?
• Considering joining a consultancy as an
“experienced hire”
• In a consulting firm today contemplating
your long-term commitment
• Thinking about consulting vs. other
long-term job options
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5. Most common two questions I get
1. How do I get a job in consulting?
2. What it’s like to be a manager or
partner?
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6. $$$ Partnership $$$ !!
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7. Well, not exactly.
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8. High Level: What’s the Job?
Associate / Pose questions, get answers and
Consultant keep the manager happy
Manage teams, recruit
Manager /
associates, keep client happy
Principal
Sell projects, make
Partner /
managers, build the firm, keep
Director
fellow partners happy
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9. The Manager
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10. Being a Manager: What’s the job?
Managers are…
• Running a team
• Working directly with senior executives on the
client side
• Helping deliver thought-leadership to your
firm
• Mentoring associates and junior clients
• Trying to look credible… but not too credible
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11. Being a Manager: What do you get?
Managers get…
• Training and experience: You learn a lot –
throughput goes WAY up, and you focus on
people management
• Value jump: Start to become worth more in
the marketplace
• Prestige: Begin to be recognized as an expert
in and out of the firm
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12. Being a Manager: The Ugly
Welcome to
the middle.
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13. Being a Manager: The Ugly
As a Manager you have to deal with…
• Everyone – no one is happy, and they all now
comes to you
• Ridiculous workloads
• Less money and respect than you probably
deserve (especially from Partners)
• Travel and sacrifice for your “craft”
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14. What comes next?
When Managers leave, they go to…
• Large companies, in Director/VP-level
strategy or analytical roles, with track to
“operational role” in 1.5-3 years
• Operations groups in PE funds, or Director-
level roles in their portfolios
• More rarely: Deal-side roles in PE; operating
roles in mid-sized companies; BD or
marketing roles in small / startup companies
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15. Upshot
The Manager role is…
• Really good training for being a General Manager
(although external firms don‟t always see it that way)
• A chance to develop more significant senior
relationships outside the firm
• Opportunity to become an expert in a field
• Well-compensated – a major step up from Consultant
• A long way from Partner (3-7 years), with the long-
term challenge of satisfying a lot of constituents
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16. Now… before we go into Partner…
Welcome to the
partner promotion
process.
Hope the gods
smile upon you.
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17. The Partner
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18. Being a Partner: What’s the job?
Partners are…
• Selling! Upselling and breaking new business
• Building relationships
• No longer project managing: Set up the case, get
things going, set the tone, then check out
• Pitching, writing proposals, speaking at conferences,
writing white papers
• Mentoring managers
• Helping lead the firm
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19. Being a Partner: What do you get?
Partners get…
• Money: Wealth (but eat what you kill)
• Autonomy: You are now responsible for a line of
business and results
• Job security: Most firms rarely push out partners, and
there‟s often a “revolving door”
• Intellectual stimulation: You‟re working on many
things at once
• Prestige: Being a partner = respect
• Interesting opportunities: Both in and out of the firm
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20. Being a Partner: The Ugly
Thought you
had control?
Ha!
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21. Being a Partner: The Ugly
As a partner you …
• Actually have a lot less control over your life –
the sooner you give up your calendar the
better off you are!
• Struggle to move jobs – few jobs pay as well,
give you the intellectual stimulation, and have
the job security
• Are hard to employ – a highly-paid person
without “execution experience” is a tough sell
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22. What comes next
In most firms, partners don’t leave. If you’ve gone
through the pain of getting there, you stay.
Those who leave go to…
• Roles within the firm – specialties, practice area
heads, developmental roles
• Divisional Head / SVP roles, or Head of Strategy, at
larger companies
• Rarely: Partner roles at other service firms; CEO
roles (mid-sized firms, ex-clients); PE / VC (very rare)
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23. Upshot
The Partner role can be fantastic if you…
• Want to live well and develop wealth (but don‟t expect
to be a billionaire / master of the universe)
• Recognize you‟re a salesperson (or sales manager)
with a P&L, not a corporate executive
• Enjoy being a “smart dude” – you‟re a (well-paid) prof
• Take control – successful partners build their practice
on what they do well and love, and set boundaries
• Embrace the flexibility within your firm – there are
many chances to try things and reinvent yourself
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24. Closing thoughts
• Compared with other careers, consultancy can be
quite high on the value vs. effort equation
• Culture and people are paramount - it‟s a human
capital business – if you love the culture and the
people it can be a wonderful, uplifting career
• Few companies have as much fluidity as
consultancies. If you like variety and intellectual
stimulation, it only gets better with time…
• … but, if you want to run a business, it only gets
harder and further away the more senior you get
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25. Connect
James Weiss
Former Senior Manager at
Book your one-on-one session with James at
www.evisors.com/expert/689
He can help you with:
• Career Assessment
• Consulting Interview Practice
• Resume Development
…and more!
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26. Questions & Answers
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