I am a Management Consultant - Ask Me Anything

[TheWharfConsultant1]

Hi everyone,

This forum has helped me quite a lot, so it is time to give something back. I have worked for five in MBB consulting in financial services, based in the Wharf. Ask me anything you always wanted to know about consulting.

 

[JustAnotherHuman1]

Thanks for doing this. How does a typical day in the life look like for you and what exactly does a management consultant do? Can you expand on the role of a consultant and why are they important, and what are the different types out there (I know management consultant would be one..)?

What is the career progression like (junior to senior etc) and what kind of projects do you work on? Some detailed real-world examples would be great (situation task action result) if that is not asking for too much, without mentioning any names of course.

What is the most challenging part of this job in your experience? What kind of soft/hard skills does one need to succeed in this occupation?

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

Thanks for doing this. How does a typical day in the life look like for you and what exactly does a management consultant do? Can you expand on the role of a consultant and why are they important, and what are the different types out there (I know management consultant would be one..)?

What is the career progression like (junior to senior etc) and what kind of projects do you work on? Some detailed real-world examples would be great (situation task action result) if that is not asking for too much, without mentioning any names of course.

What is the most challenging part of this job in your experience? What kind of soft/hard skills does one need to succeed in this occupation?

bare with me while I am answering the questions one by one (as they are all very valid) - the challenging part is that you get hired for analytical and communication strenghts, then need to add people and project management to that as a team leader/project manager. Once you are good at that, you need to become good at business development to become a partner. You need to adapt quite a bit to move through the ranks....

 

[redherring1]

This is great, thanks. Can always learn tons from an MBB consultant.

1) Did you realize a trending field in finance during your consulting? I.e.: TaxTech, Trading Data, Digital Transformation, Smart POS systems, Blockchain Solutions etc. It'd be quite interesting to hear about your perspective about the trends in the London finance circles.

2) What percentage of new recruits would you say are

• internally referred/connected vs
• campus recruits vs
• odd recruits through job posts, other networking events etc.?

3) Any ideas how Canary Wharf culture compares to other hubs such as Frankfurt, Toronto, Singapore, Tokyo or Wall Street?

Thanks again!

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

bare with me while I am answering the questions one by one (as they are all very valid) - the challenging part is that you get hired for analytical and communication strenghts, then need to add people and project management to that as a team leader/project manager. Once you are good at that, you need to become good at business development to become a partner. You need to adapt quite a bit to move through the ranks....

On career progression: the names of the roles differ from company to company and there are (or not) intermediate ranks like associate manager, manager, senior manager, but here is is how it usually works: unviersity graduates enter as an analyst, there is a level above that for MBA graduates (e.g. "associate" in most McKinsey offices) - this were the work gets done, often on site (or in constant virtual contact) with the client. After that you become a project manager/team leader, managing relationships, teams and (project) budgets. Before entering the partner track, there often is an intermedeate level (e.g. "principal" at BCG), managing several projects. After that, you can be elected partner where you are responsible for senior client relationsships, thought leadership, business development (read sales) and as a senior partner for the overall management of the company. "Elected" is the right term as the current partners or a committee of them will have to vote for you to become a partner and later a senior partner/shareholder.

 

[curious_finance1]

Thank you for your availability and for doing this. I am curious, what path would you suggest someone working in FinTech, mostly Private Debt markets, to apply at one of the MBB ?
Also, how did you enjoy your time working as a consultant at this group of companies, how did it help you grow your mindset and look further, different from what you would do had you worked somewhere else?

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

Thank you for your availability and for doing this. I am curious, what path would you suggest someone working in FinTech, mostly Private Debt markets, to apply at one of the MBB ?
Also, how did you enjoy your time working as a consultant at this group of companies, how did it help you grow your mindset and look further, different from what you would do had you worked somewhere else?

Things that we were looking at for experienced hires (in no particular order):

• (very) good grades in your undergrad
• from a target university
• quick progression in your job
• fast growth of your company/it being a household name (think Revlout, Klarna, Monzo, Wise etc.)
• relevant work experience (strategy, new markets or products etc.)
• relvant way of working (data-driven, using hypotheses, issue trees and other tools)
• (senior) stakeholder management
• line management experience, project management if you have a bit more work experience and might go for a project manager position
• international work
• a postgraduate degree, usually an MBA or PhD - a CFA might be seen as a bit too narrow (doesn't harm, but is not focussed on strategy)
• fluency in languages other than English - note that this means that you are able to discuss a topic new to you after only a short period of research when working in a team/for a client from another country
• interesting or successful extracurriculars - probably not "reading", but rather having published articles under your name; excelling at sports
• open and concise communication/being able to summarise complex findings: imagine working on a project for three months and then meeting the CEO of you client in the elevator - can you tell her the results of your work in 30 seconds?
• interesting/pleasant person to talk to - practice your small talk

Remember that the company needs to sell your profile to their clients, hence looking for formal qualifications. During the interview, your interviewers will also look at if they could imagine spending 70 hour work weeks with you (hence the soft factor).

The more experienced you are in a particular area, you could also go for the expert/research track - slightly less pay, but better hours and less pressure.

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

Thanks for doing this. How does a typical day in the life look like for you and what exactly does a management consultant do? Can you expand on the role of a consultant and why are they important, and what are the different types out there (I know management consultant would be one..)?

What is the career progression like (junior to senior etc) and what kind of projects do you work on? Some detailed real-world examples would be great (situation task action result) if that is not asking for too much, without mentioning any names of course.

What is the most challenging part of this job in your experience? What kind of soft/hard skills does one need to succeed in this occupation?

To add a bit to the post on career progression: different firms use different names for levels (have a look at Bain’s example https://www.bain.com/careers/roles/), but there are basically four levels:

• Entry level as a graduate (e.g. analyst)
• Next step (e.g. associate or consultant), often leading workstreams
• Project/team leader – oversee projects or teams and are responsible for the P+L of a project and its overall success
• Partner – often own parts of the company and are responsible for business development and the success of the company

There might be different sub-levels, e.g. associate partner. Probably 10-20% will face the out part of up or out at every stage and others will exit for greener pastures; you can search on LinkedIn for the partner-to-employ ratio to get an idea of progression speed. There are usually 1-2 promotion rounds per year, following a fairly rigorous and standardised process.

 

[curious_finance1]

Very interesting how you have detailed the path how one can grow during their career starting from graduation. Just to be more specific, what do you think are some practical skills that, lets say a student about to graduate or an early professional needs to consider, when looking for a career in financial services at such high level companies? Are extra certifications needed or helpful at this point?
And this is me just being curious, going from a university environment to a dynamic workplace, what do people usually struggle with at the beginning and how to be prepared?

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

Very interesting how you have detailed the path how one can grow during their career starting from graduation. Just to be more specific, what do you think are some practical skills that, lets say a student about to graduate or an early professional needs to consider, when looking for a career in financial services at such high level companies? Are extra certifications needed or helpful at this point?
And this is me just being curious, going from a university environment to a dynamic workplace, what do people usually struggle with at the beginning and how to be prepared?

Good news is that you quite often use a hypothesis-driven approach to solve problems, similar to scientific work; what might be a bit of a struggle is coming from fairly cutting-edge research and then doing somewhat mundane tasks in the beginning, like PowerPoint formatting.
Practical skills would be Excel (especially short cuts with keys) and Powerpoint, there are tons of material on how to prepare on cases in interviews (how to structure your thinking, how to break questions down into manageable chunks etc.). Should you not come from a “traditional” background, get to know the most commonly used frameworks like

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/305330049709683292/

I would not say that there are qualifications that are commonly recognised (like a CFA for finance). For some firms, project management qualifications like PRINCE 2 can help.

 

[JustAnotherHuman1]

Good news is that you quite often use a hypothesis-driven approach to solve problems, similar to scientific work; what might be a bit of a struggle is coming from fairly cutting-edge research and then doing somewhat mundane tasks in the beginning, like PowerPoint formatting.
Practical skills would be Excel (especially short cuts with keys) and Powerpoint, there are tons of material on how to prepare on cases in interviews (how to structure your thinking, how to break questions down into manageable chunks etc.). Should you not come from a “traditional” background, get to know the most commonly used frameworks like

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/305330049709683292/

I would not say that there are qualifications that are commonly recognised (like a CFA for finance). For some firms, project management qualifications like PRINCE 2 can help.

It’s one thing to have soft skills, it’s another to be an Excel wizard. To be a really productive analyst one really needs to learn the shortcuts and then put the consistent practice in for it to become second-nature. All things being equal (valuation and model building skills), being really productive with software tools is certainly a differentiating factor from average to good analysts.

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

It’s one thing to have soft skills, it’s another to be an Excel wizard. To be a really productive analyst one really needs to learn the shortcuts and then put the consistent practice in for it to become second-nature. All things being equal (valuation and model building skills), being really productive with software tools is certainly a differentiating factor from average to good analysts.

Could not agree more - try to master the skills needed for your analyses

 

[magellan1]

Thanks for your availability, @TheWharfConsultant . I have never worked for a professional consulting firm but I studied management at top-tier universities and I have completed a few consulting projects (contract-based) in the past. I have several questions based on my experience.
1) How is the cost of a project usually determined at an MBB company (hourly, project-based or other)?
2) How do you deal with requests for changes in the project scope? Would you replan and restart the whole project or just keep working at an hourly rate?
3) How important is your nationality (e.g. Italian vs Lithuanian)? Obviously, consulting firms have many clients in Italy and probably none in Lithuania. Therefore, coming from Lithuania would make it more difficult to break into MBB and succeed. Do you agree or disagree with that statement?
4) How do you feel when you work hard on a project but in the end, the client decides not to execute your strategy/project?
5) How does the recruitment process for the expert/research track work?
6) Are MMB embracing remote work or consultants are still expected to be in the office most of the time (when not working for a client onsite)?
Please, feel free to skip some questions that you consider unimportant.

 

[AugustusSeptimius1]

Hi everyone,

This forum has helped me quite a lot, so it is time to give something back. I have worked for five in MBB consulting in financial services, based in the Wharf. Ask me anything you always wanted to know about consulting.

Did you often see people use financial consulting to move into investment banking or private equity? Additionally, how was a consultant who'd worked for the company in its offices in another country as well as in its UK ones viewed, is this a positive career choice for exhibiting professional diversity and standing out from the crowd?

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

Thanks for your availability, @TheWharfConsultant . I have never worked for a professional consulting firm but I studied management at top-tier universities and I have completed a few consulting projects (contract-based) in the past. I have several questions based on my experience.
1) How is the cost of a project usually determined at an MBB company (hourly, project-based or other)?
2) How do you deal with requests for changes in the project scope? Would you replan and restart the whole project or just keep working at an hourly rate?
3) How important is your nationality (e.g. Italian vs Lithuanian)? Obviously, consulting firms have many clients in Italy and probably none in Lithuania. Therefore, coming from Lithuania would make it more difficult to break into MBB and succeed. Do you agree or disagree with that statement?
4) How do you feel when you work hard on a project but in the end, the client decides not to execute your strategy/project?
5) How does the recruitment process for the expert/research track work?
6) Are MMB embracing remote work or consultants are still expected to be in the office most of the time (when not working for a client onsite)?
Please, feel free to skip some questions that you consider unimportant.

1) It used to be based on hours, but clients will limit this nowadays for milestones or parts of a project to keep cost in check
2) You would try to keep these changes to a minimum, but in the end it comes down to communication - what changes can you accomodate and which will be too much; it is often easier to change things in the early days of a project than later on
3) It does not really matter (maybe for travel in some countries where you would need visa) - you will join an office that is your base and then staffed accordingly; what can matter, though, are language capabilities
4) that is part of the job - you are an advisor and this advice can be taken or not; quite often, you are asked for your opinion rather than on what would the best to implement
5) the basic process is similar, but usually you will bring a couple of years experience in your area of expertise and your interviews will center around this experience; quite often, you will be part of a permanent team, so you will speak to your future boss and team members as well
6) as often in consulting the answer is "it depends on the client"; should they not want to have consultants around, MMB will embrace remote work more willingly, but I do not really see this happening at the moment - there is less emphasis on being personally present in each and every meeting (people are not flying around the world for 2h meetings any more), but you are still supposed to attend major meetings in person

 

[TheWharfConsultant1]

Did you often see people use financial consulting to move into investment banking or private equity? Additionally, how was a consultant who'd worked for the company in its offices in another country as well as in its UK ones viewed, is this a positive career choice for exhibiting professional diversity and standing out from the crowd?

Apologies if that has not been answered properly before. For PE, you often say that IB is the better way in as you will learn modelling skills etc. However, there are quite a few funds looking more into operations than before when it was mainly financial engineering, so the larger PE companies look for ex-consultants as well.

As for changing offices: it depends. In some companies, a rotation will be part of an onboarding program. In some MBB companies/offices, you can state preferences on location, industries etc. Some smaller, more niche companies will have an international/global outlook, so you will get international exposure and it will be viewed favourably. If your CV can show some international experience, it will go a long way for joining such a company.