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August 4, 2012 by Eric Butts Leave a Comment

What’s a Typical Day in Management Consulting?

Typical Day in Consulting

Here is another question that a lot of people thinking about going into consulting ask: what is a typical day in management consulting? First, let me say that there isn’t really a typical day, client, or project. Everyday there is a good chance you will find yourself doing something that you weren’t expecting. I’ll give you a recent example:  one of our senior partners was initially only going to participate in a client meeting via phone on a limited basis, and next thing we know she tells us she is flying into Boston to speak with the client in person, so we (i.e. I) needed to make sure the partner was fully prepped on the work we are doing at the client and the vision going forward. It wasn’t something I had planned for, but it was something that needed to be done.

You begin each with a certain list of things you want to accomplish but flexibility and the ability to prioritize will become your two new best friends. Just make sure you understand the big picture of your assignment so that you can prioritize correctly, and if you don’t have a firm grasp on the big picture then you should ask.Trust me – it’s better to get it right up front than to have someone asking you later on why you didn’t you clarify things.

With respect to typical clients (the people in this case, not the company), you may find yourself specializing in a particular industry, but there is no predicting the types of personalities you will encounter at a given company.  Truth be told,  the same applies internally to the colleagues you will work with on your project teams. While you may try to work again with people you gel with on future assignments, there are always some different players that come into the picture and change the chemistry of the team.  The change doesn’t have to be good or bad, per se. It’s just different and takes some time to adjust.
  
Each project, even when performing the same type of work, has different challenges that you will face, particularly company culture. The culture goes beyond the individual personalities that I referenced in the previous paragraph. Culture speaks to how business operate as a whole in dealing with both external parties (customers) and internal parties (employees) and how the business responds in the face of change. The change piece is the one you have to really monitor. Just because your previously client was able to do something in 10 weeks that does not mean this client can do it in the same amount of time.

The underlying reasons for the difference in change uptake can vary. It may be as simple as resources are constrained and you need to extend your timeline as a result (i.e. you have to understand what % people are dedicated to a project as they are still responsible for their “day job”) or something complex such as being fearful that their jobs will be rendered obsolete. The bottom line here is to work with your direct client contact to understand the environment you’re working in and the most efficient and effective ways to get things done.

Any more specific questions on a “typical day” just let me know in the comments.

Filed Under: Career Advice, Management Consulting

August 1, 2012 by Eric Butts 1 Comment

3 Tips For Students Transitioning to Management Consulting

I am frequently asked what advice I would give students looking to get into consulting.  My answer remains the same whether the student is in undergraduate school or business school. The first thing you have to remember is obtaining a job is more about the people interaction than anything else, unless you work in a highly technical field. The people emphasis is exponentially more important in consulting.
In fact, you will likely hear people talk about how this is a “people business” at least 600 times as you go through the process of pursuing a consulting opportunity. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should also warn you that the people aspect becomes the primary way of managing your career once you join a consulting firm. If people do not want to work with you, it doesn’t matter where you went to school or how smart you are – your stint in consulting will be short-lived if you don’t understand how to manage and navigate people.

That being said, let me explain a few of the key ways you can show your saavy in effectively handling people and their different personalities. Some of these may seem like a “nice to have,” but these behaviors need to be the baseline for you to even have a chance to be considered as a viable candidate.

1. Show Up

Always Show Up

If there is a firm that you are serious about pursuing you need to show up at every event.  Every time a firm visits campus or has a job fair, you need to be there.  If there is a coffee chat or some other off-site activity, you need to be there.  If they offer some sort of mentor or buddy program, you need to sign up for that, too.  I think you can see a pattern here.  There are several reasons why you need to do this.

First, it gives you a chance to meet people that work at the firm, and the more positive impressions you can make, the better.  Please not that it’s not just the senior partners that will influence your fate.  Think about it this way, if you were choosing between two comparable people on paper for a job opening and you already knew you enjoyed being around one of the two people, which one would YOU choose for the job?

Reason for the “airport test”

When I was interviewing for my current position, I had multiple people explain to me the importance of the “airport test.” This is when an interviewer is imply looking to determine if they would want to be stuck in an airport with a candidate. Sounds simple, but this test is the reason that many people don’t receive consulting offers form their target firms. I can’t emphasize enough that if you are not able to connect with people around you, establishing credibility as a potential consultant will be impossible.

Secondly, so many people apply to consulting firms every year but don’t show the right level of follow-through. Simply by showing up to every event and putting a face to your name, you can differentiate yourself from many peers pursuing the same positions.

This is a “gimme.” Please don’t mess this up.

2. Be a Problem Solver

Always have a solution

 Consultants are professional problem solvers. Clients hire us because their problems were too challenging to solve on their own.  If you can demonstrate that you already have a history of strategizing and executing solutions/plans then you’re already ahead of the game. For, example, let’s say you organized a fundraiser from conception to execution in order to reach a specific monetary goal. This shows me two things: 1) you have a vision and 2) you know how to follow-through on that vision to achieve the desired outcome.  These two skills are invaluable to a consultant.


3. Speak With Confidence
Everyone recruiting for consulting positions assumes that the way you speak to him/her is the way you will speak to a client. Clients hire consultants to be experts who can resolve complex issues. The last thing a client wants to feel is that you don’t even believe in what you’re doing.  If you have a well thought-out perspective based on facts, you should deliver it with confidence. Don’t get nervous about the “right” answer as there is rarely a single solution to address a particular issue. If the client (or interviewer) disagrees with your conclusion you be comfortable explaining your assumptions and collaborate to come up with a suitable approach to reach the desired outcome.  If you come undone or fold every time a suggestion of yours is challenged, you will come off as indecisive, or worse, not knowledgeable. Many times, a question really is just to make sure your points are understood, not to imply that you done something incorrectly.

Focusing on these three points will get you a long in obtaining that consulting offer that many people strive for. Feel free to add other good advice from your experience or more specific questions on making this transition in the comments.

Filed Under: Career Advice, Management Consulting

July 27, 2012 by Eric Butts 1 Comment

“I’m So Glad You Came Over!”

Over the last few weeks, I’ve partaken in several discussion about women “having it all” in the working world, which was jump-started by an article, written by Anne-Marie Slaughter, which you can find in its entirety here: “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All.” In the article, Anne Marie shares her experiences trying to deal with some of the issues that women face in balancing professional lives and family. It is a long read, but an insightful one. While I fully agree with the majority of Slaughter’s points, I couldn’t help but to think that the article was written in such a way that it implies that men don’t really face the same issue.

It wasn’t long before I started seeing responses, rebuttals and posts supporting Slaughter’s article all over Twitter and Facebook. One particular response caught my attention, “Men Never Had It All,” written by Toure (@Toure). He goes on to describe the work-life dilemma from a father and husband’s perspective, which resonated even more with me as the sold breadwinner for my family. Towards the end, I got a chill when reading the beginning of his closing paragraph:

“Men are more likely than women to choose work at a cost to family. Perhaps they suffer less emotionally over that, but there’s still pain there. We just push the feelings down and don’t complain.”

This is the absolute truth – I choose work because I have to…because my family needs me to do it, and I know many others in a similar position.When I hear that my daughter has been crying saying, “I miss my daddy,” it makes me wonder if I’m doing the right thing. Am I so focused on my family not growing up poor like I did that I’m missing more important things? Not sure, and my answer will probably vary depending on the day.

So you might be wondering what any of this has to do with the title of this post.  As a consultant, this work-life struggle is amplified because I am physically away from my family 4 days a week for most weeks during the year. I’ve come to accept the fact that some days I won’t get to speak with my wife through text, and I may not speak to my kids at all.  I’ve accepted that I chose to take on this demanding career to secure a financial future for my children that I never had. And just when I think my 4-year old understands that Daddy is away working, and I’ve convinced myself that I’m doing the right thing for our family as a whole, I come home from Boston, my daughter greets me with a running hug and says, “I’m so glad you came over!”

That is the pain that Toure is talking about in the quote above. I know that my daughter is young and that is her way of trying to express herself, but the pull at the heart I experienced in that moment lingers…Is this having it all? Is this the life I want more myself, my kids growing thinking their dad lives in Boston (or some other city) and doesn’t exist for 4 days every week? More importantly, I need to figure out if this is the life I want for them.

Filed Under: Career Advice, Parenting

July 26, 2012 by Eric Butts Leave a Comment

4 Questions To Know If Going Back to Business School Is Right For You

going back to business schoolThis is a question that I have been asked more times than I can remember, by undergraduate recruits, former classmates, current and former colleagues. It seems like this is something with which EVERYONE seems to be grappling. While this question is not anything knew, my sense is that the number of people asking this question is growing exponentially in the face of the current job market, and given the cost of education, people are thinking longer and harder about this decision than they have in years past.

This decision really applies to any sort of post-graduate academics pursuits, but I will focus on the MBA since that is the choice I had to make and where I have the most firsthand experience.Here are a few key questions to answer as you go through the process of determining if business school is the right move:

1. Why are you considering going back to school?

As simple as this question is, many people don’t have a clear understanding of why they want to go back to business school or the benefit they expect to receive from obtaining an MBA. Many companies focus in organic growth and place little emphasis on having an MBA. If you have been frequently promoted and are considered a high performer then going back to school may not be the right choice for you.

That being said, if you are looking to get to the next level (and/or senior leadership positions) within your company and all of the people currently holding those positions have MBAs, it may be a sign that you should start looking for some quiet places to study.
On the other hand, if any of the examples below explain your reasons for why you want to pursue business school, I’d recommend you focus your attention elsewhere.
a. I’m not sure what I want to do with it
b. I think it’d be good to have
c. My parents think I should go back to business school
d. All of my friends are doing it
I think you get the idea so I will move on to the next question.

2. Who is going to pay for it?

With the rising cost of education, gone are the days of deciding on schools without taking finances into consideration.  The debts that many students incur are life-changing and if you don’t have a clear vision of what this means and how you will generate a return on your investment, you can cause yourself some unnecessary financial strife down the road.

If you have any an employer or sponsor that is going to help share the burden of you graduate education, you need to be sure that you understand what will be required of you in exchange for that support (e.g. 2 years of service following completion of graduate coursework) and determine if it’s an acceptable trade-off.

3. Where are you going to go?

There are some different schools of thought on this topic and I will share my view. If you are going back to business school you should be targeting a school generally considered to be a top 10 program and definitely not consider any schools outside of the top 25.

A large part of the value you get from business school is outside of the actual education you receive.  It’s the network that you build with classmates and alumni as well as the school’s reputation when they see that institution’s names on your resume. These are the qualities that are going to play the biggest part in accelerating your career or allowing you to change careers if that is your goal, and this benefit is significantly less when you don’t attend a top school.

I’ve always been frustrated that this how is the world we live in works, but I’ve come to grips with it and focused on using what I know to my advantage. The sooner you make a similar shift in mindset, the sooner you can identify the most effective strategy to reach your career goals.

4. What are you going to do once you have the MBA? Immediately following graduation? Five Years after graduation?

This is the last and most important point you want to consider when determining if business school is the right move for you.  The way you want to think about this is there is no reason to take on tens of thousands of debt and give up 2 years of work experience/progression only to return to a similar position at the same company (or any other for that matter) for marginally more compensation. Even if you aren’t 100% sure what you want to do, you should have a strong feel for the potential outcomes and how they would impact you professionally and financially.

Pursuit of an MBA should be a strategic move to accelerate your career, with an action plan to achieve tangible returns on your investment. Of course plans change as you encounter new information along the way, but by taking a step back and challenging yourself with each of the questions above, you can make a more sound decision on business school and proactively shape the roadmap for your future before its too late.

Note: Post was written considering only business school full-time. Part-time students have some additional considerations that I will address in a separate post.

Filed Under: Business School, Career Advice Tagged With: B-School, BSchool, Business School, MBA

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