Careers in IT Consulting, 2009 Edition

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CAREERS IN IT CONSULTING ★ '%%. :9>I>DC

★ INSIDER

>CH>9:G<J>9: ★ ★ ★ ★

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW AND TRENDS WORKPLACE CULTURE AND COMPENSATION ON THE JOB: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES INSIDER SCOOP: INTERVIEWING TIPS

SCOOP: FRONT-LINE REPORTS ★

WetFeet Research Methodology You hold in your hands a copy of the highest-quality research available for job seekers. We’ve designed this Insider Guide to save you valuable time doing job research by gathering highly accurate information, analyzing it, adding the perspective of industry insiders, and presenting it all in an appealing, contemporary format. We hope you enjoy reading it—we want to help make your job search as painless as possible! Each WetFeet Insider Guide represents hundreds of hours of in-depth research, critical analysis and precise writing. We survey massive amounts of publicly available information, and augment our findings with dozens of in-depth interviews of rank-andfile employees who work for the companies and industries we cover. (We keep our company contacts anonymous to encourage candor.) In addition, WetFeet writers— experts at reading between the lines—interview company recruiting staff members to make sure you get accurate information about the recruiting process, compensation, and hiring targets. Finally, each Insider Guide undergoes extensive editorial review and fact-checking to ensure that the information and writing live up to our exacting standards. Because WetFeet retains all editorial control of our Insider Guides, you can be confident you’re reading the unvarnished truth, not corporate PR. Are we perfect? No—but we do believe you’ll find our content to be the highest quality of its kind available on the Web or in print. (Please see our guarantee below.) We’re eager to hear about your experiences on the recruiting front, and we welcome your feedback (both positive and negative) about our products and services. Thanks for your interest!

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Insider

Guide Careers in IT Consulting

2009 EDITION

Careers in IT Consulting

WetFeeT 1518 Walnut St. Suite 1800 Philadelphia, PA 19102 Phone: (215) 546-4900 or 1-800-926-4JOB Fax: (215) 546-9921 Website: www.wetfeet.com

Careers in iT consulting 2008 Edition ISBN: 978-1-58207-793-2

Photocopying Is Prohibited Copyright 2008 WetFeet. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. No copying in any form is permitted. It may not be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, in part or in whole, without the express written permission of WetFeet. The publisher, author, and any other party involved in creation, production, delivery, or sale of this WetFeet Insider Guide make no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy or reliability of the information found herein. To the degree you use this guide or other materials referenced herein, you do so at your own risk. The materials contained herein are general in nature and may not apply to particular factual or legal circumstances. Under no circumstances shall the publisher, author, or any other party involved in creation, production or delivery of this guide be liable to you or any other person for damages of any kind arising from access to, or use of, its content. All illustrations by mckibillo


CHAPTER

1 23 1 At a Glance

5 The Industry

19 The Companies

6 Introduction 6 IT Consulting Overview 7 Points of Entry 8 The Work 9 Sample IT Consulting Engagements


10 IT Consulting Outlook 11 Trends in IT Consulting 14 The Bottom Line

conte 2009 EDITION

4567

47 On the Job

59 The Workplace

69 Getting Hired

48 The Engagement

60 Lifestyle

70 The Recruiting Process

49 Key Jobs

60 Hours and Travel

50 Real People Profiles

61 Workplace Diversity

57 Consulting or Industry?

61 Vacation

71 Consulting Interview Breakdown 73 Interviewing Tips

77 For Your Reference 78 Consulting-Speak

82 Consulting Information 83 Recommended Reading

62 Compensation 63 Career Path

73 Grilling Your Interviewer

64 The Inside Scoop

nts

83 WetFeet Resources

At a Glance

1

At A Glance

IT Consulting at a Glance

On the job the workplace getting hired FOR YOUR REFERENCE

of posh hotels, you might just find yourself in your element. •

IT consultants, especially those who work for larger firms, get exposure to a broad variety of technologies and get to work with some of the most cutting-edge applications.

•

Client engagements typically last between a few weeks and a few months, so consultants are continually tackling new problems, meeting new clients, and learning from different environments.

Overview •

the companies

The INDUSTRY


IT consultants are hired by large, diversified consulting firms with multiple practices such as Accenture and Deloitte; by specialized consulting firms that focus on particular industries, services, or information technologies; and by technology products companies that offer consulting services such as Unisys and Cisco.

•

As a general rule, firms that specialize in a specific industry or function hire fewer candidates directly from undergraduate or MBA programs than from strategy firms unless the candidate offers relevant industry or function experience.

•

IT consultants can come from technology backgrounds, with degrees in engineering or computer science; or from business backgrounds, with degrees in business or economics. Strong candidates usually have some experience and education in both areas.

•

IT consulting firms hire experienced, midcareer professionals on an ad hoc basis into various levels of their organizations.

Disadvantages of a Career in Specialized Consulting •

You will often be asked to work relatively long, unpredictable hours (55 to 60 hours per week or more).

•

As is the case in all service industries, your life is not your own—it belongs to your clients.

•

IT consultants from engineering backgrounds might get bored of the superficial tweaking of applications to fit client needs and crave in-depth product development and the intricacies of engineering.

•

At some firms, consultants with IT expertise can get sidetracked and might feel like secondclass citizens.

Advantages of a Career in Specialized Consulting

Recruiting Overview

•

The field attracts talented, smart, hardworking people.

•

•

IT consultants get to marry the merits of working with technology with the rewards of working directly with clients. They are exposed to technical and strategic problem solving.

Although many firms recruit on campus, smaller firms often don’t maintain formal, highly visible recruiting campaigns.

•

Lateral and midcareer hires are more common in IT consulting than in strategy consulting.

•

If you love to travel, this career might satisfy your wanderlust, and if you adore the amenities

•

Academic and analytical abilities, as well as relevant professional experience, are emphasized.

W E T F E E T I N SIDER GUIDE

at a glance

•

Case interviews are mandatory for most firms and can be agonizing for the unprepared. the role

What Recruiters Look For

Consultants from business backgrounds should be prepared to demonstrate a keen interest in technology and an ability to adapt to the specialized vocabularies of new technologies through work experience (including internships) at technology firms or with technology-focused projects.

•

Consultants from technology backgrounds should show their ability to think strategically about business problems and communicate effectively to even the least tech-savvy individuals.

•

Engineers with MBAs are highly attractive candidates.

•

Recruiters agree that students who succeed in consulting have strong problem-solving skills, work well in teams, and share a commitment to helping clients.

the workplace

•

on the job

When evaluating resumes, IT consulting recruiters typically look for signs that applicants can bridge the divide between technology staff and businesspeople.

the companies

•

getting hired FOR YOUR REFERENCE

WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

The Industry

2

Introduction.....................................6 IT Consulting Overview...................6 Points of Entry..................................7 The Work..........................................8 Sample IT Consulting Engagements..................9 IT Consulting Outlook...................10 Trends in IT Consulting................11

The Bottom Line . ..........................14

At A Glance The Industry the companies On the job the workplace getting hired FOR YOUR REFERENCE


Introduction If you’re technically inclined, love designing

computer systems and applications, and want to explore business problems behind your work, information technology consulting might be for you. IT consulting, also known as tech consulting, also might be a rewarding path if you’re a businesssavvy person with a passion for technology and a hankering for finding new ways of using it to solve business problems. IT consultants find ways to apply technology to achieve a client’s business goals, typically taking on large projects to design, implement, and manage information and computer systems. The people who excel at this job are those who can straddle the fence between the suits and the geeks, translate technobabble into lay terms, and feel as comfortable in front of a spreadsheet of financials as they are in front of a screen full of code. Ranging from technical gurus to financial wizards, from übergeeky to ultrasavvy, IT consultants are comfortable working closely with people who do not share their expertise. The key to IT consulting success is being able to articulate complex business strategy and technological applications to a wide variety of audiences.

IT Consulting Overview The term consulting is often used as a one-sizefits-all term for virtually any form of organizational advice-giving. IT consulting represents a functional specialty that is valuable to virtually any company, regardless of its sector, industry, geographical location, or competitive position. IT consultants serve clients in a range of industries by providing advice on how they can use technology to increase


efficiency, manage supply chains, track human resources, increase sales, store information on customer relations, and improve pretty much any business function in which information technology can play a role. In fact, it’s hard to think of an area of business in IT is not essential. Because information technology has become an integral component of a company’s business processes, the strategic implications of IT are so far-reaching that literally all consulting firms—regardless of their official classification in the consulting taxonomy—have had to develop and integrate IT expertise into their existing practices. They must provide implementation know-how, not just strategic advice. Companies that don’t realize the strategic competitive advantages of IT because they’ve failed to address implementation challenges face considerable risks to the long-term sustainability of their business. IT consultants spend most of their time examining their clients’ internal processes to help the company operate more effectively or efficiently. Like their counterparts in strategy consulting, they serve clients across nearly every sector and in almost all industries. Anywhere you find a person working on a computer, you can potentially find an IT consultant investigating the work flow, the data being used or created, the hardware and software being used, and the company’s overall business strategy for employing technology. For example, a large pharmaceutical company might hire an IT consulting firm to help it build a database for tracking clinical trials of new vaccines. A state environmental agency might hire tech consultants to develop new ways of tracking industrial waste management. An amusement park might hire IT consultants to develop online training technologies for the ride attendants who spend their summers working at the park. A trucking company might bring on a team of IT consultants to find ways to save money through the use of GPS tracking. IT consulting engagements—that’s consultantspeak for short-term jobs with clients—fall all over the map, literally and figuratively. IT consultants work for clients of all sizes in nearly every industry and

at a glance

INSIDER SCOOP

There are four main points of entry into IT

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired


the workplace

consulting: large, diversified consulting firms such as Deloitte and Accenture; smaller and more specialized boutique IT consulting firms; product companies that offer IT consulting such as Oracle and Unisys; and consulting firms that specialize in areas other than IT, such as health care and human resources, but still need tech consultants on hand to deal with their clients’ IT needs. Each avenue has its own benefits and potential pitfalls. Larger consulting firms dominate the IT consulting landscape; the biggest firms, such as Deloitte and Accenture, dwarf most of the competition. Insiders say these firms have the highest brand recognition in consulting and are invaluable additions to a newcomer’s resume. Such firms will likely be working with the latest and greatest technologies, provide the most thorough training, and have the most prestigious clients. But they’re also difficult to get into, and you might not like having to spend two years doing grunt work in not-so-glamorous locations before you get the really cool assignments in more attractive locales.

on the job

Points of Entry

the companies

“There is room for great engineers with incredible technological depth who know coding and architecting. But keep in mind that everyone eventually will bump into a client, so it’s different from hard-core engineering. You have to have the soft skills and be comfortable interacting with the customers.”

These firms also vary in their offerings for tech consulting. Although McKinsey and Bain might be more prestigious consulting firms overall, Accenture, IBM Global Services, and Deloitte are better-known in the technology consulting market. McKinsey offers no actual product engineering, whereas IBM consultants might be asked to customize hardware or design new software applications. Some of the subtle differences between firms are explored in the company profiles found in Chapter 3. Boutique consulting firms might not offer the same kind of brand recognition the goliaths of consulting do, but insiders say they should not be overlooked. “Smaller firms may offer more specialized technological expertise or industry expertise,” says one insider. “And you may get more responsibility right out of the gate. In smaller firms, it’s normal to have teams that have very senior partners working with new consultants. You can learn a lot that way.” Boutique firms also can be a good fit for individuals who want to cultivate an understanding of a particular technology. “Smaller firms often offer a deeper but narrower expertise,” says one insider, “whereas the big consulting firms might go an inch deep and a mile wide.” Another positive to working with boutique firms is that many are regional and may require less extensive travel. However, insiders do warn that boutique firms vary considerably in their quality and management. One of the best ways to get a sense of the experience you’ll get at a small firm is to ask about its client list. If you can get experience working on projects for Fortune 500 clients, the company may be a good bet. The third option for tech consulting is to work for a technology products company that offers IT consulting services. IBM is the best-known of these companies; its services now earn more revenue than its products. Many companies are attempting to mirror IBM’s success by providing similar services, such as technology implementation, integration, and strategy development. Insiders say consulting at top-tier technology products firms can offer the same valuable training

the Industry

with all information technologies. Engagements range from simple website redesign to restructuring entire information architectures. Tech consultants must be able to learn about new businesses and technologies quickly, adjust to new business environments easily, and be willing to travel just about anywhere.


Careers in IT Consulting and experience as the best consulting firms, but that newcomers need to choose their employers carefully. “Ask as many people as possible about the strategic goal of their services division,” says one insider. “If you get more than one answer, watch out. Some of these companies are really schizophrenic. They don’t know whether they are using their services to sell products or trying to grow their services independently.” In the worst-case scenario, tech product companies may use consulting services as glorified presales. They “consult” with companies to find ways of improving operations, but the solution to every problem is to buy more of the tech company’s products. In the best-case scenario, tech consulting delivered by products companies can provide clients with the necessary insight to get the most return on their tech investments, even if the solutions provided include competitors’ products. A less common employment alternative is an IT consulting gig at a consulting firm that specializes in something other than IT. This is a particularly valuable strategy if you have knowledge in an area such as health care or human resources, in which specialized consulting firms abound. You’ll be more likely to land an offer, and might be able to negotiate a higher salary, too. An HR consulting firm, for example, doesn’t just hire HR consultants. Depending on whether it offers outsourcing, it also might hire armies of IT consultants to build and maintain data storage systems for clients with which it has outsourcing contracts. At larger HR consulting firms, there will be legions of IT consultants aligned with health care practices, HR practices, and (you guessed it) technology practices.

INSIDER SCOOP “At the classic consulting companies like Booz and McKinsey, you get a recognized brand on your resume, but you start very low on the totem pole and it may be a long time before you have a significant role. Until then, you’ll be doing grunt work and probably working with more dated technology.”


The Work IT consulting engagements can be viewed from a few different perspectives. Engagements are often described in terms of five broad categories, which roughly correspond to the chronological order in which companies address a technological need or opportunity: 1. Devising an IT strategy that will facilitate the company’s broader business plan 2. Managing the design of a specific technology solution that will support this strategy 3. Overseeing the implementation of the new system 4. Providing integration services to make disparate systems compatible 5. Assuming ongoing management responsibilities for all or part of a client’s IT operations Though the strategy consulting firms such as Bain, BCG, and McKinsey maintain IT consulting services, they tend to focus on the earlier stages of the process. They offer expertise in aligning business strategy with IT strategy, and advise their clients on the organizationwide process and behavior changes they can expect as a result of the IT implementation. As clients progress toward later steps, their consultants typically need less general business knowledge and more industry and technical knowledge. In addition, IT consulting firms might specialize in one type of IT strategy (for instance, e-business), a particular application (for example, customer relationship management solutions), a particular component of the client’s infrastructure (such as supply chain management), or a specific software package they can help the client customize and implement. An IT consulting firm (or an IT consulting practice within a larger services firm) might offer services in any of these areas. Industry insiders suggest that consulting engagements involving large-scale implementations of enterprise software are less plentiful than they were a

at a glance

Sample IT Consulting Engagements

the Industry

IT Strategy Case Study

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired


the workplace

A national specialty retailer of women’s apparel, shoes, and accessories lacked an integrated system to support product development and production. Its producttracking and decision-making information was housed across multiple software packages, custom applications, and standardized spreadsheets that were manually updated and exchanged among functions and offices. Simple questions—such as the number of units at a particular factory—could not be answered without extensive manual effort. A leading IT consulting firm performed a comprehensive assessment of current systems and processes and provided a series of recommendations to position the organization for future growth. System recommendations included an assessment of potential vendors, an outline of the services provided by each of those vendors, cost and time estimates, and a detailed project plan. The client expects operational improvements supported by the new, integrated systems will reduce administrative costs almost 50 percent, while reducing operating risk and cycle time.

on the job

IT consulting engagements vary widely—a fact that many IT consultants see as one of the best parts of their jobs. One month you might be at the Midwestern headquarters of a large retailer, helping the client to collect and use customer relations data more effectively. The following month, you’re working with a large nonprofit to automate the way it solicits donations through direct mail and the Internet. The following case studies represent a cross-section of the strategic and operational issues IT consultants typically face.

the companies

few years back. But to make up for the difference, IT is being brought into larger, less specific consulting projects. For example, if a diversified media company is studying its growth, the consulting company might send IT experts to examine how many resources to allocate to technology in the coming years, how many servers the company needs, what internal processes can be automated, and what types of IT skill sets the company will need to bring in-house. This requires IT consultants who can see the broader business strategy. Newcomers to IT consulting should expect to see computer-to-computer communications driving the IT consulting industry forward during the next few years much as the Internet, e-commerce, and Y2K propelled the industry in the IT consulting days of yesteryear. Computer-to-computer communication effectively accelerates the pace of business, and it’s changing the way companies respond to shifts in customer demand for their goods and services. As one insider explains, “There’s a huge wealth of information in point-of-sale data that the company can leverage to its benefit —not just about the customer, but about the ways in which the organization can improve its supply chain and enhance its bottom line. It’s that type of analysis that’s driving the industry right now.” Other insiders suggest technology has helped companies collect more information than they know how to use. Says one: “Great consulting helps companies not only get the data, but also use the data. You have to take that into account from the getgo, which means people who understand marketing are working with the people who are designing the point-of-sale technologies.” For newcomers, this means that being comfortable with technology and its implementation will be necessary to get ahead.

At A Glance


FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired

the workplace

On the job

the companies

The Industry

E-Commerce Study The client—the direct marketing division of a leading global retailer—was facing rapid growth and expansion into e-commerce. The division realized its existing technology and processes would not support this future business; the company needed to select, test, implement, and integrate new facilities, new business and warehousing systems, and new processes. The client selected an IT consulting firm to design new facilities with new procedures and technology applications. Developing new business systems— and integrating them with existing warehouse management systems—was crucial to the client’s transition to new operations, so the consulting firm worked closely with client personnel to ensure that integration was seamless. Collectively, the client and the consulting firm implemented and integrated the system very quickly, enabling the company to ship holiday orders on time and compete at industryleading service levels.

Customer Relationship Management Study The client—a major U.S. bank that provides credit card, banking, and financial services to 10 million customers—wanted to introduce an information distribution and delivery infrastructure that would enhance its competitive position in the financial services industry. To achieve this goal, it needed to strengthen customer ties weakened by a decade of consolidation and cost-cutting. In addition, it needed to consolidate the customer data, which was currently housed in more than 33 nonintegrated systems. With the help of a leading consulting firm, the client implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) solution that would help it cultivate and nurture personalized customer relationships. The CRM system provided a central information repository, allowing the company to identify its most valuable customers, understand and analyze customer behavior, develop an optimum mix of products and services, and tailor marketing campaigns to address customer needs. Further, this 10


personalized approach allowed the bank to provide relevant, timely information to customers, thereby increasing its share of each customer’s business.

Supply Chain Management Case Study One of the largest specialty chemical companies in the world wanted to integrate its suppliers and customers using Internet-based technology. To achieve this goal, the company engaged a top-tier consulting firm to develop a strategy for optimizing the demand for its construction-chemical business. First, the consulting firm conducted a preliminary strategy assessment and vendor selection process. Next, it provided a long-term plan for optimizing customer relations, and—on the basis of this plan— helped the client implement a solution that was easily integrated with its existing information systems. By rapidly deploying its supply chain management, the consulting firm helped its client increase revenue, reduce costs, improve customer retention, and enhance its competitive advantage. The channel now provides customers with real-time product pricing and information, 24/7 order entry and tracking, and just-in-time deliverables.

IT Consulting Outlook The overall economy is gloomy and the

future of technology development in the U.S. is being clouded by overseas competition, but the outlook for IT consulting is surprisingly sunny. As companies try to do more and more with less and less, they’re relying heavily on technology to stretch their capacities further than ever. Trying to remain as lean as possible, many firms are reluctant to build their in-house capacities by hiring employees with expensive technology skills. They’ve turned instead to the advice and expertise of consultants. The result has

at a glance

business intelligence, business optimization and transformation, as well as how a company expands its client base in order to gain share. Companies are seeking to identify and classify security risks and protect their data from all forms of attack. They face regulatory demands and pressure to increase productivity without buying more ‘stuff.’”

on the job

Trends in IT Consulting It’s Not Easy Being Green (So Hire Consultants to Do It for You)

11

FOR YOUR REFERENCE


getting hired

As temperatures around the globe are heating up, so is the market for green technologies and environmentally friendly business practices. With Democratic and Republican presidential candidates both on record supporting a mandatory cap-andtrade system, companies of all shapes and sizes are trying to figure out how to reduce their carbon footprint and manage soaring transportation costs. Few of these companies have in-house experts in sustainability, so they’re turning to consultants. While a number of small boutique firms are offering carbon audits and greenhouse gas inventories, insiders indicate that major consulting firms are only beginning to craft offerings for this market. McKinsey, BCG, Accenture, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and A.T. Kearney (which is attempting to become the first carbon-neutral

the workplace

“You have to be used to adjusting to different cultures. We are always stepping onto someone else’s turf.”

A note in IBM’s annual report explains why the demand for IT consulting has been rising: “As we head into uncertain economic times in some parts of the world, one fact remains constant: Businesses continue to invest in IT. It saves them money and manages businesscritical needs—such as enterprise security, real-time analytics, risk management,

the companies

INSIDER SCOOP

π IBM’S TAKE: GROWING DEMAND FOR IT CONSULTING

the Industry

been “The New Tech Boom,” to quote the title of an article in Consulting Magazine’s August 2008 issue. A survey of 127 IT services companies by the National Association of Computer Consulting Businesses (NACCB) found that the average revenue of an IT services firm grew 11.2 percent from 2007 to 2008. Producers of IT products, such as IBM, Oracle, and Unisys, have watched the marketplace for their products shrink as competition from overseas firms has intensified. To compensate for lost product revenues, they’ve begun to supplement their product sales by offering services, making their companies into one-stop shops for technology, IT strategy, training, and implementation. For some companies, this strategy is paying off. IBM now earns more from services than products. The company brought in 13 percent more revenue during the tumultuous fiscal year leading up to August 2008 thanks mostly to the success of its service-based business model. According to the NACCB, IT employment reached an all-time high in June 2008, with services mostly responsible for pushing the numbers over the top. “Tech producers are going overseas to cut costs,” says Thomas Lah, executive director of the Technology Professional Services Association. “But they are also hiring more consultants to cut costs. We’ve seen this industry [IT consulting] grow and keep growing during the current downturn.”

aT a glaNCE


ThE INDusTry

> TIP

FOr yOur rEFErENCE

gETTINg hIrED

ThE WOrkPlaCE

ON ThE JOb

ThE COmPaNIEs

If you’ve set your sights on IT consulting, it’s not enough to establish your capacity for problem solving and willingness to travel to resolve clients’ challenges. You also must know what you find compelling about a given industry or function, and what trends characterize that sector. It’s important to show you have done substantial research. If you can prove to your interviewer you have what it takes to be a consultant and know what kind of consulting you’d like to do, you’ll give yourself the best chance of being hired.

consulting fi rm by 2010, in part by reducing business travel) all have emerging services in this area. IBM also off ers programs to reduce energy consumption in data centers. In summer 2008, it launched a service designed to help companies match their environmental policies and practices with their customer preferences. Boutiques such as Point Carbon and Clear Carbon Consulting off er pure-play services to this market. Th ough still small, they have been growing. Technology is part of the problem and the solution. Servers and data centers use about $4.5 billion in electricity each year, equivalent to the amount used by 5.8 million U.S. households, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Th e EPA says more effi cient technologies could help these data centers cut their carbon emissions by more than half by 2011. Consulting fi rms recognize an opportunity to help companies save energy and thus save money, and are gearing up with case studies and practices designed to take advantage of what’s expected to be a fast-growing market.

rEally vIrTual Consultants are the original road warriors, racking up hundreds of thousands of frequent-fl yer miles each year. However, rising travel costs, increasing 12


airline delays, and advances in technologies such as teleconferencing and collaborative software have been driving down the frequency of travel. As a result, consultants increasingly need to master new skills and become as eff ective in the art of managing virtual meetings and presentations as they are at packing their suitcases.

ThE rIsE OF busINEss PrOCEss OuTsOurCINg One of the trends shaping the demand for IT consulting services is the shift toward business process outsourcing (BPO). Outsourcing represents the biggest growth opportunity for many businessservices fi rms. So what exactly is BPO? As the name suggests, business process outsourcing is the contracting of a specifi c business task to a third-party service provider. According to Gartner research, BPO is an approximately $300 billion market, and it will only gain momentum during the next few years. According to one insider, “Outsourcing is growing, and not going to go away.” Usually, BPO is implemented as a cost-saving measure for tasks that a company requires but does not depend on to maintain its position in the marketplace. If companies can outsource their noncore operations to an outside provider ,who can most likely provide these services more effi ciently and cost-eff ectively, they can focus on the issues intrinsic to their business. Popular candidates for outsourcing include fi nance, human resources, employee training, procurement, and logistics. Th ough it is sometimes included under the larger BPO umbrella, IT outsourcing accounts for such a substantial proportion of total outsourcing revenue that it’s typically aff orded its own category. Virtually all of the IT consulting heavy hitters ,such as IBM, Accenture, Capgemini, and CSC, rely on their sizable technology outsourcing practices to buoy their revenue growth, especially when revenues in their consulting practices lag. Not only do many consulting fi rms win billions of dollars doing this type of work, they also can take advantage of the

aT a glaNCE ThE COmPaNIEs ON ThE JOb

of IT services, thanks in part to its 2002 acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ consulting arm. HP is another major player; its 2008 acquisition of EDS, a large IT consulting fi rm founded by former presidential candidate Ross Perot, made it the secondlargest IT and business services provider. Adding consulting services to their off erings gives hardware and software fi rms the opportunity to build stable repeat revenue on top of their manufacturing bases. Insiders warn newcomers to investigate consulting opportunities at hardware and software fi rms carefully—not all are created equal. Some fi rms might just be using services as a way to sell more products, and their advice inevitably includes buying more of their products, creating unnecessary costs for the clients they’re supposed to be helping. Major players, such as IBM and HP, carefully manage their engagements to preclude this confl ict of interest and prevent clients from feeling cheated. Carefully question prospective employers about their practices regarding recommending technologies to clients. Recruiters should have straightforward answers.

ThE INDusTry

ample cross-selling opportunities to expand their consulting businesses. Firms such as IBM, EDS (now owned by HP), and CSC are among the largest providers of IT and business process outsourcing services. Not only has the expansion of the BPO market meant more competition among consulting fi rms, it also has indirectly launched a diff erent type of opportunity for strategic consulting fi rms such as McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. Although fi rms in this category do not act as third-party providers of business processes, they might advise companies on issues related to BPO. For example, they might help a client company think about how to select vendors, how to negotiate pricing, and how to manage relationships with third-party providers. Regardless of the specifi c process that clients outsource, the strategy behind outsourcing is usually similar. As such, pureplay strategy consultancies have capitalized on their own revenue-generating opportunity by off ering frameworks for addressing their clients’ BPO strategies.

ThE WOrkPlaCE

INSIDER SCOOP “It’s a lot easier to sell consulting services to a client if you’ve already gotten your foot in the door with outsourcing work.”

EvEryONE IN ThE POOl gETTINg hIrED

Perhaps the most infl uential trend to shape the competitive IT consulting market landscape has been the entry of computer software and hardware producers into the consulting business. Experts suggest that the seeds of this trend were planted in the 1990s. As IT consulting revenue skyrocketed, software manufacturing companies watched their profi t margins shrink as global competition intensifi ed and their products became commoditized. Consulting off ered a way to advise on technology as well as sell it. IBM has led the pack in this. It has successfully leveraged its brand recognition and technical know-how to become the world’s largest provider

FOr yOur rEFErENCE


13

At A Glance The Industry the companies

The Bottom Line IT consulting can be a great fit for individuals looking for a way to combine business problem-solving and technical expertise. The industry is experiencing strong growth, but competition for positions will still be fierce. Individuals with engineering backgrounds need to show they are not too geeky to work with the technically illiterate; individuals with business backgrounds need to demonstrate they are comfortable working on tech-heavy projects. It’s an uncommon combination of competencies, but if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Careers in IT consulting offer an opportunity to use both sides of your business-technology split personality. Starting salaries might be higher than what

you would earn if you used only half of your skill set in a technology job or a business strategy position. But the news isn’t all good. Consultants work long hours, travel almost constantly, and rarely get to stick around long enough to see their meticulously calculated projects come to fruition (or fail miserably). That said, even if you end up fleeing the consulting gig after a year or two, which many people do—annual attrition rates at top firms fall between 10 and 20 percent—you will gain exposure to a variety of businesses, technologies, places, and individuals you wouldn’t get in a decade of working a normal office job.

π WHY CONSULTING? Many companies—particularly Fortune 500 companies—call on external consultants even though they have internal consultants on the payroll, because it turns out to be more economical. External consultants generally tackle issues with which the client has little prior experience, or handle projects for which the client has insufficient in-house capability. One-time, resource-intensive projects such as reorganizing a company after a merger or launching a customer relationship management system to leverage point-of-sale data—these are the types of initiatives for which a company is likely to enlist a consultant. Because it would be impractical to keep such specialized knowledge in-house for a one-time project, companies might find it more economical

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired

the workplace

On the job


14


to outsource these projects to outside firms. Their fees might seem exorbitant, but consulting firms provide critical services to their clients and deliver measurable results. Though a company might bear a significant expense to retain a consulting firm to help with a post-merger systems integration, for example, it would probably cost that company even more to attempt the implementation on its own and make costly mistakes along the way. Not only do consultants often preempt expensive mistakes when an organization attempts a significant change, they offer fresh, objective perspectives, as well as data and market intelligence that an individual organization would have difficulty obtaining on its own.

Because they offer targeted experience across multiple clients and engagements, consultants the processes and human resources capabilities to implement change more smoothly than the clients otherwise could. Clients also value consultants’ objectivity and immunity to internal politics: Unlike a company’s own leadership, consultants can recommend the best course of action for a company without worrying about whether their decision will be unpopular. On the downside, consultants don’t often get to stick around long enough to witness the payoff of the projects they work so hard to design. They also are perennial outsiders who are often viewed with suspicion by the in-house experts they are supposed to be helping.

at a glance

RANK AND FILE: TOP IT CONSULTING COMPANIES strong as that offered by big technology companies such as IBM and HP, or even some specialized boutique firms. The list below includes some of the largest, best-known, and most respected employers in tech consulting, but it’s by no means exhaustive.

Notable Distinctions

Specialties (If Any)

A.T. Kearney

Chicago

1,700 consultants

Fortune Top 100 MBA Employers, Consulting Top Firms for Diversity

Strategy consulting

X

Accenture

Hamilton, Bermuda

178,000

Working Mother 100 Best Companies

IT consulting, strategy consulting

X

Affiliated Computer Services (ACS)

Dallas

62,000

The Black Book of Outsourcing Best-Managed Global Outsourcing Vendor 2007

Outsourcing, health care, government

X

Atos Origin

Paris

60,000

Oracle Technology Partner of the Year Award 2008

IT consulting

Bain

Boston

2,400 consultants

Universum IDEAL Top 10 MBA Employer, Fortune Top 100 MBA Employers

Strategy consulting

X

BearingPoint

McLean, Va.

17,500

ERPWorld.net Top 10 Consulting Firm 2008

IT consulting

X

Booz Allen Hamilton

McLean, Va.

20,000

Fortune Top 100 MBA Employers, Working Mother 100 Best Companies

Strategy consulting

Booz and Company

New York

3,500

Boston

4,000 consultants

Capgemini

Paris

84,000

Google Partner for Excellence 2008

CGI Group

Montreal

26,000

Cognizant Technology Solutions

Teaneck, N.J.

58,000

Convergys

Cincinnati

75,000

Strategy consulting

X

Strategy consulting

X

IT consulting, outsourcing

X

Provides IT Products

getting hired

The Boston Consulting Group

Universum IDEAL Top 10 MBA Employer, Fortune Top 100 MBA Employers, Fortune Top 100 Companies to Work For, Working Mother 100 Best Companies

Provides Non-IT Consulting

the workplace

Estimated Number of Professionals

on the job

Headquarters

the companies

Company

the Industry

Comparing IT consulting firms is tricky. Most firms are privately held, so financials are unavailable. Further, firms vary in the breadth of their services. Although McKinsey might be the most prestigious of the general management consulting firms and does offer some IT consulting, its expertise on highly technical matters is not considered as

IT outsourcing, financial services, telecom IT consulting, outsourcing, strategy consulting

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Forbes FastestGrowing Tech Companies 2008

X

Customer relations outsourcing


15



Company

Headquarters

Estimated Number of Professionals

Notable Distinctions

Specialties (If Any)

Provides Non-IT Consulting

CSC

Falls Church, Va.

79,000

U.S. Treasury Dept. Large Business of the Year 2008

Government, financial services

X

Diamond

Chicago

510 consultants

IT consulting

X

Fujitsu

London

18,500

Intelligent Enterprise Business to Watch for BPM

Systems integration

X

HP

Palo Alto, Calif.

105,000

Working Mother 100 Best Companies

IT consulting

X

IT consulting

X

IBM

Armonk, N.Y.

320,000

DiversityInc Top 50, Fortune Top 100 MBA Employers, Universum IDEAL Top 10 Undergrad Employer (IT), Working Mother 100 Best Companies.

Infosys

Bangalore, India

90,000

Fortune Best Companies for Leaders 2007

Outsourcing, strategy

X

Keane

San Ramon, Calif.

14,500

The Boston Globe AllTime Best Performers

Outsourcing

X

Logica

London

32,400

Oracle Partner of the Year 2008

IT consulting, outsourcing

X

Strategy consulting

X

Provides IT Products

X

McKinsey & Company

New York

6,500 consultants

Universum IDEAL Top 10 MBA Employer, Fortune Top 100 MBA Employers, Working Mother 100 Best Companies

Oracle

Redwood Shores, Calif.

75,000

CRN High-Tech Green Giants

Enterprise management

X

PA Consulting Group

London

Not disclosed

Management Consultancies Association Award for Operational Performance 2008

IT consulting

X

Perot Systems

Plano, Texas.

21,000

Fortune Most Admired Companies

Outsourcing

SAP

Newton, Pa.

51,200

Sapient

Boston

4,952

SAIC

San Diego

43,800

Government

IT consulting Consulting Magazine Award for Achievement in Diversity 2008

Outsourcing, marketing, financial services

Siemens

New York

Not disclosed

Energy, health care

Tata

Mumbai, India

85,000

Offshoring

Unisys

Blue Bell, Pa.

31,000

Wipro

Bangalore, India

50,000

16


X

X X X

X

X Dataquest Top 20 IT Companies 2008

Offshoring

at a glance

the Industry

the companies

on the job

the workplace

getting hired

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

17


The Companies

3

At A Glance The INDUSTRY the companies On the job the workplace getting hired FOR YOUR REFERENCE


Accenture 1345 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10105 Phone: 917-452-4400 Website: www.accenture.com Ticker: ACN

An IT consulting behemoth, Accenture— formerly Andersen Consulting—has been turning heads with its strong growth. In the 2007 fiscal year, the company’s revenue increased 17 percent, continuing its trend of double-digit growth. Much of its growth has been through aggressive overseas expansion. Its bulging client list includes 94 of the Fortune Global 100 and two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500. Accenture started out as the consulting sibling of tax and accounting firm Arthur Andersen. In 1999, tired of having to share profits with its poor relation, Andersen Consulting asked for its independence. Arthur Andersen refused, and the case was submitted to an international arbitration court. The arbitrator put much of the blame for the split on Arthur Andersen, and ordered Andersen Consulting to give up its name and pay $1 billion in exchange for its independence, significantly less than the $14 billion Arthur Andersen wanted. In 2001, Accenture spent $175 million to reintroduce itself under its new name (which rhymes with “adventure” and is meant to convey the firm’s “accent on the future”) and went public. The timing couldn’t have been more fortuitous—a short time later, Arthur Andersen imploded in the wake of the Enron scandal. Today, the firm’s nearly 180,000 employees include more than 4,600 senior executives. Accenture has operations in more than 150 cities in 49 countries. Accenture’s IT offerings are in its systems integration and technology services group and outsourcing service groups. The former is further divided into three groups: technology consulting (which includes application renewal, data center 20


technology and operations, enterprise architecture, IT strategy and transformation, network technology, performance engineering, security, and workplace technology and collaboration); information management (business intelligence, data management and architecture, and portals and content management); and systems integration (Microsoft Solutions, Oracle Solutions, SAP Solutions, and service-oriented architecture). It also has technology research and development, and global delivery and sourcing groups. Outsourcing services include areas for applications, infrastructure, business processes, and bundled outsourcing services. Accenture offers its services to 25 industry sectors. Accenture is one of the largest consulting firms in the world. It does business in three regions: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific. The firm has been expanding its business in Asia-Pacific and taking advantage of the growth of BPO operations in India.

π AT A GLANCE FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL HIGHLIGHTS • • • •

2007 revenue ($M): $19,700 1-year growth rate: 17.7 percent Number of employees, 2007: 180,000 1-year growth rate: 21.4 percent

KEY FACTS • Accenture has been gobbling up small consulting firms, including defense contractors MAXIM and Gestalt; digital marketing technology providers Memetrics and Maxamine; process improvement specialist George Group; and enterprise networking provider Corliant. • Accenture was named the Diversity Initiative Achievement Winner in 2007 by the National Association of Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms. • The company sponsors an annual scholarship competition for junior and community college students.

at a glance

Recent Highlights

Federal government accuses company of cheating the government out of millions of dollars through an illegal kickback scheme over 10 years.

2006

Announces partnership with Microsoft and Avanade to build integrated broadcast system for MediaCorp.

2006

Announces acquisition of Pecaso, an IT firm specializing in SAP Human Capital Management.

on the job

2007

the companies

Introduces “Green Technology Suite” and “Green Maturity Model,” benchmarking tools for measuring a company’s environmental sustainability

the role

2008

For more information, check out the Accenture WetFeet Insider Guide.

the workplace getting hired FOR YOUR REFERENCE


21



Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) 2828 North Haskell Avenue Dallas, TX 75204 Phone: 214-814-6111 Website: www.acs-inc.com Ticker: ACS

Recent Highlights

ACS is ready to do more for companies that want to do less. The Fortune 500 company provides business process outsourcing and IT consulting for companies and organizations seeking outsourcing or business process automation. The company tackles major business headaches such as data storage, customer call centers, servers, and data centers. About 75 percent of its business is BPO-related, and it has 16,000 employees in Mexico, India, Ghana, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines to provide outsourced services. For clients that prefer to keep IT capabilities in-house, ACS provides remote infrastructure management. The company’s clients include local, state, and federal government agencies, numerous health care and health insurance companies, and other commercial organizations. The company’s biggest client is the U.S. Department of Education, for which ACS manages outsourced student loan processing. Although the company maintains an international presence to take advantage of cheap labor elsewhere, 93 percent of its clients are domestic. ACS is on the top of the heap when it comes to BPO. The company ranked number one on The Black Book of Consulting‘s list of the Top 50 Best Managed Global Outsourcing Vendors 2007, as well as Gartner’s Top BPO Worldwide Vendors with Multiple Processes 2006 and Top Comprehensive F&A BPO Venders 2007. In 2006, the company was number 5 on the Fortune list of Most Admired Companies for IT.

2008

22


2008

2007 2007 2006 2006

Opens a 51,535-square-foot customer relations outsourcing center in Nashville, Tennessee, and hires 450 people to staff the center. Buys Transportation Management Systems, which provides transportation companies with GPS-based fleet management systems. Completes restructuring, leading to 2,500 layoffs. Acquires CDR, a health care billing company, and Albion’s @Vantage software Acquires Primax Recoveries, another health care billing company. Acquires Systech Integrators, a provider of SAP software services.


2007 revenue ($M): $5,772.5 1-year growth rate: 7.8 percent Number of employees, 2007: 60,000 1-year growth rate: 11.5 percent

KEY FACTS • Government contracts accounted for 40 percent of ACS revenues in 2007. • In fiscal year 2007, the company won 94 percent of total renewals it sought with existing clients, suggesting it has been keeping customers happy. • For five consecutive years, the company has been named among the Top 20 Companies in the Training Outsourcing Industry by TrainingOutsourcing.com.

at a glance

Launches Dubai office.

2008

Ex-Bain consultant Mitt Romney unsuccessfully vies for the Republican presidential nomination.

2006

Bain consultant Ashish Singh named one of the industry’s 25 top consultants by Consulting Magazine.

For more information, check out the Bain WetFeet Insider Guide.

on the job the workplace


2007 revenue ($M): Not avilable 1-year growth rate: Not available Number of employees, 2007: 3,550 1-year growth rate: Not available

getting hired

KEY FACTS • Government contracts accounted for 40 percent of ACS revenues in 2007. • More than half of the company’s revenues come from outside of North America. • Bain has a formal mentoring system that provides access to senior consultants for career advice. • Bain has an externship program, in which consultants can gain firsthand experience in an industry by working directly for a client for up to 12 months. • Every year the company sponsors the Bain World Cup, an employee soccer tournament. WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Bain & Company is one of the most prestigious strategy consulting firms and has 38 offices in 25 countries. It’s a general strategy firm and was relatively late to the IT consulting market, but now has a variety of offerings, including complexity management, outsourcing and offshoring, and IT strategic planning. Although technology skills can help differentiate applicants, the company expects all of its consultants to be generalists. Much of the firm’s work involves the IT implications of strategy formulation, IT support, and program management. Bain also works on implementation engagements—sticking around to help a company put its suggestions into practice—as well as on the high-level strategy and diagnostic engagements that are still its bread and butter. In 2007, the company hired John Frelinghuysen as a partner to head efforts to develop intellectual property in the area of digital media and consumer insight. Bain nearly went under in the late 1980s, when its debt load, a recession, and negative publicity resulting from a conflict of interest entered into by a Bain VP combined to put the firm on its heels. Bain sent founder Bill Bain packing in 1991, and promoted Orit Gadiesh, one of the darlings of the consulting world, to run the show starting in 1993; since then, Bain’s performance has generally been quite strong. Indeed, its current consultant headcount of 2,400 represents a growth of more than 400 percent from its 1991 consultant headcount of 550. Bain ranked sixth on the 2008 Fortune list Where MBAs Most Want to Work.

2008

the companies

131 Dartmouth Street Boston, MA 02116 Phone: 617-572-2000 Website: www.bain.com Ticker: Private company

Recent Highlights the role

Bain & Company

23



BearingPoint 1676 International Drive McLean, VA 22102 Phone: 703-747-3000 Website: www.bearingpoint.com Ticker: BE

BearingPoint, formerly KPMG Consulting, is

a systems integrator, business adviser, and outsourcing services provider. The firm goes to market in a number of industries, including banking, insurance, automotive, chemicals and natural resources, communications, consumer package goods, content, defense, education, electronics and software, government, health services, industrial markets, nonprofit, oil and gas, retail/ wholesale, transportation, and utilities. Its offerings include CRM; enterprise resource planning (ERP); search solutions (it teamed with Google to launch this practice); supply chain management; technology infrastructure and integration; strategy, process, and transformation; finance; service-oriented architecture; and outsourcing (including HR business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing). The company is a major player in the IT consulting sector, offering expertise in strategy, CRM applications, enterprise solutions, and technology integration. It recently introduced an outsourcing practice, bringing its portfolio of offerings in line with competitors such as Accenture and IBM. It has built alliances with tech companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP, demonstrating its prowess with digital services. Its clients include the 15 U.S. federal cabinet-level departments and the top 15 global tech hardware manufacturers. Recruiters at BearingPoint say tech skills are nearly essential for scoring an offer. Applicants should detail their programming expertise and emphasize any experience solving strategic business issues using technology. “We do look for soft skills,” says a BearingPoint recruiter. “You have to be able to understand geek-speak and translate it for a business 24


audience.” Leadership abilities also are key, and experience in community service, campus politics, or a fraternity or sorority can help set your application apart. Most BearingPoint consultants travel extensively. The firm employs the 5-4-3 formula common in the industry—five days of work, four onsite at a client’s office, three nights away from home every week. However, those who work closely with government clients will likely stay close to the office in Virginia; those who work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a major BearingPoint client, will stay near Atlanta. The company also promotes telecommuting from home when it is feasible. The firm traces its roots to 1870, when William Barclay Peat (the P in the former KPMG moniker) founded his London accounting firm. More than a century of mergers culminated in 1987, when Peat Marwick International and Klynveld Main Goerdeler merged to become the modern, world-class firm. The consulting arm separated from KPMG, its Big Four parent, in 2000. In 2001, KPMG Consulting went public, and in 2002 it changed its name to BearingPoint. It also went on an acquisition spree, adding practices and expanding around the world. Today, the firm has offices in more than 60 countries. The newly named BearingPoint has had a rocky start, plagued by steep losses, poor accounting, and difficulty building its brand overseas.


2007 revenue ($M): $3,456 1-year growth rate: 0.3 percent Number of employees, 2007: 17,100 1-year growth rate: -2.3 percent

KEY FACTS • Contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense account for more than 10 percent of BearingPoint’s sales.

at a glance

Recent Highlights

2007

BearingPoint agrees to pay ex-client Hawaii Telco $52 million (and forgive an additional $30 million in previously submitted invoices) beacause of contract violations.

2006

Partners with Google to launch search solutions practice group.

2006

Opens new software development center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

2006

Lands a spot on Fortune’s America’s Most Admired Companies list.

2006

The company discloses that its inability to provide timely financial reports had caused suspicion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

the workplace

The financially troubled firm hires Accenture veteran Ed Harbach as COO and president.

on the job

2007

the companies

The company posts nearly $363 million in losses for fiscal year 2007.

the role

2007

getting hired FOR YOUR REFERENCE


25

At A Glance The INDUSTRY the companies On the job the workplace

Booz Allen Hamilton 8283 Greensboro Drive McLean, VA 22102 Phone: 703-902-5000 Website: www.boozallen.com Ticker: Private company In May 2008, Booz Allen Hamilton announced the divorce of its global commercial business and technology business. The U.S.-based technology business was sold to The Carlyle Group, a private equity investment firm whose advisers have included George H.W. Bush, and operates under the firm’s historic name: Booz Allen Hamilton. The worldwide commercial business—and the IT consultants from the technology business working outside the U.S.— operate under the moniker Booz & Company. Booz Allen Hamilton is the oldest management consulting firm still in business and claims to be the first to use the term “management consultant.” It has consistently earned high marks as an employer, making it into Fortune’s 2008 Top 100 MBA Employers and 2008 Top 100 Companies to Work For and Working Mother’s 2007 100 Best Companies. The firm has about 20,000 consultants, and its public-sector expertise is among the best-regarded in the field; in 2007, it did about $1.2 billion in business with the U.S. Department of Defense (and $1.8 billion with the government overall), ranking 24th on Government Executive’s Top 200 Federal Contractors List.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired


26


Recent Highlights 2008

Booz Allen Hamilton is sold to The Carlyle Group in a $2.45 billion acquisition.

2008

Named to Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For list.

2008

Inducted into Training magazine’s Top 10 Hall of Fame.


2007 revenue ($M): $4,100 1-year growth rate: 10.8 percent Number of employees, 2007: 19,000 1-year growth rate: 9.8 percent

at a glance

Recent Highlights Antonella Mei-Pochtler, a consultant at BCG, is named one of the Top 25 Consultants of 2008 by Consulting magazine.

2006

The company opens offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

For more information, check out The Boston Consulting Group WetFeet Insider Guide.

getting hired

π AT A GLANCE FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL HIGHLIGHTS • • • • • •

2007 revenue ($M): $1,800 1-year sales growth: 20 percent Number of employees, 2006: 6,270 1-year employee growth: 14 percent Number of consultants, 2006: 4,000 (estimated) 1-year growth rate: 8 percent

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

KEY FACTS • BCG offers 10- to 16-week summer internships and hires many people who complete the program.


the workplace

2008

on the job

The Boston Consulting Group is one of the top-tier management consulting firms and offers consulting on a wide range of business concerns, including IT. Although the firm has no specific IT practice area, insiders say the company actively recruits for consultants with IT expertise. Founded in 1963, BCG came to prominence in the 1970s when it began challenging McKinsey & Company for high-level strategy work with large corporations. The firm has developed a number of analytical tools, such as capability-driven competitive strategies, as well as concepts such as total shareholder return, which are used throughout the consulting industry. BCG has always had a strong international presence; its second office was in Tokyo. Today, BCG has more than 60 offices in some 28 countries—nearly two-thirds of its business comes from overseas work. Aside from its sterling reputation as a strategic adviser, the company consistently earns recognition as an employer of choice—inside and outside of the consulting ranks. In 2008 it ranked number 11 on Fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, marking its third consecutive year on the list. The strength of its employment brand can be attributed at least in part to its tight-knit culture, which BCG works hard to maintain. Insiders say business acumen trumps technical expertise when choosing applicants. “We build on the skills you have, but develop the ones you don’t,” says

the companies

1 Exchange Place, 6th Floor Boston, MA 02109 Phone: 617-973-1200 Fax: 617-973-1399 Website: www.bcg.com Ticker: Private company

one recruiter. “It’s easier for us to teach the technical stuff, but we can’t teach composure, communication, and leadership.” Applicants with strong technical backgrounds might be grilled on their expertise during later-stage interviews, but all hires must pass business case interviews and show a proficiency with analytical business thinking. Recruiters stress there is no ideal candidate. The company recruits MBAs at Harvard, Stanford, Kellogg, the University of Chicago, Wharton, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. It recruits undergrads at many of the same and similar schools.

the role

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

27



Capgemini Place de l’Etoile U.S. Headquarters: 11, rue de Tilsit 750 Seventh Avenue, 75017 Paris, France Suite 1800 Phone: +33 1-47-54-50-00 New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212-314-8000 Website: www.capgemini.com Ticker: Foreign company


In the first half of fiscal year 2008, North American markets brought in 5.4 percent more revenue than in the first half of 2007, and tech services (including IT consulting) brought in about 6 percent more revenue.

2007

Acquires Kanbay International, a Indian IT services firm with 7,000 employees that specializes in the consumer packaged goods and banking industries.

2006

Opens a third office in India, in Kolkata (Calcutta), which will initially focus on finance and accounting business process outsourcing, package implementation, and Web-based software development.

2005

Releases first business-focused ServiceOriented Architecture methodology into the public domain.

2005

Salil Parekh is named general manager of North American Project and Consulting business.

Capgemini, the largest supplier of information

technology services in Europe, became the world’s second-largest consulting practice when it acquired the management consulting side of Ernst & Young in May 2000. With the acquisition, Capgemini significantly increased its North American business, which represents about 20 percent of its revenue. Capgemini is organized into four areas of business: consulting (including HR consulting), technology, outsourcing (including HR and IT outsourcing), and local professional services (in the form of SogetiTransiciel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capgemini that provides IT services for small- to midsize projects in Europe and North America, contributing some 15 percent of Capgemini’s total revenue). The early 2000s were rough on Capgemini, and included revenue declines in many businesses and regions, in large part because of the acquisition of the IT-focused E&Y consulting business just before the technology market began to stumble. The technology consulting market is on the rise these days, though, and Capgemini seems well-positioned to flourish if that rise continues. Technology services accounted for 38.5 percent of the firm’s revenues in 2007 and employ about 40,000 people. Offerings include IT consulting, systems architecture, and software package implementation. The company has identified business information management as a major growth area and expects to see 30 percent growth in sales in this area during the next few years.

28



2007 revenue (€M): €12,841 1-year growth rate: 11 percent Number of employees, 2007: 84,000 1-year growth rate: 19 percent

KEY FACTS • About 20 percent of Capgemini’s business is in North America; the U.K. and Ireland account for 26 percent of business. • The company added 11,000 jobs in tech services (including IT consulting) in fiscal year 2007. • More than half of the company’s employees are between 25 and 34 years old.

at a glance

CGI Group the role

1130 Sherbrooke Street West, Seventh Floor Montreal, Quebec H3A 2M8, Canada Phone: +1 514-841-3200 Website: www.cgi.com Ticker: GIB


Opens “Center of Excellence” in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The site will specialize in emerging technology and Web and application maintenance and is expected to house 250 professionals.

2007

Acquires Codesic Consulting.

2006

Michael Roach is promoted from COO to CEO.

2006

Acquires IT consulting and services companies Plaut Consulting and Pangaea Systems.

on the job

π AT A GLANCE

the workplace

firm, offering end-to-end IT and business process outsourcing services. Founded in 1976, CGI is 30 percent owned by Bell Canada Enterprises, Canada’s biggest telecom group. CGI has grown rapidly during the last several years via acquisitions, at a rate of about five per year from 2000 to 2006. The strategy seems to be paying off with higher profits. In 2007, the company claimed to have a “record-breaking year” with growth in every quarter, geographic market, and line of business. In the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, the momentum was still strong; its bookings were up 25 percent from the same quarter a year before. In its 2007 annual report, founder Serge Godin and CEO Michael Roach wrote that their chief goal was “to profitably double CGI’s size over the next three to five years.” This means it will be hiring—a lot. CGI has a particularly strong presence in the telecom and financial services industries. In 2007, American Banker ranked CGI 15th in the top 100 service providers to the financial services industry.

the companies

CGI Group is the largest Canadian IT services

FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL HIGHLIGHTS 2007 revenue ($M): $3,741.6 1-year growth rate: 19.8 percent Number of employees, 2007: 26,000 1-year growth rate: 6.1 percent

getting hired

• • • •

KEY FACTS


FOR YOUR REFERENCE

• CGI founders Serge Godin and André Imbeau continue to run the company as executive chairman of the board and executive vice chairman, respectively. • The company calls its employees “members”; 80 percent own stock in the company. • Canada claims 60 percent of CGI’s market, while the United States holds 33 percent.

29

At A Glance The INDUSTRY

3170 Fairview Park Drive Falls Church, VA 22042 Phone: 703-876-1000 Website: www.csc.com

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired

the workplace

On the job

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)

the companies


In 2006, Computer Sciences Corporation went up for sale and found a buyer—itself. The company repurchased $2 billion of its common stock and charted an aggressive new course. In 2007, the giant IT services firm announced the $1.3 billion acquisition of Covansys, a U.S.-based consulting and technology company with more than 70 percent of its resources based in India. The move brought CSC 8,200 new employees, including 6,000 in India, doubling the company’s workforce on the subcontinent. In 2008, the company is expanding its global footprint, with a special effort to increase its presence in India. If you work at CSC, you’d better not mind dealing with the bureaucracy of a large company. With its consistent growth through acquisitions, the firm is getting larger all the time. “It’s easy to get lost between all the levels,” an insider says. On the upside, the firm offers a certain amount of security. Somewhere within the levels of this big bureaucracy, you’ll be able to find your place and stay. “It’s hard to pinpoint our culture,” one insider says. “It’s different from office to office, region to region, and country to country.” Insiders joke that CSC stands for “Collection of Small Companies.” You might also say it’s a collection of small cultures. Some offices require a suit and tie, while others tolerate khakis. Whether you’re wearing a three-piece suit or Dockers, the ability to work collaboratively 30


is strongly emphasized. “Over and above normal consultant skills, we look for people who really have a commitment to being part of a team,” a recruiter says. “Also, we look for people interested in lifelong learning. We want a person who can learn new things.” If you can do that while flying, all the better: Certain groups—the ERP practice, for one—travel virtually all the time. Insiders rave about the caliber of their coworkers and managers. “People are highly intelligent and motivated,” says one. “The management team is amazing,” says another. “It’s responsive and dedicated.” Management gets high marks for helping team members navigate the large organization. “This is a place where the leadership actually leads,” says an insider. The firm has recently displayed an interest in technical people, project managers, business analysts, and programmers, says a recruiter. Specifically, the company desires technical designers specializing in Java, J2EE, or .NET; technical leads; systems or database architects; project managers; and business analysts. CSC also wants a few good ERP candidates,


2008 revenue ($M): $16,499.5 1-year change: 11.1 percent Number of employees, 2008: 89,000 1-year change: Not available

KEY FACTS • Federal government contracts generated 36 percent of CSC’s revenue in fiscal year 2007, with two-thirds of the work coming from the U.S. Department of Defense. • CSC’s commercial revenue is split relatively evenly between the U.S. (26 percent) and Europe (30 percent), with the remainder coming from other international clients. • Recent contracts include a $1.3 billion deal with Zurich Financial Services, a $1.1 billion deal with Textron, and a $600 million agreement with Aon.

at a glance the role

especially if they have experience with Hyperion, Oracle, SAP, or Supply Chain Management. Undergraduates will find many entry-level opportunities. “Unlike smaller, more specialized corporations, CSC offers the freedom to explore different technologies and the mobility to move from one role to another.” says a recent college recruit. You might need to have done some of that exploration before joining the company, though—CSC looks for experience and technical skills in its new recruits. Once you get in, CSC offers training and professional development and a tuition program for aspiring MBAs. You don’t get those two years off, though— most consultants aspiring to MBAs keep their day jobs and take classes at night. Even CSC’s techies and HR staffers take advantage of this program. Both undergraduates and MBAs fill junior programmer and junior business analyst positions. MBA recruitment is very selective at CSC, but in exchange the firm offers its MBAs high-profile positions. “Once selected at this level, you get the chance to work closely with top executives,” says a recruiter. The midcareer level is CSC’s strong suit; the broadest range and largest number of openings are found for experienced hires.

the companies on the job the workplace

Recent Highlights

2007

Mike Laphen becomes CEO.

2007

Completes $1.3 billion acquisition of Covansys, a tech consulting company with operations in India.

2007

Opens new delivery center in Prague in response to client demand and as part of its World Sourcing model.

2006

Company repurchases $2 billion of its common stock to pursue aggressive expansion strategy.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Recognized by the U.S. Treasury as Large Business of the Year.

getting hired

2008


31



Convergys 201 East 4th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513-723-7000 Website: www.convergys.com Ticker: CVG


David Dougherty becomes president and CEO.

2006

Wins Best Overall Company Award at Telestrategies’ Billing World 2006.

2006

Signs multiyear agreement to provide outsourced billing and professional services to Disney Mobile.

2005

Named to Fortune’s list of America’s Most Admired Companies for a fifth consecutive year; ranked number one among peers in innovation and social responsibility.

2005

ESPN Mobile selects Convergys to provide rating and billing software as well as professional and consulting services.

Convergys provides consulting services,

software support, and business process outsourcing (customer care and human resources services) in many industries, including communications, financial services, technology, and consumer products. Convergys emphasizes that it differentiates itself through the innovative use of technology to fulfill these client needs. It offers a “technical career path” especially designed for individuals with high levels of technical expertise. A member of the S&P 500, Convergys is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has more than 75,000 employees in 84 customer contact centers, three data centers, and other facilities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. One of the company’s fastest growing segments is the consulting and professional services unit (Convergys Professional Services), which includes IT consulting. According to the company’s 2007 annual report, it is growing “consulting and professional services capabilities that leverage [its] combined expertise in communications, business support, software and services development, and customer care and HR outsourcing operating best practices.” The consulting unit focuses on business strategy and development, business process improvement, systems integration, and operations. It accounted for $267 million of revenues in 2007. Convergys consultants are based throughout the world and, whenever possible, consultants are staffed to work at client sites in the city in which they live. Convergys offers paid internships and co-op positions to qualified undergraduate and graduate candidates and recruits at 15 U.S. universities. 32



2007 revenue ($M): $2,844 1-year change: 2 percent Number of employees, 2007: 75,000 1-year growth rate: 14.2 percent

KEY FACTS • InformationWeek ranked Convergys in the Top 10 for Innovative Use of Technology 2008. • Convergys provides services to more than half of the Fortune 500. • Revenues from AT&G were 16.3 percent of the company’s consolidated revenues.

at a glance

Announces development of a $300 million learning and leadership center in Westlake, Texas, which will include a 750,000-squarefoot campus and 800 guest rooms for hosting Deloitte’s employees during training.

2008

Forms collaborative initiative with Cisco to develop BPO offerings using Cisco’s network platform.

2007

Buys Xcelicor, an Oracle human capital management firm.

2006

Announces a collaborative initiative with Sun Microsystems to help clients with regulatory compliance and technology governance.

2006

Opens Center for Network Innovation in Washington, D.C., to help public- and private-sector clients better deal with integrating diverse technology systems.

2006

Two Deloitte consultants named to Consulting Magazine’s annual list of the 25 top consultants in the industry.

on the job the workplace

For more information, check out the Deloitte Consulting WetFeet Insider. getting hired

π AT A GLANCE FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL HIGHLIGHTS • 2007 revenue ($M): $5,190 (for Deloitte Consulting) • 1-year growth rate: 16.5 percent (for Deloitte Consulting) • Number of employees, 2007: 146,000 (for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu) • 1-year employee growth: 8.6 percent (for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu)


FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Deloitte Consulting, along with Deloitte & Touche LLP (one of the Big Four accounting firms), is part of the global professional services organization Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The firm offers its clients service lines that include enterprise applications, outsourcing, strategy and operations, technology integration, and human capital. It focuses on nine industries: aviation and transport services; consumer businesses; energy and resources; financial services; life sciences and health care; manufacturing; the public sector; real estate; and technology, media, and communications. Deloitte is a general strategy consulting firm, but it is well known for its strong technology consulting practice. The firm consistently wins accolades for the work environment it offers employees, despite the lifestyle challenges inherent in a consulting career. In 2007, it made Working Mother’s annual list of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers for the 15th consecutive year and ranked 18th on Fortune’s 2007 list of 100 Top MBA Employers. All that buzz means stiffer competition for applicants: In 2007, 52,880 people applied for entry-level jobs; 1,996 (about 4 percent) were hired. In 2007, 90 percent of entry-level hires had been undergrad interns at the firm. Business was by far the most common major among those accepted (56 percent); computer science (6 percent) and engineering (4 percent) came in at a distant second and fourth place, respectively. Incoming undergrads can expect to earn an annual base salary of between $45,000 and $60,000. Most recruits get signing bonuses of about $3,800.

2008

the companies

1633 Broadway New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212-489-1600 Website: www.deloitte.com

Recent Highlights the role

Deloitte Consulting

33



Diamond Management & Technology Consultants

INSIDER SCOOP

The John Hancock Center 875 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3000 Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: 312-255-5000 Website: www.diamondconsultants.com Ticker: DTPI


Chicago Mayor Richard Daley presents Diamond with a WorkForceChicago Award for its strong employee training and development programs.

Diamond Management & Technology Consultants was formed in 2000, when Cluster Consulting and Diamond Technology Partners merged. Cluster, which was founded in 1993, was more international; Diamond Technology Partners, founded in 1994, was known for its use of small, interdisciplinary teams and its virtual-office structure. The firm works with companies to help them employ emerging technologies. It also operates the DiamondExchange, a program that facilitates conversations among top executives and experts in strategy, technology, operations, and learning. After a serious drop-off in business after the dotcom bust, the firm is back on track, with strong fiscal years from 2004 through 2007—including doubledigit revenue growth. Revenues in 2008 showed a slightly more modest 7.8 percent increase from the previous year. In its 2008 annual report, Diamond stated it sought to increase its consultant-to-partner ratio from six or seven consultants per partner to ten. “These additional staff will be junior-level consultants performing more of the execution work on our projects that is currently being performed by inhouse or third-party resources,” the report says. For newcomers, this means the firm is looking to expand its ranks, but newbie consultants won’t have as much one-on-one time with partners.

2006

Adam Gutstein takes over as CEO.

2006

Consulting Magazine names Diamond as one of its Top Ten Places to Work.

34


“I was worried about working for a virtual firm— maybe I wouldn’t feel like I belonged anywhere or maybe I wouldn’t get to know my colleagues. But actually, my coworkers are the best part of working here. Even though we are a virtual firm, we give each other a lot of support and there is a strong culture here”

π

AT A GLANCE

FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL HIGHLIGHTS • • • •

2008 revenue ($M): $182.3 million 1-year growth rate: 8 percent Number of employees, 2008: 495consultants 1-year growth rate: -19.3 percent

KEY FACTS • The company runs an information and analytics center in Mumbai, India, where econometricians and economists analyze the market and operations data of Diamond’s clients. • Diamond has its greatest presence in the financial services and insurance industries, which account for 37 percent and 23 percent of sales, respectively, in 2008. • In 2008, contracts with Goldman Sachs accounted for 10 percent of its revenue.

at a glance

Hewlett-Packard is the most successful

INSIDER SCOOP “Since we work for a technology company, we often have a presence at many companies that some consulting-only companies don’t have yet. This can give us an insider track to winning more work for HP.”

Recent Highlights HP acquires tech consulting mega-player EDS.

2006

Boardroom snooping scandal eventually leads to the dismissal of Chairwoman Patricia Dunn.

2006

HP buys Opsware, a data center automation vendor, for $1.6 billion.

2005

After uneven financial results, HP’s board replaces CEO Carly Fiorina with Mark Hurd.

getting hired

π

AT A GLANCE


the workplace

2008

on the job

manufacturer in the high-tech industry, dominating the global PC market and broadening its lead over Dell, which it surpassed in 2006 to become the largest PC maker. HP is now charging headlong into offering more technology services to complement its product portfolio. In May 2008, the company shelled out $13.9 billion for EDS, a major computer-services firm. Industry analysts unanimously agree that the bold move is a direct attempt to counter the success of IBM. When the acquisition is complete, HP will create a new business group that will hang onto the old EDS name and be headquartered in EDS’s old offices in Plano, Texas. Recruiters at HP describe the culture as “fastpaced, high-teaming, and challenging.” They note that successful applicants have technology and business experience and must be willing to travel up to 100 percent of the time. They also say helpfulness and a willingness to go the extra mile is a key to success at the company. The emphasis on being supportive applies to coworkers and clients. As one consultant says: “I was very surprised with the intelligence of my team members on my first project. They were able to think fast on their feet. Also, they were very helpful and responsive to any questions a team member or client may have had. They were such a big help when I first joined.”

“The dream candidate combines a technical background with a business background or education. They should have a strong desire to help people—clients and team members—as well as a strong desire to achieve and make an impact.”

the companies

3000 Hanover Street Palo Alto, CA 94304-1185 Phone: 650- 857-1501 Website: www.hp.com

INSIDER SCOOP the role

HewlettPackard (HP)

2007 revenue ($M): $104,286 1-year growth rate: 13.8 percent Number of employees, 2007: 172,000 1-year growth rate: 4 percent

FOR YOUR REFERENCE


35



IBM Global Services International Business Machines Corporation 1 New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 Phone: 914-499-1900 Website: www.ibm.com/services

IBM might be best-known for its computer hardware; even though it shed its PC business in 2005, selling it to the Chinese firm Lenovo, it still does huge business in mainframes, servers, storage systems, peripherals, and semiconductors. But Big Blue’s largest division is Global Services, which competes with the likes of Accenture, EDS, and HP. Indeed, it is the largest technology services organization in the world. Originally, IBM ran a consulting unit under the name IBM Consulting, but in 2000, it merged that group with its systems integration group to provide endto-end business solutions. In 2002, IBM acquired PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 30,000-employee consulting and IT services business. PwC brought a client roster that included about 45 percent of the Fortune 500; higher-margin consulting skills; and experience in financial services, government, and consumer products that expanded IBM Global Services’ expertise and capabilities. The company has since been on a buying spree, snatching up 60 companies from 2002 to 2007. IBM Global Services operates in three broad areas: outsourcing, consulting, and systems integration. In short, it can advise clients on devising e-commerce and supply management systems and enterprise resource planning, and then it can implement and manage those systems. In 2007, Global Services made up 41 percent of IBM’s overall revenue, more than software (34 percent) and hardware and financing (25 percent). Much of the division’s growth can be attributed to its BPO contracts, and its business transformation outsourcing (BTO) contracts. BTO takes BPO one step further, giving client companies the opportunity 36


to achieve significant change in their business—not just cost savings—through the use of technology. Emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, India, and China brought in 26 percent more revenue for the firm in 2007 than in 2006. An IBM recruiter told BusinessWeek: “We hire MBAs into a variety of different functions in business consulting services, strategy and change, and IT consulting practices. We hire finance majors into a rotational program, and strong marketing MBAs get the opportunity to complete a leadership-development program in their function. We also find that MBAs make good business-development professionals. …We recruit heavily from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business. We also hire MBAs from Emory University Goizueta Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Thunderbird Garvin School of International Management, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and a bunch of others.” (“Big Traits for Big Blue,” BusinessWeek Online, August 2005). IBM also has a dreamy vacation policy. According to one IBM employee quoted in The New York Times, you can “take as much vacation time as you want, on short notice.” (Ken Belson, “At I.B.M., A Vacation Anytime, or Maybe None,” August 31, 2007). The vacation policy is part of an independent spirit at the company, where individuals are responsible for getting their work done on time, but when and where is up to them. Insiders note that the street runs both ways: You can work from home and take long weekends if you need to, but you also might be expected to attend conference calls in the evenings or work long hours during crunch times. This is especially true for consultants, who must give clients the face time they’ve come to expect.


The company makes a dozen acquisitions, including six software companies.

at a glance

2006

Carnegie Mellon University honors IBM with its highest business transformation outsourcing group rating.

2006

Announces it’s making a $1 billion investment over three years to expand information management software development, as well as further aligning its software and consulting businesses.

2005

Extends lead in outsourcing, according to an IDC report, capturing 21 of the 100 biggest deals of 2004.

2005

Launches consulting practice aimed at helping clients deal with executive turnover as baby boomers leave the workforce.

2005

Opens new global services delivery center in Dalian, China.

π

the workplace

Opens new Global Business Solution Center in Bangalore, India.

on the job

2006

the companies

Announces Big Green initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of data centers. the role

2007

AT A GLANCE getting hired


2006 revenue ($M): $48,247 1-year growth rate: 1.8 percent Number of employees, 2007: 175,000 1-year growth rate: Not available

KEY FACTS

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

• In 2007, North American clients accounted for 43 percent of revenue, Asia brought in 21 percent, and EMEA countries brought in 36 percent. • Only 39 percent of IBM employees are located in the U.S.


37



Keane 210 Porter Drive, Suite 315 San Ramon, CA 94583 Phone: 925-838-8600 Website: www.keane.com

Keane got its start in 1965 as a consultant to companies needing help with their mainframe computers. It has since moved into application development and management consulting. In June 2007, IT outsourcing specialist Caritor completed its acquisition of Keane for an estimated $854 million. The combined company still goes by the name Keane, although headquarters moved from Keane’s former Boston digs to Caritor’s spread in San Ramon, about a 40-minute drive from San Francisco. Keane, no longer a publicly traded company, claims to generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue and employ 14,000 workers in 10 countries. U.S. client management is still based out of Keane’s Boston office. The bulk of Caritor’s workforce was in India; today, 20 percent of Keane’s employees are on the Indian subcontinent. Along with a boost in outsourcing, Keane continues to focus on its three major revenue streams: application development and integration, application development and management, and business consulting. Keane has its thumb in various sectors, with recent big-name clients such as Countrywide Financial, CSX, Geico, La Quinta, SEI Investments, the state of Maine, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Thanks to Keane’s growth and a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company’s workforce mushroomed from 800 employees in the early ’90s to about 10,500 in 2006. In SEC filings made at the time, Caritor and its financier, Citigroup Venture Capital International, said they didn’t anticipate large layoffs. Recruiters at Keane say a BS in computer sciences is required for most positions. They also warn that familiarity with the latest technologies and 38


programming languages might help land you an interview, but to get the job you also must have the necessary soft skills. One recruiter says the company’s wish list for applicants includes “highly competent individuals with a true passion for what they do ... a high degree of professionalism, integrity, excellent interpersonal skills, flexibility, and a strong work ethic.” Keane consultants, unlike their counterparts at large strategy consulting firms, specialize in specific technologies and industries. This can be a plus for people who want to dig deep into design and business issues, but can be a turnoff for those who want to keep their options open.


Keane announces collaborations with two postsecondary schools in India: Mohandas College of Engineering and Technology in Kerala and Kalasalingam University in Tamil Nadu

2007

Keane is purchased by Caritor for about $854 million.

2006

Keane ranked 20th on the “Healthcare Informatics 100.”

π

AT A GLANCE


2006 revenue ($M): $1,100 1-year growth rate: 15.1 Number of employees, 2006: 14,000 1-year growth rate: 46.0 percent

KEY FACTS • Keane operates in 10 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, India, and Singapore. • In 2007, Keane was ranked among The Boston Globe’s Globe 100, Business Review‘s Top 50 Technology Companies (coming in at number four), and NASSCOM’s 100 IT Innovators.

at a glance

Logica 2008

The company establishes an outsourcing services division that includes 9,000 employees.

U.S. Headquarters 460 Totten Pond Road Suite 530 Waltham, MA 02451 Phone: 781-810-4022 website: www.logica.com

2006

Purchases Unilog and WM-Data AB.

2005

Buys 60 percent stake in Edinfor.

Logica, formerly LogicaCMG, provides

π

AT A GLANCE on the job


2007 revenue ($M): 4,569.02 1-year growth rate: 19 percent Number of employees, 2007: 39,000 1-year growth rate: Not availablie

the workplace

KEY FACTS • The company’s three largest locations are France (9,100 employees), the Netherlands (6,000), and the U.K. (5,600). • Logica’s top five financial services clients are ABN AMRO, Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, ING, and Rabobank. • The breakdown of market sectors for Logica’s clients is manufacturing (30 percent), public service (28 percent), financial services (18 percent), energy and utilities (16 percent), and telecommunications and media (8 percent). • Software partners include Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle.

getting hired

management consulting and IT services, such as software design and systems integration. Founded in London in 1969, Logica was a software consultancy, advising corporations on technology trends and rewriting software applications to fit specific needs. During the years, the company has expanded this concept—not to mention its size—and today it’s an international leader in IT services, with offices in 36 countries. Logica expanded even further when it acquired CMG, another consulting firm. The deal was completed in December 2002, at which time Logica added CMG to its name; the suffix was later removed. Further growth through acquisition occurred in 2005 with the purchase of a 60 percent stake in Edinfor, the IT services subsidiary of Energias de Portugal, and in 2006 through the purchase of the French IT services firm Unilog. By offering business consulting, IT services, and offshoring, the company can capitalize on the three pillars of the commercial services market.

the companies

Recent Highlights

the role

Stephenson House 75 Hampstead Road London, NW1 2PL United Kingdom Phone: +44 20-7637-9111

FOR YOUR REFERENCE


39



McKinsey & Company 55 East 52nd Street, 21st Floor New York, NY 10022 Phone: 212-446-7000 Website: www.mckinsey.com

McKinsey & Company is perhaps the most famous consulting firm in the world, but this should not blind prospective consultants to its relatively limited offerings in some areas of IT. The company’s technological expertise is housed in its Business Technology Office (BTO), which was founded in 1997. Not to be confused with another BTO in IT consulting—business transformation outsourcing— McKinsey’s BTO provides strategy consulting with a distinctive technological bent to senior management teams. McKinsey is quick to point out the BTO is not an integration house and does not do application development. Rather, its 450 consultants develop strategies for using technology to make better investments and gain market share. The BTO provides clients with advice on IT outsourcing, architecture, cost, governance, infrastructure, and operations. The BTO works as a global office, operating in 24 countries. Its domestic offices are Silicon Valley; East Coast (New York, New Jersey); Midwest (Chicago); and South (Atlanta). Consultants are expected to work on technology-specific and general engagements. The firm has a long history of providing strategic advice to the top management of the world’s largest corporations. McKinsey was founded in 1926 when James O. McKinsey teamed up with Andrew T. Kearney to form a business advisory service. They were later joined by Marvin Bower, a Harvard MBA who went on to manage the firm for more than 30 years. McKinsey is renowned for its strict business standards, its strong culture, and for the breadth and depth of its experience base. It’s known to charge among the highest fees for its work, and among consultants, 40


McKinsey is the gold standard by which reputation and success are measured. Insiders say working at McKinsey is demanding, which is a plus and a minus. Solving clients’ most difficult problems can be intellectually rewarding, but the long hours, constant travel, and intense pace can get in the way of one’s personal life and even mental health.


Earns spots on the Universum IDEAL Top 10 MBA Employers, Fortune’s Top 100 MBA Employers, and Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.

2006

Ranks first on Universum’s list of most ideal employers for MBAs for the 11th consecutive year.

2006

Advises Dartmouth College on ways the school can better support faculty and students.

2005

Retained by News Corp. to help the company come up with a new Internet strategy.

2005

Reuters reports that McKinsey plans to add about 700 employees in Asia during the next two years.

For more information, check out the McKinsey & Company WetFeet Insider Guide.

π

AT A GLANCE


2006 revenue ($M): $4,370 (estimated) 1-year growth rate: 15 percent Number of employees, 2006: 14,190 1-year growth rate: 10 percent

at a glance

Novell

Acquires PlateSpin, a provider of workload lifecycle management systems for enterprise data centers.

2006

Launches SUSE Linux Enterprise, the latest (and most sophisticated) version of its Linux desktop.

2005

Signs major deal with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, giving employees unlimited access to a range of Novell products.

2005

Opens a number of offices in China.

2005

Launches new partner program in India to promote the use of Novell/SUSE Linux solutions among retailers, distributors, channel partners, consultants, and systems integrators.

π

AT A GLANCE


2006 revenue ($M): $932.5 1-year growth rate: –3.6 percent Number of employees, 2006: 4,549 1-year growth rate: –10 percent

KEY FACTS • Novell’s consulting offerings are especially attractive to clients interested in Linux and opensource applications. • BrainShare, Novell’s user conference, brings together more than 5,000 participants each year.


FOR YOUR REFERENCE

2008

Acquires Immunix, a provider of Linux security solutions.

getting hired

Appoints Rick Crandall chairman of its board of directors.

2005

the workplace

2008

The Novell-sponsored openSUSE project is named Best of Show as a total industry solution at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in Boston.

on the job

Recent Highlights

2006

the companies

Novell is a provider of network management software and network operating systems. The company’s NetWare product enables organizations to connect individual desktops to entire corporate networks while integrating things such as directories, storage systems, printers, and databases—into one seamless, secure system. In 2001, Novell acquired Cambridge Technology Partners, a consulting firm that made a name for itself by helping companies navigate into the electronic marketplace. The acquisition significantly expanded Novell’s ability to deliver consulting support to customers and other IT services companies. Today, the company offers technology consulting in four main areas: strategy and architecture, solution design and deployment, training-needs assessment and skills development, and solution support. Novell specializes in consulting with companies interested in Linux and open-source technologies. Although the company is primarily a products firm, it does not recommend its own products exclusively or use its consulting services as a “value-add” for its products. Novell has 40 offices around the world.

Partners with IBM to offer a suite of products to help small- and medium-sized businesses more easily implement Linux.

the role

404 Wyman Street, Suite 500 Waltham, MA 02451 Phone: 781-464-8000 Website: www.novell.com

2006

41

At A Glance The INDUSTRY the companies On the job

Oracle 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 Phone: 650-506-7000, 800-672-2531 Website: www.oracle.com Ticker Symbol: ORCL

Virtually synonymous with database

technology, Oracle is second only to Microsoft among software makers. It’s also moving up in the consulting world, which brought in 16 percent of its revenues in 2008. The company has 11,000 consultants, making it among the world’s largest consultancies. Its consulting services are exclusively centered on enabling Oracle’s hardware and software customers to use the company’s technology effectively. Its Organizational Change Management practices also help firms deal with the impact of its technology on workflow, organizational structure, and culture. Compared to IBM and HP, other products companies–turned–consultancies, Oracle does not offer as wide a range of services or technological solutions. Instead, its consulting is comprised primarily of “value-added” services for its product customers. It cashes in on the obvious fact that nobody knows Oracle like, well, Oracle.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired

the workplace


42



Oracle’s buying binge continues with the acquisition of several software firms.

2007

Buys 11 companies, including LogicalApps, Hyperion, and Interlace Systems.

π

AT A GLANCE


2008 revenue ($M): $22,430 1-year growth rate: 24.6 percent Number of employees, 2008: 74,674 1-year growth rate: 33 percent

KEY FACTS • Oracle’s home campus includes cafeterias, a gymnasium, and a company store. • The big company keeps getting bigger. It has made several large acquisitions in recent years: PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems, Hyperion Solutions, and BEA Systems (the last for a reported $8.5 billion).

at a glance

SAIC Acquires SM Consulting, a tech consulting company, and Icon Systems, a laser engineering firm.

Founded in 1969 by physicist J. Robert

2008

Found guilty of failing to disclose conflicts of interest that could have biased work it did for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

2007

Larry Prior becomes COO.

2007

Acquires Scicom, a hydrocarbon exploration product designer.

π

AT A GLANCE


2008 revenue ($M): $8,935 1-year growth rate: 7.7 percent Number of employees, 2008: 43,800 1-year growth rate: –0.7 percent

KEY FACTS

the workplace

Beyster, SAIC (originally Science Applications International Corp.) provides government agencies and commercial enterprises with technical support and project management services. The company, which relies on the U.S. government for almost 90 percent of its revenues, provides products and services in areas including data security, eprocurement, and telemedicine. It also provides outsourcing and IT services to energy companies, and makes investments in smaller companies through its SAIC Venture Capital Corporation subsidiary. The company is gearing up to meet increasing demand for IT consulting and offshoring services. In 2007, it acquired Benham Investment Holdings, an engineering and consulting firm, and in 2008 it snatched up SM Consulting, which provides similar services. Consultants working at SIAC should expect to work closely with government agencies, especially its most scientific ones—the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and NASA.

on the job

2008

the companies

Recent Highlights

the role

10260 Campus Point Drive San Diego, CA 92121 Phone: 858-826-6000 Website: www.saic.com Ticker Symbol: SAI

• Contracts with the military account for close to a third of SAIC’s business. getting hired FOR YOUR REFERENCE WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE 43

At A Glance The INDUSTRY the companies On the job the workplace

Sapient 25 First Street Cambridge, MA 02141 Phone: 617-621-0200 Website: www.sapient.com Ticker Symbol: SAPE

Sapient has two core businesses, Sapient

Consulting and Sapient Interactive. The consulting arm provides business and IT strategy, process and systems design, package implementation, and custom development, and the Interactive side deals with marketing in digital media. Sapient is one of the most Web-centric of the IT consulting firms; most of its projects involve developing a client’s Web presence. Sapient does so using business analytics and strategic analysis, going well beyond making coollooking websites. The company also focuses on the backroom operations that fuel Web business, including user experience research, customer relationship management, high-volume transaction processing, online supply chain development, learning and knowledge management, and other services for ecommerce. Sapient has won many accolades for its workplace culture. In 2008, it earned Consulting Magazine’s award for excellence in diversity, got a spot in the Financial Time’s 50 Great Places to Work for the third year in a row, and made Global and Mail’s list of best places to work in Canada for the third time.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired


44



The company acquires Derivative Consulting Group, which provides financial services consulting.

2006

Opens a new office in Amsterdam.

π

AT A GLANCE


2007 revenue ($M): $566 1-year growth rate: 34.2 percent Number of employees, 2006: 4,952 1-year growth rate: 64.1 percent

KEY FACTS • Clients include Barnes & Noble, Ferrari, Sony, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Marine Corps. • Sapient’s case, detailing the steps the company took to deal with a difficult business climate in 2000 and 2001, is taught to all first-year Harvard Business School students.

at a glance

Completes downsizing that resulted in the loss of more than 6,500 U.S. jobs.

2007

Adds backup and recovery facility in Bangalore, India.

2006

Announces new China global sourcing services and technology center in Shanghai.

2006

Awarded a bridge contract to continue work on the technology infrastructure of the Transportation Security Administration of the Department of Homeland Security.

2005

Wins Qualcomm 3G A-List Award for its use of Qualcomm technology among its 1,700 North America–based field reps to lower costs and improve customer service.

2005

Introduces on-demand servers for Windows and Linux.

2005

Wins national claims outsourcing services contract with BlueCross BlueShield.

getting hired

π

2007

the workplace

consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure, and server technology in the following markets: financial services, communications, transportation, commercial, media, and the public sector. The company is among the largest government IT contractors, serving local, state, and federal agencies, as well as foreign governments. Unisys has offices in more than 36 U.S. states and 65 countries. Like many of its competitors, the company has been growing its outsourcing business in recent years; outsourcing accounts for nearly a third of Unisys’s total revenue. Unisys has signed outsourcing deals with clients including Lloyds TSB, Northwest Airlines, Air Canada, California State University Systems, BMW Bank, HSBC, and GE Capital Bank. The company’s strategy aims to take advantage of growth in software markets, including open-source software and security. The company has not been thriving in an economy that has been favorable to most of its competitors. It has posted losses in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and the outlook for 2008 is grim. The company is trimming its roles to prevent further damage.

The company reports some pretty shabby financials. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2008, it managed to lose more than $10 million, while most of its competitors were growing.

the companies

Unisys is an IT giant, with offerings including

2008

the role

Unisys Way Blue Bell, PA 19424 Phone: 215-986-4011 Website: www.unisys.com

Recent Highlights

on the job

Unisys

AT A GLANCE

FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL HIGHLIGHTS FOR YOUR REFERENCE

• • • •

2007 revenue ($M): $5,652.5 1-year growth rate: –1.8 percent Number of employees, 2007: 30,000 1-year growth rate: –4.8 percent


45

On the Job

4

The Engagement............................ 48 Key Jobs......................................... 49 Real People Profiles........................ 50 Consulting or Industry?................ 57

more expensive than the competitor’s, they could be easily improved to reduce maintenance costs, a major customer concern. In the end, the answer to the client’s problem required business intelligence and smart engineering. Insiders say more and more IT consulting falls into the second category. “Technology is no longer separated from the overall business objectives, but is a key part of all growth plans,” says an IT consultant. “We need to understand the client’s problem from a strategic angle, rather than run in to build something that might cause more problems down the road.”

FOr yOur rEFErENCE

gETTINg hIrED

ThE WOrkPlaCE

ON ThE JOb

ThE COmPaNIEs

ThE INDusTry

aT a glaNCE


PrOJECT CyClE

The enGaGemenT IT consulting engagements come in two primary fl avors. Th e fi rst involves a client with specifi c problems that improved IT might be able to resolve. Th e client might pose questions such as: “We’ve acquired fi ve companies that all use technology. Can you design a system to streamline our IT?”; “Check out our IT vendors and make sure we’re not paying too much”; “How many servers will we need in the next fi ve years?”; or “We want to use social networking programs to boost our marketing. How should we do it?” Th e other fl avor of IT consulting involves a more complete overhaul. For example, a large enterprise application company was struggling to compete with a larger company in Asian markets. Th e client wanted consultants who were comfortable with the technical aspects of its products. Th e IT consulting fi rm then interviewed key executives, read up on the industry, and ran focus groups with customers before making suggestions to the CEO and CTO. As it turned out, although the client’s products were 48


A typical consulting engagement can last from one month to several years. Industry insiders say the typical length of a consulting project has fallen from 6 to 18 months in the 1990s to as little as a month or two currently. Th is trend makes sense given that organizations have less money to spend on big consulting engagements and are demanding a tangible return on investment from the consulting services they buy. Increasingly, IT consultants also are getting involved in nuts-and-bolts implementation work, which may be done as a follow-up project or as part of the original project. In other words, they roll up their sleeves and do the actual work they recommended to the client.

TEam sTruCTurE IT projects might have dozens of people working on developing and implementing a new software system. As you might imagine, the bulk of the programming and design work for such projects is handled by junior employees, who bill out at lower rates. You might be able to get a feel for how a fi rm staff s its projects by comparing its revenues with the number of professionals—a high revenue per consultant generally indicates a high percentage of senior-level staff .

at a glance

Key Jobs

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

This is the position at the bottom of the professional pyramid. The vast bulk of analysts are young, talented, hungry, relatively recent college graduates. Many strategy consulting firms structure this position to last for two to three years, after which the analyst is expected to move on—perhaps to graduate school or another employer. In IT specialty firms, some analysts do attend graduate school after a few years, but it’s more common to progress up the management

Technology architects are usually people who have advanced engineering degrees, at least five years of experience in the IT industry or tech consulting, and some experience in business (project management is a common background). They are responsible for the development of large-scale technology projects that require long-term planning and a knowledge of the nitty-gritty details of enterprise technologies. This is often the starting place for midcareer hires. But it also can be the top of the ladder for undergrads who specialize in technology and prefer to steer clear of the business development (aka sales) required to reach higher levels.

getting hired

Analyst/Business Analyst/ Systems Analyst/Programmer Analyst/Research Associate/ Staff Consultant/Associate Consultant

Technology Architects/ Technology Consultants

the workplace

Most consulting firms have a fairly large pool of college-educated administrative assistants and support staff so consultants can keep focused on tasks that justify their $200-plus-per-hour billing rates. In addition to performing standard support functions, many have specific roles (such as recruiting, office administration, or website maintenance). Most firms also have a group of graphic designers on staff to prepare materials for presentations.

Within strategy firms, this is the typical port of entry for newly minted MBAs and increasingly for non-MBA graduate students. Senior consultants often perform research and analysis, formulate recommendations, and present findings to the client. Oh, and at many firms they have to implement those great ideas too. At the associate level, consultants start to practice their people-management skills, often taking responsibility for overseeing the work of junior consultants. Although this is usually a tenure-track position, a fair number of consultants will leave the advisory side of business after two or three years to pursue entrepreneurial or industry positions.

on the job

Administrative Assistant

Associate/Consultant/Senior Consultant

the companies

also has unique terminology for its rank and file. Although the titles might vary from firm to firm, the roles can basically be divided as follows: analyst (also called research associate or staff consultant at some firms), consultant (or senior consultant), manager, and partner or VP. Some consulting firms put consultants onto one of two tracks: one for general business and another for technologists. In these firms, technology consultants might be called technology architects (usually more senior) and technology consultants or analysts (more junior). In addition, larger consulting firms hire a cadre of highly capable nonconsultant staff into administrative and support positions.

the role

Just as each firm has its favorite buzzwords, it

ladder without leaving the firm for an advanced degree. The work itself—as well as the hours—can be quite demanding at the analyst level. It often includes field research, data analysis, customer and competitor interviews, client meetings, and heavyduty programming.

WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE 49


Careers in IT Consulting Manager/Engagement Manager/ Project Leader/Associate Principal After a few years, a senior consultant will move up to manager or an equivalent role with a different title. Regardless of the firm-specific nomenclature, the next rung on the ladder usually involves leading a team of consultants and analysts toward project completion, managing day-to-day project activities, providing thought leadership, and assuming primary accountability for project results. Some firms might hire MBAs with significant work experience directly into the manager position, particularly in their IT practices. In addition to having more rigorous responsibilities for managing the project team, the manager will typically act as the primary point person for client interactions.

Vice President/Officer/Principal Having mastered the analytics and the peoplemanagement components of the job, consultants at this level are expected to be adept relationshipbuilders within the firm and with clients. At this stage, consultants spend more time overseeing the overall quality of the services provided to the client and less time onsite with the rest of the project team. They also spend a greater proportion of their time providing thought leadership, developing analytical tools, and often determining internal administrative policies.

Senior Vice President/Partner/ Director Congratulations! You’ve arrived at consulting’s promised land. Note that some firms divide partners into junior- and senior-grade. And, if you aspire to it, there’s always that chairman or CEO position. Partners help determine the overall strategy and direction of the consulting firm, often leading new business development efforts in entire sectors and selling additional engagements to new and existing clients. Fortunately, as with other big-ticket sales jobs, the pay can be quite rewarding. 50


Real People Profiles TECHNICAL ARCHITECT Years in consulting: Two Eductaion: BA in information systems, Carnegie Mellon; MISM (Master’s of Information Systems Management), Carnegie Mellon Size of company: 500 consultants Hours per week: 45–55 Annual Salary: $100,000–120,000

What brought you to IT consulting? I had worked in tech companies and had started my own company. I was attracted to consulting because I wanted to do something where I could use my entrepreneurial spirit. I didn’t want a desk job where I would be doing the same thing every day. I wanted independence and a dynamic environment. What was the recruitment process like for you? My company recruited directly from the program I graduated from. I submitted my application and was selected for an on-campus interview. The first interview is kind of an “airport test.” They’re looking for whether the person is someone we wouldn’t mind being stuck with at the airport when the flight gets delayed. If you seem like a fit, they ask you back for a typical resumebased interview and a case interview. They also have us write a letter describing a business problem to a client and have us do a mock presentation. What are some of the non-technical skills consultants should have? Time management is key. You have to know how to structure your own workweek and how to structure your tasks. You have to be able to make time for yourself and your work. You need to know when to turn off your phone. Work/life balance is important. Our firm is relatively small and we take on a lot of work for a small

at a glance

5:30 a.m.

12:00 p.m. I step out for lunch with my teammates and compare our weekends. 1:00 p.m.

After incorporating my colleagues’ feedback on my approach and evaluation criteria, I now need to develop the PowerPoint deck that will be used to present my materials to the client. I’ve developed a storyboard for my masterpiece and can now begin piecing it all together.

8:15 a.m.

Catch the CTA Orange Line train to downtown Chicago. I start sending emails via BlackBerry.

6:00 p.m.

The deck is complete and all I need to do now is craft the email to my client and send it off for review in the morning.

8:45 a.m.

I’m at the client’s office. They’re a large nonprofit professional association. We have been working with them to find ways of using social networking technology to engage their membership. I have a quick check-in with my consulting team and prepare for a 9:00 a.m. status meeting with the client’s enterprise architect.

7:00 p.m.

More often than not, a few of my colleagues and I will try to catch dinner together after work. Since it’s a Monday, I would prefer just to check into the hotel and catch up on some much-needed sleep!

9:00 a.m.

Standing meeting with client to discuss the activities for the week ahead and address any outstanding items from the week prior. We talk about concerns with third-party vendors.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

3:30 p.m.

getting hired

Flying to Chicago. Quick power nap. Thanks to the time zones I arrive at 7:30 a.m. Central Time, no time lost!

the workplace

7:30 a.m.

on the job

Monday morning I’m heading to the Pittsburgh International Airport to catch my 7:30 a.m. flight to Chicago Midway. I eat my breakfast in the car, catch up on the news from NPR, and start planning for the week ahead.

11:30 a.m. The partner who is leading our project meets with me to review the evaluation criteria and gives me some feedback about the presentation materials I’ve done. Whew, not too many changes needed.

the companies

A Day in the Life

10:00 a.m. I work through the morning to develop an initial draft of a presentation on thirdparty vendors.

the role

number of people, so that can be hard to do. A lot of people burn out in consulting and you don’t want to be one of those people. You also need to be flexible and to adapt to your surroundings. If you forget to check your ego at the door and walk into a client’s office like a big hotshot, a lot of people will resent you. Being a team player is essential. Consulting is collaboration. You have to know how to manage up and manage down.


51

At A Glance


The INDUSTRY

CONSULTANT Years in consulting: Two Eductaion: BA in computer systems, Carnegie Mellon; MS in electrical engineering, Stanford; MBA, MIT Size of company: 3,900 consultants Hours per week: 48–60

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired

the workplace

On the job

the companies

Annual Salary: $120,000–140,000

What did you do before consulting? I went into consulting after getting an MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Before Sloan, I was an engineer and worked at some startups you probably never heard of, some large technology companies, and a big Web retailer. I went to business school because I had started in engineering but in every job I gravitated to the business side. I wanted to better understand the business principles. A lot of people say that business school is just about drinking and going to a lot of parties, but for me it was a really important part of my career path. Previously most of my work had been engineering interface designs for microprocessors. I was always more on the tech side of things and needed real business experience. I had worked with CTOs, but never CFOs and CEOs. I had a curiosity about the business side of the equation. Why did you choose to go to a generalist firm, rather than a more specialized IT firm? I didn’t apply to IT consulting firms, but I thought about it a lot. I wanted exposure to a broader set of businesses and business problems and felt that I could get that at a strategy firm. I still work primarily with technology, but I get more experiences. This way I can look at all my options before deciding if I want to specialize. Here they make an effort to leverage the skills I do have, but also develop the areas where I am not as strong. I think with three or four years of general experience I will be better able to understand the business side, even if I decide to specialize in technology. 52


What has been most surprising about your job? I have been surprised by the level of expertise I’ve had exposure to. I didn’t think I would have such a high level of contacts. When I started my job, I thought that I would work on stuff and then more senior people would edit it and present it. But one of my first assignments was working on a presentation that went directly to a CTO. At another job, the CTO would just come down and chat with us all the time. Before I started my job I thought, if I were lucky, I’d get 25 minutes to talk to someone at his level. Instead, we were talking every day. I can’t say that he is my best friend, but still, I was surprised at how frequently he would look at my work. What was the coolest engagement you’ve had so far? My favorite was working with a major software manufacturer—someone everyone has heard of. Their software costs thousands of dollars per seat. They needed to find out how much money was being lost to piracy. The job didn’t require the most sophisticated IT skills, but it did require looking at how the technology was being used by the client’s customers and finding out how that should inform the client’s strategy. I had to look at the customer’s perspective operationally: When did it make sense for them to spend thousands of dollars on the client’s software if they could get pirated versions of the competitor’s for free? I had to be familiar with the technology behind pirating, the security technology, and the business strategy involved in each. The client could just make it impossible to pirate, but that might cost them market share in the long term. Students were part of the problem. If the software was too expensive, students would just use the competitor’s software that was more easily pirated. In the end, the students wouldn’t know how to use the client’s software and, when they did get jobs, the students would buy the competitor’s software, because that’s what they knew how to use. So, in some ways, being too hard on piracy was also causing the client’s market share to shrink. We had to look at the problem from every angle.

at a glance

Hours per week: 45–55 Annual Salary: $89,000–110,000

What did you do before you got your job? I came to the company just after getting my undergraduate degree. In college, I had focused on research projects and did academic internships, because I thought I was going to enter a PhD program. What brought you to IT consulting? I wanted to work on a lot of different kinds of problems. Everyone here is really smart and comes from interesting backgrounds. I get to learn so much about so many different things and look at problems in many different ways.


FOR YOUR REFERENCE

What kind of person wouldn’t fit in at your company? Someone who needs a lot of direction. You need to be comfortable driving the process and running meetings. If you need someone to tell you stuff like “Take this Excel file and multiply column X by column Z to get the annual revenues and then divide that number by 12 to get the monthly revenues,” then you aren’t going to make it here.

getting hired

What has been biggest surprise for you in your year of consulting? When I was going through recruiting they kept saying that I would be working with Clevel executives, but I didn’t believe them. I thought that was just what they were saying to make the job sound cool. But they were telling the truth. You get a lot of responsibility right away. This year I got to go to Mexico to meet with a client by myself. I never thought that would happen.

the workplace

What is the worst place you’ve had to travel on business? Miamisburg, Ohio.

Size of company: 4,000 consultants

on the job

What is your favorite place you’ve gotten to travel on business? I got to go to Chicago last year. I got to see a lot of family I don’t get to see very often.

Eductaion: BA in economics, business, and computer science

the companies

How do you deal with all the travel? I’m not going to lie. There is a lot of travel involved and, as a newlywed, I don’t want to travel all the time and my wife doesn’t like it when I travel all the time. But we both agree that we are much more productive when I am traveling, so that’s a good thing. My wife is a lawyer, and she gets to bill a lot of hours when I’m away. Traveling for work isn’t like traveling on vacation. It is draining. There are a lot of delays. The more often you travel, the more often you get delays. I had a four-hour delay just yesterday. I have learned to use those times to be productive. One thing that’s nice is that I work in tech, so many of the clients are on the West Coast. Because I live in L.A., I don’t have to travel too far from home.

CONSULTING ASSOCIATE Years in consulting: One the role

What kind of person makes a great IT consultant? Two things come to mind. First, you have to be comfortable with ambiguity. You don’t always have perfect data and you can’t always look under every rock. Second, you need to have composure. People will ask you questions when you don’t know the answer. You can’t fumble around for answers and say you don’t have a clue. You have to be able to say, “I don’t have an answer for that, but it is an interesting question.” Then, you need to be able to tell them what would go into finding an answer, how much time and money, so they can decide whether it is worth the investment.

53

At A Glance


7:30 a.m.

the companies

The INDUSTRY

A Day in the Life

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired

the workplace

On the job

8:00 a.m.

8:30 a.m.

This week I am working with a local client, a multibillion-dollar industrial goods company. We are working on developing “order routing logic,” which will be part of a computer program that will tell the company how to ship its goods. This morning I am meeting one of the client’s employees to work on modeling at the client’s office. I don’t like to start my day this early, but this guy is usually in the office by 6 a.m., so I have to be accommodating to his early-bird ways. I check email and prepare for my meeting. I meet with the guy who is helping me with the modeling and we work together and discuss what we are going to present to a senior manager at the firm. The model we are working on is being programmed in SQL and will need to interface with a Java server in Germany. We present our work to the senior manager, who is only four steps removed from the CEO. He really knows his stuff and asks some hard questions.

10:00 a.m. The guy helping with modeling and I briefly congratulate each other on how well our meeting went. Then we go over some improvements to our model and I start working on them. 11:00 A.m. I drive back to my office. 12:00 p.m. I meet up with some other associates and head to my new favorite spot, a place that serves fresh salads to go. I order mine with grilled chicken and mango. Ah, life is good.

54


12:45 p.m. I’m back at my desk hammering out SQL code for the order routing logic. The program will run millions and millions of lines of data from the client’s database. 5:00 p.m.

I meet with my boss to discuss the progress on the project.

6:00 p.m.

Head home after a 10 1/2-hour day.

IT SYSTEMS ANALYST Age: 23 Years in consulting: One Eductaion: BA in interdisciplinary cognitive science, University of Virginia Size of company: 8,000 employeeys Hours per week: 48–52 Annual Salary: $35,000

How did you get your job? At my company, all recruiting is conducted via job postings on the website. During my senior year in college, I submitted 30-plus resumes to various companies, including the one I’m currently working for. I was fortunate that my roommate’s brother also worked at the company, and I think it helped that he was able to put in a good word for me. What are your career aspirations? In the short term, I’m focusing on moving up within this company. I’ve already received two promotions in the year since I was hired, and since the company is growing and adding new clients to its roster, I’m hoping there will be other chances to move up within my department. Beyond that, I’m not sure. From what I’ve experienced, it seems as though people in the industry move around a lot. We have a fairly high turnover rate among the analysts. You rarely find someone in the group who has been there longer than four years. Most people move to similar roles in other companies.

at a glance

How can someone get a job like yours? The best way to get a job here is to go to the website and submit a cover letter and resume. It helps if you know a current employee or if you have some prior experience in systems design.

8:00 a.m.

Go to the break room and make myself a cup of tea.

8:10 a.m.

I resume working on projects from the previous day. I am working on updating specifications to be sent to programmers, WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

55

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

I typically get to work about two hours before any of my other coworkers. I like getting there that early in order to have some time of my own to work on projects without any distractions. I work best in the morning and find that I get most of my work done during this time. From about 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. I usually answer any email or voicemail that I received since the previous day. Then I map out what projects I will work on that day.

getting hired

7:00 a.m.

the workplace

A Day in the Life

on the job

What do you dislike? First, I think the compensation is below market—for my job in particular, many people put in a lot of long hours and do not feel that they are compensated properly for the hard work they do. If you take a look at the amount that our account managers charge the client for an hour of a systems analyst’s work, you can see there’s a discrepancy. I get paid $17 an hour, but we charge the client $100–300 an hour, depending on the assignment. Also, there are a lot of inflexible rules and processes in this business. As an analyst, there are various standardized processes that we have to follow. Our managers like to create flowcharts and

What is the biggest misconception about this job? That it’s always our fault if something goes wrong. Our group (the implementation group) has a lot of responsibility as analysts, and we accept that. But just because we build the system doesn’t mean that it’s our fault if the client is unsatisfied with something. Our group seems to bear the brunt of criticism when things don’t go right; more often that not, however, the system was set up properly, but it was the data (either provided by the client delivery team or the client themselves) that caused the issue.

the companies

What do you really like about your job? I like that I’m continually learning new things—coming straight out of undergrad I had no idea what it was like to work within a large company like this one. I had no experience in college with this type of business, but many of the skills I gained from taking computer and cognitive science courses fit nicely within the systems analyst role. I like that the work is challenging and keeps me on my toes. I enjoy working with my colleagues, too. There’s a great team of people working here, and we’re all working toward a common goal. Finally, there are a lot of opportunities for advancement—the skills that I’ve learned working here will be transferable to other companies within and outside of this line of business.

organizational charts to demonstrate how things are done. Sometimes I think that all they do is sit around and restructure flowcharts.

the role

What kinds of people do well in this business? Highly motivated, goal-oriented people tend to do well here. Personally, I dislike leaving any problem unsolved, which has served me well so far in this line of business. One of our main goals is to work around obstacles and resolve any issues in the most optimal way. Basically, you have to enjoy solving problems. And it also helps to be fairly extroverted and sociable because there’s a lot of interaction with other people— you have to be able to get along with your colleagues and team members. As you become more senior and have more client interaction and responsibility, you have to be able to win their confidence too.

testing programs (web or interface), or creating reports (depending on what the need is). By 9:00 a.m., all of my other coworkers have arrived. By this time, I’ve already had two hours to get a jump start on the day’s work.

The INDUSTRY

At A Glance


9:15 a.m.

getting hired

the workplace

On the job

the companies

9:00 a.m.

I find out what other analysts are working on, whether they have any time available to check the work I’ve been doing, and whether they will have any work I will need to check for them. I go back to working on my projects. Throughout the day I am constantly checking my email to see whether there are any ad hoc requests from the service center that I need to take care of. I am also looking for new meeting requests and email from the client suggesting system and plan design changes.

10:00 a.m. Depending on the day of the week, we might have a client conference call. During the call, we’ll go over any outstanding issues/projects or client concerns. After that, it’s back to work on the day’s projects. 12:00 p.m. Most of the time I don’t take a full hour for lunch. I always have plenty of work to keep me busy. 12:45 p.m. Back to work on the day’s projects and also to answer any email or voicemail that came in during my lunch break.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

2:00 p.m.

56

Internal status meeting within our client team to see how our work is coming along and to plan out what needs to get accomplished to meet our deliverable schedule.


3:00 p.m.

After the meeting, I get back to the day’s projects.

4:00 p.m.

Things are winding down now; either the final hour takes forever to pass or I get a ton of work sent my way all at once and I rush to get as much of it done as possible before 5:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

If I’m lucky, I leave at five. But if there are deliverables that need to be generated, then I’m there working as long as it takes to get things done. That sometimes means staying until 8 p.m. Otherwise, I try hard to get out of the office by 6 p.m. It’s a personal thing, but I hate to carry work over to the next day. I like to get all things done that I set out to do at the beginning of each day. Because of this, my typical workday can last nine to twelve hours (much more than other analysts, who tend to stick by the eightto nine-hour workday).

at a glance

If you’re thinking you really aren’t cut out to be a consultant, or if you’re exploring other options, you might find this section helpful. We’ve tried to compare careers in consulting with their counterparts in industry. Although many graduates of top universities and graduate programs choose careers in the more glamorous consulting industry, most

find work elsewhere. Given the seductive pull of the glitzy presentations consulting firms give, chances are good that even if you’re thinking about a career in industry, the consulting world might tempt you. To help you understand more about the difference, below is a summary of representative differences between the two options.

the companies

the role

Counslting or Industry?

Consulting or Industry Project teams, colleagues, and clients change every few months

More direct involvement with a product

Arm’s-length involvement with client’s products

Make management decisions

Suggest management decisions

Deal with a wide range of people and have a direct impact on their daily lives

Deal mostly with senior and mid-level managers; have a large impact on regular people, but from a distance

Challenges revolve around getting things done, motivating people, dealing with personnel issues, making operating decisions

Challenges revolve around tackling and understanding complex problems and teaching clients to deal with them

Satisfaction from making product change

Satisfaction from affecting organization and competitiveness

Learn from a mentor with years of industry or functional experience

Learn from a mentor who is closer in age to you and who has consulting experience

With a good education and ambition, you might really stand out

With the most extraordinary accomplishments, you’ll just be equal to everybody else

Your reputation and connections develop during months and years

Have to make quick impressions, then move on

Compensation packages generally lower, but you might get stock options

Compensation and perks more attractive

getting hired

Work primarily with the same group of people

the workplace

Consulting Firm

on the job

Company

FOR YOUR REFERENCE


57

The Workplace

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Lifestyle��60 Hours and Travel��60 Workplace Diversity�� 61 Vacation�� 61 Compensation��62 Career Path��63 The Inside Scoop��64



Lifestyle The consulting lifestyle is known for being arduous. It also is relatively fast-paced, with consultants jetting around the country to client sites and working from deadline to deadline to gather lots of data to provide a client with a solid recommendation for action. As a consultant, you can expect to eat out a lot, almost never get home early, and rack up plenty of frequent-flyer miles. Major partying (and doing laundry, paying bills, shopping, and socializing) will usually have to wait until the weekend. Beware: It can be a difficult way to live. “I do not find it to be a sustainable lifestyle,” says one insider. “There are people who I’m sure can sustain it, but all in all, it’s hard. It’s the hours, but even more than that, it’s the intensity, it’s the travel. Even when you aren’t at work, you still know you could be getting that voicemail at night.” When choosing a firm, make sure you like the people. The demands of the consulting lifestyle can be hard to take if you don’t get along well with the people you’re working with. One of the reasons firms put so much stress on “fit” is because when you work long hours, often under the pressure of deadlines, collegial relationships and working with team players can make or break a case—and a consultant.

Hours and Travel Flying from one engagement to the next, staying at swanky hotels, and dining out almost every night might sound like a lifestyle even James Bond would envy, but insiders warn that the typical consulting lifestyle isn’t so glamorous. Frequent travel, long hours, and a frustrating degree of unpredictability can quickly take its toll, whether you go into IT consulting or general management consulting. The vast majority of 60


consultants can’t tell you what client they’ll be working for in three months, where they’ll be located, or how long they’ll be there. “Many people who don’t travel often think that traveling is fun and exciting,” says one insider. “In reality, travel can sometimes get to be a big hassle that can interfere with your personal life.” Insiders also caution newcomers about being too optimistic about where consulting work will take them. Although you might get to spend April in Paris, you also might get to spend August in Mississippi and February in Wyoming. Most consulting firms try to ease the strain of travel by putting their employees up in the fanciest hotels and letting consultants keep their frequent-flyer miles. “They rack up,” says one insider. “Last weekend my sister and I flew to San Francisco on my frequent-flyer miles.” Many firms adhere to a 5-4-3 travel policy, which means that in one week you work five days and are away from home four days and three nights. At least in this kind of system you can plan on being home every weekend. One consultant says his firm doesn’t care where its consultants fly for weekends off, and because he’s single he often flies to different cities to see friends, rather than go home for the weekend. On the average, IT consultants work 50 to 60 hours in a typical week. Hours vary somewhat by firm, by office, and by practice, so you’ll want to ask about hours before accepting an offer. Before a deadline, you might need to put in 80, 90, or even 100 hours, possibly including an all-nighter or two. In contrast, the time between projects or during liberally staffed projects might be relatively slow. Yet even during those times consulting is not a nine-to-five job. There are opportunities for consultants who can’t swing the travel or long hours but they must be sought out. For example, one IT consulting firm insider says his firm has many government contracts, and consultants at their office near Washington, D.C., rarely travel beyond the Beltway, although other consultants at his firm travel constantly. Another insider says that because so many of his firm’s clients are located in Silicon Valley, he often can go months without needing to leave the Bay Area. One strategy

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Most firms offer new employees about three weeks of vacation per year, though it might be hard to take much of that time off mid-project. Project breaks provide a good opportunity to get away, and one big perk is that you’ll have enough frequent-flyer miles to travel anywhere in the world (provided you ever feel like flying again). Even if you don’t take a formal vacation, most firms discourage a nine-to-five mentality. As a result, insiders report that you can often take a day or two off after a particularly grueling period.

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Vacation

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where they recruit. IT consulting firms, which recruit from science and engineering programs, largely tend to have largely male employees who are Asian or white. In fact, experts estimate that women make up only about a quarter of the IT workforce. One insider put the figure at his IT consulting firm closer to 10 percent. The lack of gender and racial diversity becomes even more pronounced when you take into consideration the demographics of client-side senior executives (usually white guys) and engineers (white or Asian guys) with whom consultants usually work. One option for IT consultants who prefer more diverse workplaces is to apply to large strategy consulting firms, which recruit heavily from business school rather than engineering programs. The gender

on the job

Consulting firms look a lot like the schools

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Workplace Diversity

ratio at such firms is much more balanced—most strategy firms have about 50 to 52 percent males—and the racial composition tends to include more African Americans and Latinos. But even within these firms, consultants who have IT skills will tend to be Asian or white males. The reality is that the world of IT consulting, like that of IT and business more generally, is one in which women, African Americans, Latinos and other people of color are grossly underrepresented. Some firms, especially larger consulting firms and established technology product firms, are addressing this issue by providing diversity training, mentorships, and employee resource groups. Make sure that you’re comfortable at the firm and that there’s room for you to rise. It’s worth inquiring about minorities and women in management positions: introducing yourself to them, discussing your career goals and how supportive the firm will be as you move toward them. Recruiters from IT consulting firms also note that because of the large population of foreign-born applicants they receive, IT consulting companies usually have experience and resources available for dealing with obtaining H-1B visas. Large consulting firms and established technology products companies view hiring international students as a necessity and might be less reluctant to sponsor employees than other firms.

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for the travel-wary is to investigate boutique firms with strong ties to regional clientele. Although even these companies might require the occasional stint away from home, they are more likely to keep you within a tri-county area. Would-be consultants for whom long hours are a turnoff should seek companies that have clear policies on work/life balance. An IT consultant at BCG says her firm has a very strong policy to help its employees avoid the “red zone,” which is its term for working more than 55 hours per week. “I only once went near the red zone,” she says. “Within 20 minutes I had about 10 emails from team members and supervisors checking in to see if I was OK. It’s funny, because I wasn’t even working that hard that week. I just was at a client that required a long commute and I was spending a lot of that overtime stuck in traffic.” Larger firms typically have more formalized policies than smaller ones, but expectations for consultants vary greatly between all firms and areas of practice

Insiders warn that getting the best salary for IT consulting is often about finding the right fit for your skill set. A person with a lot of experience working with Oracle’s products but less business-side experience may be a great fit for Oracle, a so-so fit for an IT firm that does systems integration, and a lousy fit for IT consulting at a large general consulting firm—and offers from those kinds of firms will reflect that. To get more specific information on compensation practices, check out WetFeet’s individual company Insider Guides.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

getting hired

the workplace

On the job

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The INDUSTRY

At A Glance


UndergradUATES In 2008–09, undergrads going into IT consulting will likely be in the $50,000 to $75,000 range to start.

Compensation Industry insiders expect that IT consulting compensation will continue to grow. The steady decline of computer science and electrical engineering majors—a 20 percent drop in 2008—is increasing the demand for individuals with those skills. Add to that shortage an increasing market for IT consulting and you’ve got yourself an all-out talent war. Businesspeople with IT skills are hard to come by and their salaries are starting to reflect that. Insiders say compensation for entry-level IT consultants tended to be about $5,000 more than for non–IT-savvy consultants at the same firm. In the long term, the trend is for compensation from base salary to shrink, and for variable pay, such as year-end bonuses and other performance-based rewards, to increase. Salaries and bonus packages at the top firms are generally within close range of each other because these firms usually compete for the same pool of candidates. At the margins, there are slight differences in compensation: Lesser-known firms might offer slightly higher salaries or bonuses to attract top candidates, and some organizations have different ways of splitting up the bonus pie (for instance, linking a portion of the bonus to the firm’s annual performance). 62


Experienced Hires Among the consulting firms that hire significant numbers of undergraduates, MBAs, and other advanced-degree candidates, compensation packages, including starting salaries, signing and relocation bonuses, and year-end bonuses, are fairly transparent. They also tend to be fairly consistent from one firm to the next: An entry-level consultant at Accenture and an entry-level consultant at IBM aren’t likely to earn disparate salaries. On average, smaller, more specialized firms typically pay about the same as larger firms because they are competing for the same talent. But the pay varies by firm and depends on your skills. In addition, the more junior you are, the less your total compensation will fluctuate because of vagaries in the economy or the performance of the firm in a given year. For midcareer hires, compensation is considerably harder to predict. Computerworld’s 2007 salary survey puts the range of total compensation for IT specialists in the consulting industry between $83,000 and $123,000. Why such a huge range? IT companies and consulting firms typically don’t publicize details regarding the magnitude or the breakdown of the compensation packages they award to mid- and senior-level consultants. In the rare instances in which mean or median compensation is reported for this

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Undergraduates generally join consulting firms as analysts, although titles vary. Undergrads joining large consulting firms or technology products companies with consulting practices that employ more than 100 people should be prepared to do some grunt work. Early consulting assignments can be a absurd mixture of coding and pulling together PowerPoint presentations—or “decks,” in consulting lingo. Midsized and boutique firms tend to have fledgling consultants dive in headfirst. At this early career stage,

getting hired

Undergraduates

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Career Path

MBAs with engineering and computer science undergrad degrees hold the golden ticket in the world of IT consulting. Their education proves their interest in higher-level business problems and their technical backgrounds show their ability to grasp the intricacies of technologies. Many MBAs are lured into general management consulting gigs, but for those who want to stay in touch with their inner geek, IT consulting is a great way to utilize both sides of their personality. However, one recruiting insider noted that MBAs need to avoid letting their technical expertise gather dust while pursuing their degree. If you graduated from college 10 years ago and haven’t advanced your technical skills in that time, it might be time to brush up. One recruiter says gaining certifications in tech areas and taking internships at hot tech companies are good options for future IT consultants who want to stay in the know.

on the job

MBAs

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insiders say, people with strong programming skills have an advantage. Although they might be doing more backroom tasks, their contributions will be more valuable to their projects. But insiders warn against being pigeonholed as a programmer. Make sure to let your manager know you’re interested in the business side of the engagement (unless, of course, you’re not) and try to make contributions to business strategy that are informed by your technical skills. Although undergrads with tech backgrounds have a lead early in the game, they can fall behind their business-side peers if they don’t develop their business skills, such as presenting and forming business analysis. Some insiders complain that after four years of hardcore computer programming they are disappointed by the lack of depth of some engagements. Other insiders are happy to see a variety of businesses and be exposed to a range of technologies. Firms vary in the depth of technical expertise they provide. Typically, the larger the consulting firm, the shallower the level of expertise. Tech product firms might require depth of technical expertise but only of a very small subset of available technologies—namely, theirs.

the role

segment of the consulting population, it’s important to remember that there’s considerably more variability around these averages than you’ll see among the junior consulting ranks. As consultants move up the career ladder, the ratio of variable, performance-based pay to overall compensation tends to increase, while the ratio of base salary tends to decrease by a commensurate amount. Because experienced hires typically join consulting firms at a more senior level, compensation from one consultant to the next—and from one year to the next—tends to vary a great deal, depending on individual, group, and firm performance. For these reasons, compensation figures for mid-career hires aren’t as readily available as salary information for consultants recruited directly from college campuses or MBA programs.

At A Glance


getting hired

the workplace

On the job

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The INDUSTRY

Advanced-Degree Candidates Placement for advanced-degree candidates can require some extra research to find a firm where intellectual prowess will rewarded. But if you’ve got a PhD, you can probably handle it. For computer science and engineering PhDs, look for IT consulting firms that assist R&D-heavy industries, such as defense, energy, aerospace, and biotechnology. These are often smaller, boutique firms that are started by PhDs, maybe even people you know through academia. PhDs entering consulting also need to ask themselves a few difficult questions: Can I relate to a business audience? Can I explain highly technical concepts and theory to laypeople? Can I tie my ideas to the bottom line? Do I know what PowerPoint is? If you answer yes to all of the above, you might be on the right track.

The Inside Scoop What Employees Really Like Love My Job Most people who work for consulting firms talk about how intellectually stimulating their work is. “The work is just phenomenal,” one insider says. They enjoy the challenges of going into new settings and facing some of the most difficult issues business leaders have to deal with. Although most don’t admit it openly, there’s also a palpable excitement associated with being able to sit down with a CEO of a large firm and tell him or her what to do. Consultants also take pride in seeing the impact their advice has on clients’ businesses.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

People Power The key resource of consulting firms—some would say their only resource—is the people. All of the top-tier firms fill their offices by skimming the cream of the undergraduate and business school elite. Insiders tell us working at a consulting firm is very much like being 64


on a team with the best people from school: “People are invariably bright, interesting, hardworking, and motivated,” says one. Many insiders also say they enjoy socializing with their colleagues. A common refrain is, “These are people I’d be hanging out with anyway, even if we didn’t work together.”

Learning Environment One of the thrills for many consultants is the constant learning that comes with the consulting workload. Whether you’re learning about a new technology, company, or industry; talking to people in various parts of a client organization; or brainstorming ways to deal with challenging technical problems; consulting offers a steady diet of new cases and settings. “If I worked for a tech company, all I would really know would be its products and maybe some related technology,” says one insider. “Here I get to work on all kinds of stuff. I didn’t know anything about social networking before I came here, except that Facebook was kind of cool. Now I’m working on a project that requires that I really learn it, the tech and the business model.” IT consultants say staying current on the latest and greatest computer languages, programs, and products is a must.

Why Not Take All of Me? Nearly every IT consulting insider interviewed for this guide has said that one of their favorite things about their job is that they get to use their technical skills and their business skills. Says one insider who worked for a tech products company before switching to consulting: “I got sick of working on programs and little projects but never getting to see why I was working on those projects. I wanted to see the bigger picture and see the business sense behind my programming.”

Pay and Perks Very few consultants would publicly put it at the top of their lists, but most really like the pay and perks of the position. Even if you’re not a particularly moneygrubbing type, wouldn’t you like to be able to afford

at a glance

Consultants often express their desire to get into the thick of managing a company and start making management decisions. This might be partly a case of the grass being greener, but after giving advice to so many companies and executives, many consultants are eager to try their hand from the client side. They also complain about not getting the in-depth experience they’d get if they worked at a company. A large number of consultants leave after a few years to start their own businesses or work in operating companies.

Where’s the Tech?

If the hours and the travel don’t get to you, the unpredictability inherent in the consulting role just might. This is a complaint we’ve heard again and again from all consultants regardless of function, industry, or level of seniority. At the heart of consulting lies a service business, pure and simple. And in a service business, the customer is calling the shots. “It’s the one thing I just can’t get over,” says one insider at a top-tier consulting firm. “You just never know what you’re going to get when you check your voicemail at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday. Everything can change on a moment’s notice at the client’s whim, and there’s just nothing you can do about it.” WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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Control

The travel, the hours, and the difficulty of maintaining a personal life top everyone’s list of consulting complaints, regardless of the industry or function in which they specialize. One beleaguered IT consultant warns that “consulting firms care a lot about building relationships—just not your own.” It’s not that people in other professions don’t work long, hard hours, but the consulting lifestyle, which often requires the consultant to be out of town four days a week for months at a time, is hard to maintain during the long run, especially for people with families. When we asked one of our insiders what kind of individual thrived as an IT consultant, problem-solving and

getting hired

A Dog’s Life

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Watch Out!

While some in consulting are pining to be managers at “real” companies, others miss the creative thrill of making stuff that often comes with hardware or software development. “Sometimes I get to roll up my sleeves and do the dirty work,” says one IT consultant. “Other times PowerPoint is the only computing skill I need.”

on the job

Many people enter consulting with the idea that they’ll do it for a couple of years and then move on to something else. “It’s hands-down the best job for someone [planning to start] a business or work at a Fortune 500 company.” says an insider, “You can get behind the thought processes of key executives.” Although it might not be wise to give this top billing during your interview, a consulting firm is an excellent training ground regardless of the type of work you ultimately wish to pursue, and many firms work hard to stay in touch with their alumni networks. Consulting gives people not only a chance to learn about different organizations and industries, but also a long list of contacts with whom they can network when they decide they’re ready to move on.

“I’d rather be . . .”

the companies

Future Options

technical savvy were not the first things he mentioned. “The ideal candidate would definitely be someone in their twenties, single, and with no kids. Otherwise, the job requires too much sacrifice.” Some individuals actually thrive on the pace and excitement of the frenetic schedule. For many others, a few years are about all they want to put up with.

the role

a nice apartment, a new car, and be able to pay off all those school loans in a couple of years? Moreover, many firms provide reimbursement of tuition expenses for some of their employees. Beyond that, all of the firms make sure the extensive travel and the long hours are as painless as possible. Even if you don’t relish the idea of staying in Phoenix for the next three months, you probably won’t mind staying at The Phoenician Resort.


Careers in IT Consulting No matter how good your advice, there’s also no guarantee a client will take it. If you like to see your ideas in action—or like to act on your ideas yourself—you might find a consulting gig frustrating. “At the end of the day, when all’s said and done, you’re telling somebody else what to do, and you don’t have control over it,” a consultant says. “You can sometimes feel like your hands are tied when you can’t make that decision.”

Who Am I Working for Again? Although consulting is often considered one of the most glamorous options for people in IT, some of that sheen wears off when you discover you are actually working for PETCO, Pic’n Save, the New York City Department of Sanitation, or the shoeinsert company that is your client for that week. Clients pick consulting companies, and consulting companies pick consultants—you’re at the bottom of that food chain. If you wouldn’t want to apply for a job with these companies, just imagine how you’ll feel when you get located deep in their bowels doing systems integration or IT architecture for a few weeks.

Second-Class Citizens IT consulting insiders at firms that also do non-IT consulting complain that sometimes they are treated a little differently than their business-side colleagues. “IT folks can become second-class citizens,” says one insider. “We aren’t considered as important sometimes. Sure, when you want me to tell you the technical specifications of our analysis, you will listen. But when you relay them to the CEO, you get all the credit.” In privately held consulting companies with a partnership scheme, people with technical backgrounds can be underrepresented among the upper ranks. “In the end, your compensation and advancement is tied to the kinds of work you bring into the firm,” says one partner. “If you’re bringing in little $1 million IT jobs and your coworker is bringing in $10 million M&A jobs, you’re going to be in trouble. After a certain level, your ability to sell 66


the firm’s services is the most important thing, so you have to be able to sell, which some IT people can’t do as well.”

The Long Haul By one insider’s estimate, only one out of ten people who start with a consulting firm are really consultants at heart. As almost anyone who graduated from business school three years ago will tell you, very few classmates remain consultants for long. People leave for a variety of reasons, but most do leave. Therefore, if you’re thinking you’d like to set down roots and have something substantive to show for your work, you’d likely be better off in another type of organization.

at a glance

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Getting Hired

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The Recruiting Process................... 70 Consulting Interview Breakdown....71 Interviewing Tips........................... 73 Grilling Your Interviewer............... 73

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The reCruITInG ProCess In general, IT consulting requires large teams of people who actually do the computer work rather than simply give advice on a particular IT strategy or approach. As a result, there are usually more opportunities for people from undergraduate or technical backgrounds than from MBA programs. Th at said, MBA types with strong engineering backgrounds are especially valuable, even given the smaller number of jobs that require their rare alchemy of skills. Hiring criteria depend on the kind of position for which you are applying. Interviews can be the worst of the business and IT worlds. You might be required to do a case interview and answer technical questions. Undergraduates with degrees in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, human factors engineering, chemical engineering, and materials science are in high demand to fi ll entry-level IT consulting positions. IT consulting fi rms also consider candidates who have studied other disciplines such as math, fi nance, business, and marketing. Some IT consulting practices (especially fi rms that hire large numbers of entry-level staff each year, such as Accenture) hire for these positions through on-campus recruiting processes. Others rely on their online recruiting systems to target and select qualifi ed applicants. Aside from the required technical aptitude, the skills required of IT consultants and their counterparts in strategy consulting are actually quite similar. Problem-solving skills, interpersonal aptitude, teamwork, intellectual curiosity, a customer-service orientation, and communication skills are top priorities for recruiters in this area. Strong analytical skills and a passion for improving business processes for client companies also can help. “Th e way I see it, we’re 70


helping corporate America make the best possible use of its human capital,” says one recruiter. “It’s that side of the business—the interplay between technology and human capital—that I fi nd fascinating about work in IT consulting. We don’t just sit in front of computers all day doing coding or working on systems implementation.” Credibility, good judgment, and poise are also essential. “From day one, you’re put in front of the client as an expert. If the recruiter that interviews you can’t see putting you in that position, you’re not going to get the job, regardless of your technical expertise.”

> TIP Let’s face it, there are plenty of stereotypes when it comes to people with IT skills: geeky, introverted, antisocial, poorly dressed, and unable to communicate. These are pretty much the opposite of what consultants are required to be: suave, extroverted, impeccably dressed, and skilled orators. Coming from an IT background, you’ve got to work extra hard to make sure you address the doubts that might be in your interviewer’s mind. Presentation is essential, from little things such as a firm handshake, to big things such as confidence.

Firms that hire IT consultants look for candidates with technical educational backgrounds: Typically, candidates who are successful landing IT consulting jobs hold degrees in computer science, management information systems, or systems engineering. Candidates with degrees in mathematics, fi nance, or accounting—generally with work experience in IT— also tend to do well in the IT job search. Many fi rms that hire IT consultants conduct formal recruiting campaigns at undergraduate institutions. Because there are relatively few MBAs among the IT consulting ranks, fi rms tend not to recruit extensively at graduate business schools. Of the consulting fi rms that actively recruit on campuses (and as we noted earlier, not all of them

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> TIP People struggle to find a way to relate their IT experience to the world of consulting, but in an interview doing this is absolutely necessary. So what do all IT jobs and consulting have in common? Problem solving. Think of ways you have used technology to solve a business problem, even if it was just writing a little code during a summer internship.

ThE rOlE ThE COmPaNIEs

ConsulTInG InTervIew Breakdown A typical IT consulting interview generally consists

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> TIP

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Recruiters say teamwork is essential in nearly every consulting capacity. Prepare yourself to address questions that will probe for your teamwork skills. Think of examples of times you have led teams. Try describing yourself as a team member. Team sports and extracurriculars count, so feel free to use them when talking about your ability to collaborate. WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

ThE WOrkPlaCE

of several parts. At a minimum, these include an introductory “get to know you” conversation, a resume review, a Q&A section designed to enable you to prove you’re qualifi ed for the job (be prepared to be grilled on your technical expertise), and a few behavioral questions. Most likely you also will be asked about your areas of technical expertise.

ON ThE JOb

do), most follow a fairly standard recruiting routine for undergraduate and graduate students. Th e typical tryout starts with an on-campus interview or two and fi nishes up with a day at the offi ce where you want to work. Interviews can be one-on-one or two-on-one and usually include a basic resume review and a lot of questions designed to determine your fi t with the organization. In addition, many interviews include every consulting recruiter’s favorite fear-inspiring tool: the case interview. Of the consultants fi rms will be hiring in 2008, IT consultants are especially in demand. Recruiting will be competitive because these are popular jobs. If you’re serious about a consulting career, know the fi rms before you talk to them, develop relationships with as many people at each fi rm as possible, and make sure you get the details right, from carefully proofreading each correspondence to dressing sharply and appropriately for your interviews. And have your story down: Know why you want to be a consultant as well as why you want to be a consultant at that particular fi rm. “You need to think about whether this is the right job for you,” an insider says. “You need to look at the people you meet as you’re going through and decide whether the fi rms you’re interviewing with are places where you’d be happy. Th at usually comes down to the people. If you’re not looking at one of the larger, established brand names, you’ve got to be clear about the fi rm’s position, where its fl ow of consulting projects is going to come from. With the established fi rms, it’s probably worth understanding how they’ve dealt with the last couple of years, how busy people have been, and [whether] the consultants have been given suffi cient experience.” “You can’t go halfhearted,” another insider says. “For people who are nontraditional types of hires, especially humanities majors, fi nd out which companies typically hire people like you. If you’re a businessperson with a stunning GPA, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll get interviews. If you have a GPA that isn’t spectacular, you’ll have to think of other ways to get that interview.” Expect the bar to be high.

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Careers in IT Consulting Skills you need: • Relevant industry/functional experience • High energy and enthusiasm • Team orientation • Analytical skills • Problem-solving ability • Intellectual curiosity • Excitement about consulting • Knowledge about what makes the interviewing firm different • Ability to pass the airplane test—do they really want to sit next to you on a long overseas flight? • Interpersonal skills Whether you’re participating in a little get-toknow-you banter with your interviewer or clobbering your sixth consecutive case interview question, you should be cognizant of whether you’re establishing that you possess these necessary skills. With that in mind, we’ve outlined the major categories of questions you’re likely to encounter in a consulting interview.

Resume-Based Questions We would have thought that this would go without saying, but according to our insiders, it doesn’t, so we’ll say it: Know your resume inside and out, and be prepared to speak intelligently about anything that appears on it. This includes taking a moment to consider why you chose your university, your course of study, and any extracurricular activities or personal interests that you’ve included on the one-page summary of your life. Many candidates gloss over these discussions, but your answers to resume-based questions say a lot about you. As you prepare for your interviews, take a good, hard look at your resume. Consider the points you’d most like to convey, then make sure you’re armed with two or three talking points about each item. If there’s something particularly unusual on your resume (you ran the New York City Marathon, you went to medical school before you completed your computer science degree), be sure to practice your spiel. Once you know how you’ll discuss each bullet point, take your 72


preparation one step further: Think ahead about how each bullet point on your resume can be turned into a compelling, but short, story that demonstrates your aptitude for consulting.

Behavioral Questions Though firms vary in the degree to which they rely on the case interview, almost every consulting interview will involve some variation on the behavioral interview. In behavioral interviews, candidates are asked to cite experiences—professional, academic, and personal—in which they’ve demonstrated specific attributes. Examples of behavioral questions include, “Tell me about a time you made a mistake,” “Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem,” or “Tell me about a time when you found yourself wandering naked through the mountains of Tibet carrying only matches, a compass, and a bar of chocolate. How did you react?” Even though the questions may seem more Barbara Walters and less Larry King than you’d expect, behavioral interviewing is based on the premise that patterns of past behavior most accurately predict future performance. Advocates of behavioral interviewing report that this technique enables interviewers to most accurately assess whether a candidate possesses the requisite skills and personality for on-the-job success. The logic is appealing: Anyone can rattle off a list of attributes commonly sought by investment banks, but successful candidates can readily substantiate these claims with examples that demonstrate competence in any given area. For example, it’s fairly easy for a candidate to claim exceptional problem-solving capabilities knowing that consultants assign a great deal of importance to logical, results-focused thinking. however, In a behavioral interview the interviewer might ask the candidate to describe a particular project—completed during a summer job, perhaps, or in an academic context—that required a great deal of problem-solving aptitude. What does all of this mean for you, the job seeker? It means that knowing the job for which you are applying and knowing exactly how your experiences and

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getting hired

tables are turned, and you’re asked if there’s anything you’d like to ask your interviewer. Not surprisingly, this is where many a candidate assumes he’s done and lets his interview guard down. Of course, it would be unwise to abandon your interview persona at this stage. When it’s your turn to ask the questions, what do you ask? First, we should tell you this is a topic on which reasonable people can and do disagree. Some insiders insist that you should always ask a question when offered the opportunity, and your question should prove to your interviewer how much research you’ve done on the industry and the specific firm. We disagree. If the sole purpose of your question is to prove you’ve checked out the firm’s website, read its annual report, or read Consultants News, chances are your interviewer can tell a mile away.

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of people every year, thousands and thousands of people compete for those positions. There’s no surefire way to guarantee an offer and there are few, if any, back doors into the organizations. In most cases, your best bet will be to go through the standard on-campus recruiting programs. Beyond that, insiders tell us that there are a number of ways you can improve your chances in the interview process. Here are a few of their suggestions; about how to prepare for your interviews: 1. Be ready to give a good answer to the question “Why do you want to go into consulting?” Of

In any interview, there comes a point when the

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Although the top consulting firms hire hundreds

Grilling Your Interviewer

the companies

Interviewing Tips

course, there is no single right answer, but there are wrong answers. The worst is to say something you don’t really believe. Even if you do happen to slip it by the interviewer, you’ll pay the price later. 2. Keep a high energy level. Recruiters get tired of asking the same questions, so it’s up to you to inject some excitement into the interview. At the end of a long day in the cubicle, chances are good they’ll remember more about your enthusiasm than about the bullet points on your resume. 3. Know what distinguishes the firm you’re interviewing with from its competitors and be able to explain why you want to work for them. Everybody knows most people who want to go into consulting will interview with all the firms. You still need to demonstrate you have enough interest in a particular employer to have done your homework.

the role

achievements relate to that job are the most important things you can do to prepare for consulting interviews. You might be accustomed to preparing for interviews through a line-by-line audit of each individual bullet point on your resume. In some interviews, this is a sound approach. An interviewer might very well ask, “I see you worked at XYZ Corporation over the summer. What were your responsibilities there?” Questions like this will certainly arise in consulting interviews, but perhaps more prevalent are questions like, “Tell me about a time that you took on a responsibility that perhaps wasn’t part of your official job description.” You could choose to point out that at your previous job you designed a comprehensive training program for new employees, organized guest speakers, and designed metrics to track the program’s efficacy. Alternatively, you might choose to highlight your involvement in a particular B-school study group, in which you took up the flag for an ailing team member and wrote a presentation that technically fell outside the scope of your assigned duties. Either example works, as long as it shows you’ve taken initiative in the past.


Careers in IT Consulting Our advice on the issue is straightforward: Stick to those questions that you’d genuinely like answered, as well as questions that would be difficult for you to answer without the benefit of insider insight. If you really do want to know why your interviewers chose to work at Firm XYZ, then ask away, and don’t worry that your interviewer will dismiss your question as a waste of time. We didn’t speak to a single recruiter who dinged a candidate because their questions weren’t insightful or penetrating enough. Of course, recruiters are quick to point out that your questions shouldn’t display blatant ignorance regarding the industry, the company, or the specific position for which you’re interviewing. You won’t win points for playing it safe and asking your interviewer to describe the last project he worked on, but you probably won’t lose any either. If you’ve had a reasonably good interview so far (and perhaps even more so if you haven’t), you might not want to rock the boat with questions designed to demonstrate how very clever you are. If you’re reading this and thinking that you couldn’t possibly ask a plain vanilla question that doesn’t dazzle your interviewer with the power of your blinding insight, don’t worry! There are ways to jazz up your standard-issue “What Questions Do You Have for Us?” replies. One recruiter suggests that candidates reframe relatively broad questions by personalizing them. For example, rather than asking your interviewer to describe the firm’s culture, you might choose to put it this way: “I’ve talked to several consultants representing a range of practice areas, and a number of them have mentioned that they’ve been surprised by how accessible the senior people are at this firm. I wonder if this is consistent with what you’ve experienced, and whether you feel that this is indicative of the culture throughout the company.” Provided that you actually have spoken to consultants (and don’t even think about referring to fictitious conversations), this question allows you to establish your sincere interest in the firm while remaining relatively safe. Another insider tip: Like your mother said, remember to be interested, not interesting. Pay 74


attention when your interviewer introduces himself, and make a mental note of the geographic location and practice area or business unit he represents. When the spotlight turns to you, give your question a groupspecific slant. For example, “You mentioned earlier that you specialize in website development. I’d be interested to learn more about how you arrived at this specialization, and whether your path is representative of the typical career progression here.” This question isn’t so generic that your interviewer’s eyes will glaze over, yet it also doesn’t suggest that your primary objective is proving your business acumen. As long as you play by a few simple ground rules, insiders say this really is just a chance for you to resolve any outstanding questions you have about the firm: issues that aren’t necessarily apparent from the company’s recruiting literature or website, or topics that weren’t addressed in the company’s information session. For example, you might want to ask about the company’s official or unofficial mentoring programs, the criteria by which your performance will be assessed, how analysts’ responsibilities typically evolve from their first year to the second, or the types of training programs that would be available to you if you joined. Another insider tip: Try to introduce your question with a little “tag” that explains to the interviewer why you’re asking a particular question. For example, “One of the things I really found useful during my summer internship was the formal mentoring program that the company offered. I wonder if you could tell me about mentoring at your organization—do you have a formal program, or is informal mentoring more the norm?” Even if it’s short and sweet, adding a personal touch will convince your interviewer you’re sincere in asking your question, rather than asking it just for the sake of asking it. While you’re crafting questions to lob at your interviewer, keep one last thing in mind: Most of your interviewers will be on a fairly tight timetable, and they’ll be struggling to keep each interview to the 30- or 45-minute time slot it’s been allotted. Learn to read your interviewer. If it’s clear she is trying desperately to wrap things up, don’t feel pressured to

at a glance

Questions that Indicate You’ve Already Got an Exit Strategy

Presumptuous Questions

getting hired

“I really want to work overseas at some point during my career. How can I improve my chances of being transferred to my first-choice office?” Well, let’s see: You could start by getting a job offer with this firm in the first place. Interviewers typically dislike questions from candidates who prematurely assume they’ll receive an offer, so be careful to avoid even the least bit of presumptuousness in your questions.

the workplace

“What do people typically do once they leave your firm? Are they able to find jobs with other consulting firms relatively easily?” Unless the company with which you’re interviewing offers an analyst/associate position that is expressly described as a two- or three-year program (and this will not be the case for all firms), you should probably avoid giving your interviewer the impression that you’ve already got your sights set on bigger and better things.

on the job

When it comes time to ask questions of your interviewer, there are a few sand traps that you should avoid. As one insider put it, “It’s probably not a good idea to ask me anything that would make me question your intelligence or your integrity.” In addition, you don’t want to ask questions that display a blatant ignorance of the industry, the firm, or the nature of the job for which you are applying. Other types of questions to avoid include the following:

“One of the things I’ve heard over and over again is that the travel is really exhausting and that you never sleep in your own bed. How many weeks out of the year would you say you’re on the road?” Interviewers expect that by the time you’ve gotten to this stage in the process you know what you’re getting into and that you’ve accepted it. If you’re still worried about evenings, weekends, and vacations, you’re interviewing for the wrong job.

the companies

What Not to Do

Questions that Suggest You Have Underlying Concerns about the Job the role

ask your questions simply because you’ve prepared them. If you sense she’s trying to move things along, a diplomatic response might be, “Thanks. I’m conscious of your time restraints and know that the interview schedule is tight. Perhaps I could take one of your cards and contact you later with any questions?” This way, you’ve left it up to her—if she’s indeed at the end of her interview tether, she’ll take you up on your offer. If she’s got plenty of time, she’ll invite you to ask away and she’ll be impressed that you’ve respected her schedule, which will win you extra points.

Questions with a Tattle-Tale Tone

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

“I know that your company eliminated about 15 percent of its workforce back in 2001 and 2002. I’m curious whether your firm has developed a better way of adjusting hiring activity to the market.” This is a question you might want to ask, but use your better judgment. After all, it’s a little early in the process to reveal your cynicism about the industry. WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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For Your Reference

7

Consulting-Speak��78 Consulting Information��82 Recommended Reading��83 WetFeet Resources��83

At A Glance The INDUSTRY the companies On the job the workplace getting hired


ConsultingSpeak

companies along specified dimensions. For example, a software firm might hire a consulting firm to conduct a benchmark analysis of how much other firms are spending on customer service.

To help prepare you for your interviews and a

Big Four

possible career in the field, we’ve asked our insiders to give us the most up-to-date consulting jargon. Beware: Unauthorized use of these terms has been known to seriously offend every known species of consultant.

2x2 Pronounced “two by two,” this is a favorite consulting tool used to analyze a number of items along two dimensions. It’s basically a graph with X and Y axes that cross in the middle, creating four different sectors. Don’t be surprised if you’re asked to produce one of these during your interview.

Activity-based costing Assigns overhead costs to customers and products based on the amount of activity and resources spent on these customers and products.

Back-of-the-envelope calculation. A rough, on-the-spot estimate. Among other things, the case interview (see below) is intended to test whether you’re comfortable performing calculations of this type.

Balanced scorecard Enhances performance measurement by creating a “scorecard” based on a balance of four perspectives— customer, internal, financial, and future. Allows companies to measure both daily performance and long-term strategy.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Benchmark Here’s another standard-issue item from the consulting toolbox. Benchmarks are levels of performance or output against which one can evaluate the performance of another performance or output. A benchmark study is an analysis of the performance of 78


In a consulting context, the Big Four generally refers to the consulting firms currently or formerly affiliated with the big four accounting firms—generally not to the accounting firms themselves. Just in case you got lost somewhere along the way, here’s a quick recap: The Big Four were the Big Five until Arthur Andersen went bankrupt after the Enron scandal. By then, consulting firms were already separating from their audit partners: Ernst & Young had sold its consulting practice to Cap Gemini to form Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (now Capgemini) and KPMG Consulting had broken off from its accounting side and gone public (it has since changed its name to BearingPoint). Other members of this group include PricewaterhouseCoopers, which sold its consulting unit to IBM in July 2002, and Deloitte Consulting, where a buyout by consulting partners was scotched (the consulting arm has since been reintegrated into Deloitte). The Big Four firms offer strategic advice, information systems support, and other more specialized consulting services to many of the same corporations served by the elite consulting firms. They also boast strong information technology capabilities on projects requiring heavy systems implementation work, and in some cases offer outsourcing to compete with the technology and systems consulting firms.

Blamestorming Did something go wrong? Blamestorming involves two or more people engaged in a discussion devoted to determining who’s to blame.

Bloatware Software applications with excessive and often useless features are known as bloatware or fatware.

at a glance

Core competencies

Business process outsourcing is the contracting of a specific business task, such as payroll, to a third-party service provider. Usually, BPO is implemented as a cost-saving measure for tasks a company requires but does not depend upon to maintain their position in the marketplace.

Things a company does best.

BPR (Business Process Reengineering)

The tangible output, product, result, or solution you give to the client. If you promise an analysis of shipping costs, for instance, that’s your deliverable. Deliverables typically come with dates when you will deliver.

Cycle time reduction Decreasing the time it takes to complete a business process.

Deliverables

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

Engagement/project/case/study/job

Takes BPO a step further. Providers of BTO services say new types of outsourcing relationships can help initiate technology-based business transformations— rather than simply lowering costs.

These are all different ways in which the firms refer to a specific project. Interviewers often note which term you use—just to see whether you’ve read the company literature. Using the wrong word is not an automatic ding, but you’ll impress your interviewer if you get it right.

Buy-in

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Communication technology that helps companies manage customer information. CRM systems are often tightly integrated networks that see movement in sales activity, predict product demand, and manage the logistics of complex teams to serve the buyer and seller.

Project team, usually composed of anywhere from 2 to 15 consultants.

A marketing term—particularly pervasive in IT consulting circles—that can mean different things. Think of it as the IT consulting equivalent of “soup to nuts.” It’s almost always followed by the term “solution,” which is an equally prevalent (and equally amorphous) term. Depending on the context, it can mean the consulting firm offers advice on everything from strategy to implementation, product design to delivery, or all parts of a business (from the first element of the value chain to the last). Though the term has no formal scope and gets used for a lot of different things, you can interpret it to mean, “We do a lot of different things that relate to each other.” WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Case team

End-to-end getting hired

Agreement from others. Usually refers to support for an initiative from a company’s senior managers or executives. Also refers to support within a company for a project or initiative proposed by consultants.

the workplace

BTO (business transformation outsourcing)

on the job

An IT solution to streamline operations by connecting all parts of a business electronically—including HR, billing, and inventory. A popular consulting project during the ’90s, ERP spurred double-digit annual growth for firms.

the companies

The process of analyzing, redefining, and redesigning business activities to eliminate or minimize activities that add cost and to maximize activities that add value. The term was coined in the early ’90s, and it suggested that organizations start from a blank sheet, completely reconceptualize major business processes, and use information technology to obtain breakthrough improvements in performance. The term became unpopular in the late ’90s, and many businesspeople associate BPR with failures.

the role

BPO (business process outsourcing)


Careers in IT Consulting Framework

Onsite

Basically, a framework is any kind of structure you can use to look at a problem. It can be as simple as, “The company’s problems stem from internal and external factors.” Or it can be something more MBA-ish, such as Porter’s Five Forces. Consultants love frameworks, and the more you use them (up to a point), the more analytical you’ll sound. (See: Porter’s Five Forces.)

Working at the client’s offices.

Functional area One of the major functions performed in operating a business (e.g., marketing, finance, or sales).

Implementation

Operations Refers to all of the day-to-day tasks associated with the running of a company. In a manufacturing company, this includes the buying and processing of raw materials and the sale and distribution of the final products. Many consulting firms do a big business providing operations advice. At the simplest level, this just means they help clients run their businesses better.

Outsourcing

These days, nobody admits to doing just pure strategy work. The reason? Too many consulting firms were criticized for leaving behind a big stack of slides that never resulted in any action by the client. As a result, all of the firms now talk about how they work with clients to make sure that their expensive analyses and recommendations are actually implemented.

To reduce overhead expenses, lots of companies are turning to outsiders to provide many of the functions and services traditionally done in-house. Popular candidates for outsourcing include accounting services, marketing communications, payroll management, and data processing. Increasingly, public firms are turning to these services because they create stable revenue flows, which their investors like.

Industry or Corporate America

Pain point

Consultants’ term for the companies they serve (everyone besides a consultant or other adviser such an investment bank).

Migrating an entire business function outside the company to a third-party provider.

Refers to a recurring business problem or challenge that inhibits an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives. For example, a pain point for a pharmaceutical company might be navigating the regulatory environment in an effective manner. For most consulting hopefuls, the dreaded case interview would constitute a pain point.

Methodology

Porter’s Five Forces

An analytical tool or approach used to solve a client’s problem.

Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter’s famous explanation of the five forces that drive industry competition: potential entrants, suppliers, substitutes, buyers, and competitors.

Lift and shift

On the beach In consulting, this refers to any period during which you aren’t staffed to a project. Although you won’t necessarily see any sunshine here, you also won’t have to be anyplace in particular. So there’s a chance you’ll be able to leave the office early, do your laundry, pay your bills, and maybe even see your honey. 80


Presentation In the traditional consulting project, the presentation was the means by which a consulting firm shared all of its insights and recommendations with a client company. The client’s top management team would assemble in a boardroom, and a partner or case team

at a glance

Reengineering

Shareholder value analysis

Stop the bleeding

Supply chain

Total quality management (TQM) Teaches that quality, like everything else, has an intrinsic value and is important to customers. TQM spreads customer orientation throughout the company and empowers employees to fix problems in order to sustain world-class quality of products, services, and processes.

True north The place you want to get to.

Value chain analysis An analysis of all of the processes that go into a product.

Vaporware

Assembling complete systems out of many components, and integrating them so they all work together.

If you’ve read about a piece of software or hardware but can’t find it for sale anywhere, you might have found a piece of vaporware. Usually, vaporware has been well-advertised for months; however, despite the optimistic marketing, the product isn’t available.

Thought leadership Refers to the process by which consulting firms preserve and institutionalize their intellectual capital. In much the same way college professors are expected to teach and publish, consulting firms are expected


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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Systems integration

getting hired

The complete set of suppliers of goods and services required for a company to operate its business. For example, a manufacturer’s supply chain might include providers of raw materials, components, custommade parts and packaging materials. Supply chain management refers to the management of supplier relationships in order to gain competitive advantage in cost, service, and quality.

A collection of methodologies or tools consultants can use to help solve a problem.

the workplace

Addressing a company’s most urgent, serious and/or costly business issues first. Similarly, a company might be referred to as “hemorrhaging cash” or “bleeding talent.”

Toolkit on the job

The goal of many companies is to enhance their value to shareholders, and they engage lots of consulting firms to help them do it. There are all manner of ways, proprietary and not, to analyze shareholder value.

the companies

Reengineering lost its cachet in the mid-’90s. In its purest sense, a reengineering project was supposed to involve a complete rethinking of a company’s operations from ground zero.

to advise companies and think big thoughts. Thought leadership refers to a company’s intellectual capital— for instance, it might refer to a tool or a framework used to solve a business problem that can be applied to other consulting engagements. A company’s thought leadership content is often preserved internally, but firms routinely share their ideas and frameworks with the broader business community through white papers, journal articles, and other publications. BCG’s growth-share matrix and Watson Wyatt’s human capital index are examples of thought leadership; these consulting firms developed frameworks for solving business problems that were then shared with the broader business community.

the role

manager would spin through dozens of overhead slides displaying all of the analysis his or her firm had completed. Although the standard overhead slideshow is now considered a bit sterile, it’s still a popular drill at most firms.

aT a glaNCE


A vertical consulting practice is one that off ers a general management consultancy applicable to one industry only (e.g., health care), whereas a horizontal consulting practice (such as HR or IT) focuses on a specifi c discipline applicable to many diff erent industries.

Virtual ofﬁce/hoteling Sexy terms for an offi ce setup in which nobody has a personal desk or offi ce. Means you could be hanging out with the clerks at Copymat.

White-space opportunity A money-making opportunity in an area you aren’t set up to make money in. Th ink of it as an unbridged gap between what you do and what others do, or an untapped source of growth.

FOr yOur rEFErENCE

gETTINg hIrED

ThE WOrkPlaCE

ON ThE JOb

ThE COmPaNIEs

ThE INDusTry

Vertical

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ConsulTInG InformaTIon A general resource for information about the

consulting industry is Consultants News, published by Kennedy Information. For more information about this and other Kennedy publications, visit ConsultingCentral.com or the Kennedy Information website, www.kennedyinfo.com. Th e Professional and Technical Consultants Association can be found at www.patca.org. At this site, you’ll fi nd links to PATCA’s quarterly journal, with interesting articles on such topics as biotechnology and other technical consulting fi elds. Reading Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Business 2.0, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times is an easy way to stay up-todate on the latest events and issues that management consultants address, and will arm you with plenty of information for your interviews. Each of these publications has a corresponding website that’s worth a visit. If you’re a student and your library off ers access to Factiva (an online database that off ers full-text articles from thousands of individual publications, including all of those listed above), you can search for industry-specifi c and company-specifi c news to prepare for interviews. Plunkett Research—another online database—off ers a wealth of information about the consulting industry, including detailed profi les of consulting fi rms, white papers that describe the trends shaping the industry, and industry-specifi c interview tips. If your campus library off ers Plunkett Research Online—or if it off ers the print version of its consulting industry guide—it’s worth taking a look at these resources in advance of your interviews. If you’re pressed for time and need a quick synopsis of a particular fi rm, take a look at the Hoovers online database (www.hooversonline.com).

at a glance

Recommended Reading

IT Portfolio Management: Unlocking the Business Value of Technology

Online Resources

Product Strategy for High Technology Companies

CNET (www.cnet.com) News, product reviews, downloads, and more.

Slashdot.org (www.slashdot.org) “News for nerds, stuff that matters.”

ZDNet (www.zdnet.com) “Where technology means business.”

Books The standard for project managers, who are the ones who manage technology development.

Weaving the Web A look at the past, and a preview of the future, by the inventor of the World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee (Collins, 2000)

WetFeet Resources Visit WetFeet to get help on everything from

finding the right firm to acing your case. At www. wetfeet.com, you will find: • Articles on writing killer cover letters and resumes. • Tips on putting your best foot forward in your interviews. • Guides to specific firms. • An in-depth insider series on how to ace your case interviews. • A wide range of topical information relevant to your job search.

getting hired

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge

Michael E. McGrath (McGraw-Hill, 2000)

the workplace

Wired News (www.wired.com) All the latest from the wonderful world of technology.

An in-depth look at high-tech product management.

on the job

eWEEK (www.eweek.com) Enterprise technology news and reviews.

Bryan Maizlish and Robert Handler (Wiley, 2005)

the companies

Industry rag. Gives annual awards for best consulting companies, best small consulting companies, and best consultants under the age of 30. A must-read for a flavor of the consulting industry.

the role

Consulting Magazine (www.consultingmag.com)

An overview of how to manage IT investments.

Project Management Institute (Project Management Institute, 2004)

The Economics of Information Technology: An Introduction

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

A look at the economic factors at play in the technology industry. Hal R. Varian, Joseph Farrell, and Carl Shapiro (Cambridge University Press, 2005)


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WETFEET INSIDER GUIDES series Ace Your Case - Consulting Interviews Ace Your Case® I: Consulting Interviews, 3rd ed. Ace Your Case® II: Mastering the Case Interview Ace Your Case® III: Market-Sizing Questions Ace Your Case® IV: Business Strategy Questions Ace Your Case® V: Business Operations Questions Interviewing Ace Your Interview! Beat the Street®: Investment Banking Interviews Beat the Street® II: I-Banking Interview Practice Guide The Wharton MBA Case Interview Study Guide: Volume I The Wharton MBA Case Interview Study Guide: Volume II Resumes & Cover Letters Killer Consulting Resumes Killer Cover Letters & Resumes Killer Investment Banking Resumes Job Hunting Getting Your Ideal Internship Job Hunting A to Z: Landing the Job You Want Job Hunting in New York City Job Hunting in San Francisco Financial Services Careers 25 Top Financial Services Firms Careers in Accounting Careers in Asset Management and Retail Brokerage Careers in Investment Banking Careers in Venture Capital Financial Services Companies Deutsche Bank Goldman Sachs Group J.P. Morgan Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley UBS AG INTERNATIONAL CAREERS 25 Top Global Leaders The International MBA Student’s Guide to the U.S. Job Search A.P. Moller–Maersk

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Consulting Careers 25 Top Consulting Firms Careers in Management Consulting Careers in Specialized Consulting: Information Technology Consulting for PhDs, Lawyers, and Doctors Consulting Companies Accenture Bain & Company Booz & Company Boston Consulting Group Deloitte Consulting McKinsey & Company Career Management Be Your Own Boss Changing Course, Changing Careers Finding the Right Career Path Negotiating Your Salary and Perks Networking Works! Green Careers Survival Guide for Women in Business Industries and Careers: General Industries and Careers for Engineers Industries and Careers for MBAs Industries and Careers for Undergraduates Million-Dollar Careers Industries and Careers: Specific Careers in Advertising and Public Relations Careers in Pharmaceuticals Careers in Brand Management Careers in Consumer Products Careers in Entertainment and Sports Careers in Health Care Careers in Human Resources Careers in Information Technology Careers in Insurance and Risk Management Careers in Marketing Careers in Nonprofits and Government Agencies Careers in Real Estate Careers in Retail Careers in Sales Careers in Supply Chain Management

at a glance

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on the job

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Who We Are WetFeet was founded in 1994 by Stanford MBAs Gary Alpert and Steve Pollock. While exploring their next career moves, they needed products like the WetFeet Insider Guides to guide them through their research and interviews. But these resources didn’t exist. So they started writing! Today, WetFeet is the trusted destination for job seekers aiming to research companies and industries, and launch and manage their careers. WetFeet helps more than a million job candidates each year to nail their interviews, avoid making ill-fated career decisions, and add thousands of dollars to their compensation packages. At WetFeet, we understand the challenges you face and the questions you need answered, so we do the research for you and present our results in a clear, credible, and entertaining way. Think of us as your own private research company whose primary mission is to assist you in making the best possible career choices. In addition to our Insider Guides, WetFeet offers services at two award-winning websites: WetFeet. com and InternshipPrograms.com. Our team members, who come from diverse backgrounds, share a passion for the job search process and a commitment to delivering the highest-quality products and customer service. WetFeet is a Universum company. Universum also publishes Jungle magazine, Jungle Campus, The Companies You Need to Know About, Hispanic Professional, and the Ideal Employer insert for Black Collegian. Through our combined efforts, we aim to provide you with an ever-expanding array of career resources that will put you on the inside track to a successful professional life.

“What’s the Story Behind the Name WetFeet?” The inspiration for our name comes from a popular business school case study about L.L. Bean, the successful mail-order company. Leon Leonwood Bean got his start because he, literally, had a case of wet feet. Every time he went hunting in the Maine woods, his shoes leaked. So, one day, he decided to make a better hunting shoe. And he did. He told his friends, and they lined up to buy their own pairs of Bean boots. And L.L. Bean, the company, was born . . . all because a man who had wet feet decided to make boots. The lesson we took from the Bean case? Lots of people get wet feet, but creative problem-solvers make boots. And the same entrepreneurial spirit motivates us at WetFeet! UNIVERSUM is the Global Employer Branding Leader As thought leaders, we drive the industry forward, having focused exclusively on Employer Branding for 18 years. We’re a trusted partner to more than 500 clients worldwide, including a majority of Fortune 100 companies. We help employers attract, understand, and retain their ideal employees. Our full-solution media portfolio—encompassing some 40 employer branding publications, ads, top company videos, and events—guides our audience of highly educated talent in the search to identify ideal employers.

If you’re technically inclined, love designing computer systems and applications, and want to explore the business problems behind your work, information technology consulting might be for you. It’s a functional specialty that is relevant and valuable to virtually any client company, regardless of its sector, industry, geographic location, or competitive position. This guide will tell you what you need to know about the many rewarding and diverse career paths in IT consulting.

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>>Strategy consulting only represents one slice of the larger consulting pie.

IN THIS WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE, YOU’LL EXPLORE ★ AN IN-DEPTH OVERVIEW OF IT CONSULTING ★ PROFILES OF 22 CONSULTING FIRMS THAT FOCUS ON IT ★ HOW CONSULTING PROJECTS ARE STRUCTURED, AND EXAMPLES OF EACH ★ KEY JOBS IN SPECIALIZED CONSULTING PRACTICES

★ WHAT TO EXPECT IN TERMS OF LIFESTYLE, HOURS, COMPENSATION, TRAVEL, AND DIVERSITY ★ WHAT INSIDERS LIKE AND DON’T LIKE ABOUT THEIR JOBS ★ AN OVERVIEW OF THE RECRUITING PROCESS AND TIPS FOR GETTING HIRED

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