Guide To Consulting Firms

Top-Consultant.
com
Guide to Consulting Firms
Top-Consultant.com
Top-Consultant.com
18b Charles Street | Mayfair | London | W1J 5DU | +44 (0) 207 667 6880
Table of Contents
Things to consider when applying for consulting firms
Insights from management consultants
Strategy, Boutique & Full-Service firms

Three types of firms to consider
Additional Resources
Annual reports about the consulting industry
Appendix
A list of firms overlooked by the majority of applicants
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Things to consider when applying to consulting firms

Insights from management consultants
There are numerous reasons you may be
considering a career in consulting. The
high-flying lifestyle, the money, the prestige, the learning experience
so this report starts off by identifying the
things that actual management consultants
are most looking for in their next consulting
job.
These insights are based on a survey of ~1,500
consultants from the likes of Accenture, McKinsey and Capgemini, as well as numerous smaller
firms.
By assessing the things that real consultants are
most concerned to secure in their next career
move, you can begin to understand the research
that you need to be undertaking about future
employers and the types of questions you need
to be asking your potential employer.
Top-Consultant.com
It is clear that remuneration is the number one

concern of actual consultants, especially in a
booming market like todays. Being able to influence the projects youre assigned to and feeling
confident of having a good work/life balance
are also clearly important. If these issues are the
ones that most concern actual management
consultants then they should surely be the
issues that concern you most as a prospective
management consultant?
Top-Consultants advice: make sure you drill
down on each of these factors during the application procedure, or you could well end up
a disaffected employee and back on the job
market within a year or two
Retention factors ranked by consultants

2007

Rank Retention Factor
2007 2005
Score Rank Change
Firm has better remuneration / pay than the competition
5.42
+1
Firm involves consultants in the staffing process - allowing

consultants to influence which projects they are assigned to
5.17
-1
Firm has a culture where evening and weekend

work is discouraged
4.78
+3
Firm invests heavily in staff training
4.78
-1
Firm offers flexible working hours
4.59
No change
Firm manages client expectations to ensure consultants

are not expected to be away on client site 5 days a week
4.51
-2
Firm actively encourages consultants to work

from home if desired
4.01
No change
Firm tries to foster great morale / team spirit by organising

regular social events and team activities
3.81
No change
Firm will allow consultants to take sabbaticals /

extended leaves of absence
3.78
No change
10
Firm sponsors MBA studies
3.44
10
No change
11
Firm shows willingness to accommodate consultants who

wish to move to the countryside rather than living in the city
3.21
11
No change
12
Firm provides a creche / nursery facilities
1.98
12
No change
Source: Top-Consultant.com Retention Report 2007
Top-Consultant.com
What are the best approaches to adopt

when job-hunting in consulting?
Future trends in candidate application behaviour
With the rise of the internet, the options for

finding a job in consulting have multiplied. But
which routes are the most effective and where
should you be focusing your efforts?
A survey of over 1,600 consultants provides
some food for thought. When asked to score
the channels used in their last career move,
candidates favoured personal referrals over
all other means of applying. So if you have
contacts in consulting firms, dont be afraid of
calling in a few favours!! Internet job sites and
recruitment agencies were the next best option.
Source: Top-Consultant.com Recruitment Channel Report 2007
Top-Consultant.com
y
Strateg
Boutique
Full-Service
Strategy, Boutique & Full-service firms

Three types of firms to consider
Top-Consultant.com
Introduction: Be sure to differentiate

between Strategy, Boutique and Full-service
consulting firms
When contemplating a career in consulting,

it is critical to differentiate between the types
of firms in existence. The term consulting is
now used to cover a wide array of activities, so
the work you will undertake at various types of
firms can be quite different. This can have major
implications for both your job satisfaction and
career prospects both inside and outside of
consulting.
Overleaf we show a graphical segmentation
of the sector, breaking the industry down into
strategy firms, boutique firms and full-service
firms. There are many differences between each
type, which we shall outline later in this chapter.
However, the graphical representation focuses

on perhaps the two most telling figures: average
revenue generation per consultant and total
headcount.
Work of a strategic or highly specialised nature
tends to involve smaller teams with high billing
rates per consultant strategy and boutique
firms fall into this category. Full-service firms,
by contrast, are characterised by large project
teams (often 30+) and much lower billing
rates per consultant. The implications will be
discussed later in this chapter.
Firm size has ramifications in terms of career
progression (how regimented is the firm?),
culture and likely project responsibilities.
Boutique firms will typically be ~200 strong,
strategy firms 1,000 5,000 and full-service firms
anything up to 80,000+ consultants.
When applying, it is unlikely that more than two
types of firm will offer the type of role you are
looking for.
Top-Consultant.com
Segmentation of the consulting industry

Boutique Firms
Revenue
per
Strategy Firms
consultant
McKinsey
BCG
Monitor
Marakon
Parthenon
$300,000
Independents
Roland
Berger
LEK
OC&C
Mercer
Bain
BAH
Full-service Firms
Accenture
Deloitte
Capgemini
CSC
$150,000
1,000
IBM
EDS
Firm size (head count)
Strategy Firms
(such as McKinsey, BCG, Bain)
Top-Consultant.com
OVERVIEW:
Strategy consultancies focus on providing

company directors with strategic advice on
the likely future direction of their industry
- and subsequently the strategic actions that
the company ought to undertake to exploit
resulting opportunities. Strategy consultancies
tend to operate globally through a network of
international offices. The business model of a
strategy consultancy revolves around a much
higher billing rate than for full-service firms.
Profitability is achieved through sizeable markups on each consultant employed, rather than
through a smaller mark-up on a larger volume
of consultants (as with full-service firms). The
cost of winning new clients is high, so the key
ratio for such firms is the repeat business rate
(what % of clients undertake a new assignment
with the consultancy when a project is
concluded). Utilisation is also monitored
carefully, though targets are lower than for fullservice firms since much more time is devoted
to proposal-writing in an attempt to win new
clients.
TYPICAL FIRM PROFILE:
Firms will typically have offices covering the

major geographies, but rely much more on
international staffing to fulfil project briefs.
They will have a greater number of Principals/
Partners for each junior consultant partly
because of the greater sales effort required at
such firms, and partly because Partners have
to be more active on project assignments once
won. Most strategy firms are quite arrogant in
the sense that they are exceptionally selective
about who they hire. Each tends to have its
own unique slant (must be academically
from the elite; must have had entrepreneurial
experience; must have held outstanding
extra-curricular positions at University) which
permeates the firms culture. Each tends
to recruit in its own mould, even if this is
outwardly denied.
Top-Consultant.com
PLUS POINTS:
+
+
+
Alumni tend to be treated exceptionally

well because they are the future client
stream of the firm.
Project teams will also be much smaller,
five being typical, so there is no room for
hangers-on but much greater scope for
impressing at an early age and achieving
fast-track career progression.
Considerable scope for international travel
and for early exposure to decision-makers
in industry.
Opens doors both to leading Business
Schools (if contemplating an MBA) and to
strategic roles in industry.
NEGATIVE POINTS:
Some firms operate an up-or-out policy

which is much more rigid than in other
types of consultancies.
The high workload associated with consulting is perhaps most extreme in strategy firms.
International travel is more often than not

an inextricable part of the job, so remaining with a firm and developing family
commitments can prove very difficult.
Strategy firms are the worst hit in a downturn, so there are times in the economic
cycle when it will be almost impossible to
break into the sector.
Early career is likely to be generalist in

nature giving exposure to many sectors
and functions; early exposure to Partners/
Directors maximises the learning experience.
Boutique Firms
(such as LEK, Detica, Parthenon)
Top-Consultant.com
OVERVIEW:
Boutique consultancies focus on providing

company directors with either sector-specific
advice (eg. telecoms or automotive) or
functionally-specialised advice (eg. marketing,
CRM). Boutique consultancies will typically
have one office or a handful at most that
can service global clients but usually only
within a few target markets.The business
model of a boutique consultancy is similar to
a strategy firm in that a key ratio is the repeat
business rate (the % of clients that undertake
a new assignment with the consultancy
when a project is concluded). The strength of
boutique firms is their undoubted expertise
in their particular field; their weakness is that
they cannot meet all the consulting needs of a
client, nor bring to the table experience learnt
from similar but unconnected industries. It is
not uncommon, therefore, for clients to have
both boutique and strategy consultancies
advising at the same time.
10
Boutique consultancies very often have an

identifiable figure-head leading the firm. Their
character will often owe a lot to the character
of this figure-head. They are also very often
created as a spin-off from either a strategy or
a full-service consulting firm. Understanding
how the firm came to be created can give
considerable insight into what it is like to be an
employee there (eg. a consultancy created by
ex-Accenture professionals is likely to have an
Accenture feel to it).
In terms of project work, the boutique
consultancies tend to be similar to strategy
consultancies. Small teams provide businesscritical advice to the highest levels within a
client organisation. Working hours are likely
to be more acceptable, though, as these firms
have more of a small-firm feel to them and are
much less elitist than strategy firms
Top-Consultant.com
PLUS POINTS:
There is the potential to focus from day

one on a particular functional or sectoral
specialism in a way that is quite difficult
within a strategy consulting firm.
Project teams are also small, giving responsibility at an early age and close contact with the firms founders.
Likely to be the most enjoyable work

atmosphere of all consulting firms, with
considerable camaraderie and a small-firm
feel.
NEGATIVE POINTS:
Career limitations when joining strategy or

full-service firms. Unless you are looking
to join as a specialist, preferably bringing
excellent client contacts, it will be difficult
to transition to the other types of firms
later in your career.
In some industries (eg. Aviation, telecoms),
the only way to win enough client assignments is to win overseas assignments
which in some firms will mean extended
periods of overseas travel.
The success of the firm and therefore
your remuneration is very much tied to
the performance of the sector/ function
you have specialised in. You will be more
exposed to a downturn in a specific sector.
11
Full-service Firms
(such as Accenture, Deloitte)
Top-Consultant.com
OVERVIEW:
Full-service firms are global consulting

organisations, who have typically built up
a comprehensive client base through prior
work as auditors or through their role as IT
implementation experts. The business model
of a full-service firm is based on maximising
utilisation of consultants at a relatively low
price-point. Selling a wide range of services to
the client base is critical in ensuring a low cost
of sales (maximising the value of each client
relationship).
12
Full-service firms tend to have a large number

of junior consulting staff for each Partner-level
professional. This fits perfectly with the type
of work sold typically large-scale projects
requiring sizeable teams, often of 30 or more
consultants. A lot of work is implementation
and outsourcing focused, where project
duration is frequently 6+ months.
These firms will also have an array of partner
/ alliance arrangements with firms such as
SAP, Siebel and the like. At one of these firms,
alliance-derived business accounts for 45%
of consulting revenues. So one of the main
demand-generators for full-service firms is
clients desire to implement the latest technical
solutions. Many now describe themselves as
solutions integrators rather than consultants.
Outsourcing is another large component of
their business, so you may well be providing
consulting advice for a newly-outsourced
business process.
Full-service firms will typically have units
serving all industry-verticals and all functional
specialisms. They often have parts of the
business that compete (eg. HR and strategy)
with boutique and strategy firms. More often
than not, though, these arms provide addon services to existing clients rather than
competing head-on with the smaller firms.
Top-Consultant.com
PLUS POINTS:
Very strong and co-ordinated training

courses to ensure consistency of service
offering is achieved throughout the firm.
Large project teams ensure new-hires are

broken in gently.
+
+
NEGATIVE POINTS:
Frustrating rules, procedures and

regulations are an inevitable part of working for such large corporations.
Potential for internal transfers if you decide

to change your desired specialism or relocate internationally.
Large project teams mean you will have

insights into one specific aspect of a business rather than an overview of how the
whole clients business operates.
Blue-Chip client base provides great exposure and learning experience plus excellent contacts should you decide to move
out of consulting later in your career.
Promotion-track is highly rigid, so the very

best will not enjoy the same accelerated
career paths they might achieve at smaller
firms.
International travel less frequent as network of overseas offices can staff international projects (though possibility remains
to work on overseas assignments if desired).
Given size of project teams, less likely to be

working directly with Blue-Chip Directors
liasing with middle-management more
usual.
13
Additional resources
Recruitment Channels
Retention
7 Tips for Candidates
Salary Benchmarking
Top-Consultant.com publishes a range of

consulting reports each year. All are free to
download and you may find those listed here
provide considerable additional insights into
our industry.
Top-Consultant.com
14
Appendix
A shortlist of firms who are

being overlooked by the majority of applicants, and where
you stand the best chance of
success
Identifying new-comers to approach

As should be clear from the preceding
commentary, there are numerous consultancies
who because they are slightly less well known
amongst candidates you should stand a better
chance of being hired by. Having researched the
industry, we provide listings of consultancies
you may want to research and apply to direct:
Top-Consultant.com
Achiever Business Solutions

Acres Management Consulting
Actica Consulting
Adventis
Allery Scotts
Alsbridge
Altran
Amdocs Consulting
AMTEC Consultingplc
Analysys
Anpro
Applied Expertise
Applied Value
Ariba
Arup
Atkins Management Consultancy
Atos Origin
Baker Robbins & Company
Basis
BDR Consulting
Berkshire Consultancy
Billetts Marketing Sciences
Bluerock Consulting
Bourton Group
BRAXXON
BT Global Services
BTA Consulting
http://www.achieverplus.com
http://www.acres.com
http://www.actica.co.uk
http://www.adventis.com
http://www.alleryscotts.co.uk
http://www.alsbridge.com
http://www.altran.com
http://www.amdocs.com
http://www.amtec.co.uk
http://www.analysys.com
http://www.anpro.co.uk
http://www.applied-expertise.com
http://www.appliedvalue.com
http://www.ariba.com
http://www.arup.com
http://www.mantix.com
http://www.atosorigin.com
http://www.brco.com
http://www.basis.co.uk
http://www.bdr-consulting.com
http://www.berkshire.co.uk
http://www.billetts.com
http://www.bluerock-consulting.com
http://www.bourton.co.uk
http://www.braxxon.co.uk
http://www.btglobalservices.com
http://www.btaconsulting.co.uk
15
Burke
Bernard William Associates
Callow & Associates MC
Cambridge Group
Capco
Capita Advisory Services
Catalyst Development
Central Europe Trust Co.
Charles River Associates
Commercial Advantage
Compass Management Consulting
Cornwell Management Consultants
Credo Group
Curzon & Company
Customer Relationship Management
D.M. Management Consultants
Darwin Consulting
Davies Consulting
Delphi Marketing Associates
Diamond Management &
Technology Consultants
DMR Consulting
Dunnett Shaw & Partners
EA Consulting Group
Eastbridge Consulting
Edengene
Efficio
Top-Consultant.com
http://www.burke.com
http://www.bwa.uk.net
http://www.callow.ca
http://www.cambridgegroup.com
http://www.capco.com
http://www.capitaadvisoryservices.co.uk
http://www.catalyst.co.uk
http://www.cet.co.uk
http://www.crai.com
http://www.commercialadvantage.com
http://www.compassmc.com
http://www.cornwell.co.uk
http://www.credo-group.com
http://www.curzoncompany.com
http://www.crmuk.co.uk
http://www.dmmc.co.uk
http://www.darwinconsulting.co.uk
http://www.daviescon.com
http://www.delphimarketing.co.uk
http://www.diamondconsultants.com
http://www.dmr.ca
http://www.dunnettshaw.co.uk
http://www.e-a.co.uk
http://www.eastbridge.ca
http://www.edengene.com
http://www.efficioconsulting.com
eg solutions
Eide Bailly
ER Consultants
Eurobase Consultancy
Fair Isaac
FBM-Consulting
Frazer-Nash Consultancy
Gartner Consulting
Generator
Gibson Consulting Group
Glendinning Management Consultants
Goss Gilroy
Grant Thornton International
Greenwich Consulting
Hartley McMaster
Hatch Consulting
HEDRA Limited
Heidrick & Struggles
Hill Cannon
Hitachi Consulting
Hogg Robinson
HOSCA Management Consultants
INTEC Management Ltd.
Iris Financial Solutions
IT/NET Consultants
Jacobs Consultancy
Javelin Group
http://www.eguk.co.uk
http://www.eidebailly.com
http://www.erconsultants.co.uk
http://www.eurobase-international.com
http://www.fairisaac.com
http://www.fbm-consulting.com
http://www.fnc.co.uk
http://www.gartner.com
http://www.consultgenerator.com
http://www.gibsonconsultants.com
http://www.glendinning.co.uk
http://www.ggi.ca
http://www.gti.org
http://www.greenwich-consulting.com
http://www.hmcm.co.uk
http://www.hatch.ca
http://www.hedra.co.uk
http://www.heidrick.com
http://www.hillcannon.com
http://www.hitachiconsulting.com
http://www.hoggrobinson.com
http://www.hosca.co.uk
http://www.intecm.co.uk
www.irisfinancial.com
http://www.itnet.ca
http://www.jacobsconsultancy.com
http://www.javelingroup.com
16
John Ormond MC
Kaisen Consulting
Kaiser Associates
Keane
KeyStar Consultancy
Knightsbridge
Kurt Salmon Associates
Lawrence Somerset
LBI International
L.E.K. Consulting
LogicaCMG
Logistics Consulting Parters
Lumina Management Consultants
Luther Pendragon
Management Consulting Group plc
Metapraxis
Methods Consulting
Metra MartechLimited
mi2g Software
Molten
Monitor Group
Moorhouse Consulting
Morgan Chambers
Morgan Clarke Consulting
Morse
Navigant Consulting
netdecisions
Top-Consultant.com
http://www.jomc.co.uk
http://www.kaisen.co.uk
http://www.kaiserassociates.com
http://www.keane.com
http://www.keystar-consultancy.com
http://www.knightsbridge.ca
http://www.kurtsalmon.com
http://www.l-s-l.com
http://www.lbigroup.com
http://www.lek.com
http://www.logicacmg.com
http://www.lcp-ashlyns.com
http://www.lumina.ca
http://www.luther.co.uk
http://www.mcgplc.com
http://www.metapraxis.com
http://www.methods.co.uk
http://www.metra-martech.com
http://www.mi2g.com
http://www.molten-group.com
http://www.monitor.com
http://www.moorhouseconsulting.com
http://www.morganchambers.com/
http://www.morgan-clarke.co.uk
http://www.morse.com
http://www.navigantconsulting.com
http://www.netdecisions.com
New Management Network

Newburn Consulting
Oakland Consulting
Oakleigh Consulting
Office for Business Architecture
Opta
PA Consulting Group
Pagoda
PennaChange Consulting
PKF International
Plaut Strategy Consulting
Princeton Consulting UK
Pristine Group
Probus BNW
PRTM
Qedis
QOD
QP Group
Realise
REL Consultancy Group
Right Management Consultants
Resources Management Consultants
Robert E. Nolan Company
RSM McGladrey
SDG
SECOR Consulting
SGS
http://www.new-management-network.com
http://www.newburn.co.uk
http://www.oaklandconsulting.com
http://www.oakleigh.co.uk
http://www.obaconsulting.com
http://www.opta.com
http://www.paconsulting.com
http://www.pagodaconsulting.com
http://www.e-penna.com
http://www.pkf.com
http://www.plautworld.com
http://www.princecon.com
http://www.pristinegroup.com
http://www.probusbnw.com
http://www.prtm.com
http://www.qedis.com
http://www.qod.co.uk
http://www.qpgroup.com
http://www.realise.co.uk
http://www.relconsult.com
http://www.right.com
http://www.rmc-canada.com
http://www.renolan.com
http://www.rsmmcgladrey.com
http://www.sdg.com
http://www.secorconsulting.com
http://www.sgs.com
17
Softlab
Sphinx
Steria
Strategic Decisions Group
SustainAbility
Symbia
Tata Consultancy Services
TCA Consulting
Tefen Europe
The Consultancy Company
The Coverdale Organisation
The Maxima Group
The Technology Partnership
ThoughtWorks
Towers Perrin
Tribal
Turnkey Management Consulting
Viant/VIA International
WCI Group
Western Management Consultants
Wipro Technologies
Xayce
ZS Associates
Top-Consultant.com
http://www.softlab.com
http://www.sphinx-group.com
http://www.steria.com
http://www.sdg.com
http://www.sustainability.com
http://www.symbia.com
Top-Consultant.com
The leading careers website for candidates seeking a
career within the management consultancy sector.
http://www.tcs.com
http://www.tcagroup.com
http://www.tefen.com
http://www.the-consultancy.co.uk
http://www.coverdale.com
TopITconsultant.com
The leading careers website for candidates seeking a
career within the IT consulting sector.
http://www.maxima-group.com
http://www.techprt.co.uk
http://www.thoughtworks.com
http://www.towersperrin.com
http://www.tribalgroup.co.uk
Consultant-News.com
A comprehensive news site covering all the latest
developments in the world of consulting.
http://www.tkmc.ca
http://www.viaint.co.uk
http://www.wcigroup.com
http://www.wmc.ca
http://www.wipro.com
http://www.xayce.com
Consulting-Times.com
A monthly publication bringing you the top stories
from the world of consulting - a synopsis of key developments for those working in the consulting industry.
http://www.zsassociates.com

Guide To Consulting Firms

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Top-Consultant.

Strategy, Boutique & Full-Service firms

Annual reports about the consulting industry

A list of firms overlooked by the majority of applicants

+44 (0) 207 667 6880

Registered in England and Wales with company number 3947933

Things to consider when applying to consulting firms

It is clear that remuneration is the number one

Retention factors ranked by consultants

Firm has better remuneration / pay than the competition

Firm involves consultants in the staffing process - allowing

Firm has a culture where evening and weekend

Firm invests heavily in staff training

Firm offers flexible working hours

Firm manages client expectations to ensure consultants

Firm actively encourages consultants to work

Firm tries to foster great morale / team spirit by organising

Firm will allow consultants to take sabbaticals /

Firm sponsors MBA studies

Firm shows willingness to accommodate consultants who

Firm provides a creche / nursery facilities

Source: Top-Consultant.com Retention Report 2007

What are the best approaches to adopt

Future trends in candidate application behaviour

With the rise of the internet, the options for

Source: Top-Consultant.com Recruitment Channel Report 2007

Strategy, Boutique & Full-service firms

Introduction: Be sure to differentiate

When contemplating a career in consulting,

However, the graphical representation focuses

Segmentation of the consulting industry

Firm size (head count)

(such as McKinsey, BCG, Bain)

Strategy consultancies focus on providing

TYPICAL FIRM PROFILE:

Firms will typically have offices covering the

Alumni tend to be treated exceptionally

Some firms operate an up-or-out policy

International travel is more often than not

Early career is likely to be generalist in

(such as LEK, Detica, Parthenon)

Boutique consultancies focus on providing

TYPICAL FIRM PROFILE:

Boutique consultancies very often have an

There is the potential to focus from day

Likely to be the most enjoyable work

Career limitations when joining strategy or

(such as Accenture, Deloitte)

Full-service firms are global consulting

TYPICAL FIRM PROFILE:

Full-service firms tend to have a large number

Very strong and co-ordinated training

Large project teams ensure new-hires are

Frustrating rules, procedures and

Potential for internal transfers if you decide

Large project teams mean you will have

Promotion-track is highly rigid, so the very

Given size of project teams, less likely to be

7 Tips for Candidates

Top-Consultant.com publishes a range of

A shortlist of firms who are

Identifying new-comers to approach

Achiever Business Solutions