Guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 How important is the branding and the alumni networks of the big management consulting firms? How does this compare to working in a boutique pure strategy firm with better training- ie low levrage team with more partner interaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alee228 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Peggy, Welcome to the Consulting Forum! Which firms are you looking at? Cheers,Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I don't really want to make that public. I got an offer from a smaller firm but was wondering if I should hold out and try again next year with McK, Bain or Boston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alee228 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hi Peggy, That's okay, I respect your privacy. The short answer is that the MBB firms are not the be all and end all. Branding and networking are obviously important though, and the reason for my question above is that my advice depends partly on which boutique firm has offered you a position. May I suggest that you take a look at the list of Australian strategy firms that I updated recently here: http://bit.ly/el5Y0o Tier one firms are all strong. Does that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Yeah it is is the tier one-australian. I just don't know whether I should hold out and re-apply next year. Do you think I could work for the small firm for a few years and then transfer across? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alee228 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hi Peggy, As you know, each firm looks for slightly different things and I don't know much (read: anything) about your background or the boutique firm that has offered you a role. Having said that, if you work with one of the Australian tier ones, I don't know of any reason why you would not be able to transfer across. It depends on your objective though. If your aim is to get into a top MBA school (with consulting as your spring-board) then the Australian tier-1 boutique firms can play just as well as the MBB firms. I know a number of people from PJP who have obtained places at top US schools (eg Harvard). If this is the objective, then your best bet would be to talk to the people at the firm and see what schools past consultants have gone to. If your aim is to obtain quality strategy experience, my understanding is that this can be gained at any of the tier ones. Does that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Yeah, I guess I'm not entirely sure of my aim yet. I just want to open as many doors as possible. I was more concerned with the lack of contacts and alumni of a smaller firm. For instance if I fell in love with a certain industry and wanted to leave consulting and pursue a career in that industry, I imagine the brand of a big firm would be a great signalling device and that the larger firms might have more contacts and be able to help me make the transition. can I ask what your background is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alee228 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hi Peggy, That's fair enough, everyone is trying to keep their options open. I think big firm branding is helpful when you haven't decided what you want yet. Although, even more important than branding is to find an activity where you can combine passion, competence and market need. If you are passionate, competent and there is a need for what you have to offer - you will be unstoppable. My education was BComm (Hons) LLB as Sydney Uni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hi Peggy Can I make some comments here. My take to the situation are: Be a big fish in a small firm - familiar with services offered by the small firm and get to know the whole operation process of the organization - progress your own consulting business OR Be a small fish in a large firm - establish more contacts from fellow firms and/or clients - apply a position in a even bigger firm by taking advantage of the big branding of your previous employer and contacts established All depends on your career planning for the future! Regards,Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Basically I wanted to use management consulting as either a stepping stone into an industry I am really passionate about ( I haven't found this yet) or if I really love consulting, just stick with it. I am not really sure at this stage.I'm just not sure if I should stick with my offer from a small firm or try and get into one of the bigs ones. Someone told me you get better training at the smaller firms because they use a low leverage structure and you are given more responsibilities and have more partner interaction. Do you believe this to be true? I guess I am trying to evaluate the pros and cons of working at a small firm vs big firm and the relative importance of those factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Where have you worked Tom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alee228 Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 Hi Peggy, I currently work full time in Sydney. I hope you understand that I'd prefer not to talk about that here though. I wouldn't want people to think that anything I say on the blog or this forum has anything to do with my employer. Cheers,Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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