The document summarizes the results of surveys of 153 consulting recruiters and 1,272 candidates on hiring trends and recruitment channels in the management consulting industry. Key findings include: recruiters expect mostly moderate hiring increases in 2012, especially in financial services and technology consulting; social media is primarily used to build professional networks rather than directly apply for jobs; and TopConsultant.com and LinkedIn are the most popular job boards while Beament Leslie Thomas maintains top recruitment agency.

1. Top-Consultant.com
Global Opportunities in Consulting
Recruitment Trends In The
Management Consulting Industry

2. Agenda
-> 2012 Market update and expected hiring trends
-> Recruitment channel usage and the role of social media
-> Recruitment Channel Awards
-> Findings all based on surveys of 153 consulting recruiters and
1,272 candidates

3. Top-Consultant.com
Global Opportunities in Consulting
2012 Market update and expected
hiring trends

4. During December 2011 & January 2012
we surveyed 153 consulting recruiters to gauge
likely hiring trends in 2012
--> Hiring expectations taken across the UK consulting industry are
positive but more subdued than at this time last year
--> Greater competition to hire “hot skills” and an increasing
problem of counter offers derailing recruitment efforts
--> Increased pressure to deliver "Just In Time" Recruiting –
aligning recruitment with project wins
--> Pressure to deliver on hiring needs heightened by candidates’
increased risk-aversion when considering a move
Source: Top-Consultant surveys of 153 recruiters and 1,272 consulting candidates

5. Our survey of 153 recruiters showed
64% of organisations expect to increase hiring this
year but only 21% expect to do so aggressively
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 153 recruiters

6. Of particular interest is the historical trend which shows
our recruiters have a track record of being very
good at predicting changes in hiring activity
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 153 recruiters

7. This year’s findings show
recruiters expect less hiring than was expected at
the beginning of 2011 but much more than in 2009
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 153 recruiters

8. Delving further your responses show that
financial services and energy & utilities are the
practice areas expected to see the most hiring
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 153 recruiters

9. Similarly we can see that
Strategy, technology + e-business / digital consulting
have witnessed the most pronounced hiring upturn
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 153 recruiters

10. Recruiters anticipate that
consulting firms will want to attract more hires
both from other consultancies and from industry
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 153 recruiters

11. Though our candidate responses suggest
it will remain harder to entice candidates away
from their current employer
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

12. Top-Consultant.com
Global Opportunities in Consulting
Recruitment channel usage and the role
of social media

13. The key finding from our candidate survey is that
only a minority of candidates are using social
media to apply for jobs
--> Almost all consultants have a profile on LinkedIn and
characterise themselves as “active” users
--> The majority are using social media to expand their
professional network. But only a minority have applied to jobs
via this channel or approached recruiters direct this way
--> Candidates do not anticipate changing this behaviour in the
coming year, so social media remain most potent as a channel
for proactively engaging candidates rather than as a passive
medium for trying to attract candidate applications
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

14. Our 1,272 candidate respondents confirmed
there are huge variations in the saturation enjoyed
by different application channels
Application channels used during last job hunt
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

15. The survey also demonstrated that
social media sites generate limited applications
compared with job boards and rec. agencies
Share of Total Applications generated by each channel
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

16. Candidate responses show that
consultants are active users of some social media
sites…
Social media on which consultants are an *Active* contributor / user
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

17. But intriguingly also show that
Consultants use social media primarily to expand
their professional network and stay in touch
Social media on which consultants are an *Active* contributor / user
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

18. Looking to the future, the key finding for recruiters is that
there’s still no dash to social media as a job-
hunting channel
Channels candidates intend to use for next job hunt
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,216 consulting candidates

19. Top-Consultant.com
Global Opportunities in Consulting
Recruitment Channel Awards

20. Amonst job boards
Top-Consultant retains the lead as candidates’
preferred consulting jobs board; LinkedIn in 2nd
Sources of candidate applications 2011/2012
High (40%)
Top-Consultant
% rating site
as best for LinkedIn
consulting
jobs
Exec-
Appointments
Jobsite
All Others Monster
Low (<5%) Totaljobs
Low (<5%) High (70%)
% of candidates using site
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

21. The survey also reveals that
consultants are most likely to read the Times, FT or
Economist
Which newspapers do you regularly read?
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

22. Best Management Consultancy Recruitment Agency
Our warmest congratulations to BLT who secure
the top spot for the fourth consecutive year
1 Beament Leslie Thomas (BLT)
2 Prism
3 Michael Warwick Nicholls (MWN)
4 Aston Carter
5 Consulting Point
6 Selecture
7 ChapmanBlack
8 Huntswood
9 Comms Point
10= Freshminds
10= CNA
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,272 consulting candidates

23. Best Management Consultancy Individual Recruiters
The following recruiters were singled out for
particular praise
Chris Sale (Prism)
Craig Milbourne (Comms Point)
Darren Head (Selecture)
Don Leslie (BLT)
Genene Cooper (MWN)
Paul Brown (ChapmanBlack)
Pete Nicholls (MWN)
Rakesh Pabbi (Consulting Point)
Sasha Kemp (SK Consultancy Solutions)
Stephen Humphreys (Huntswood)
Victoria Barry Woods (Aston Carter)
Source: Top-Consultant survey of 1,216 consulting candidates

24. Top-Consultant.com
Global Opportunities in Consulting
Thank you – full report to follow
later in March