資料課件教案講稿vault career guide to consulting

1、ERIC CHUNG, JIM SLEPICKA AND THE STAFF OF VAULT? 2002 Vault Inc.Copyright ? 2002 by Vault Inc.All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to the accuracy and reliability of the information contained within and disclaims all warres. No part of this book

2、may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Vault Inc.Vault, the Vault logo, and the insider career networkTM are trademarks of Vault Inc.For information about permission to reproduce selections fr

3、om this book, contact Vault Inc., 150 W. 22nd St., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011, (212) 366-4212.Library of Congress CIP Data is available. ISBN 1-58131-169-9Printed in the United States of AmericaACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThanks to everyone who had a hand in making this book possible, especially Todd Kuhlman

4、, Marcy Lerner, Ed Shen, Jake Wallace and Rob Schipano. We are also extremely grateful to Vaul tire staff of writers, editors and interns for all their help in the editorial and production processes.Vault also would like to acknowledge the support of Matt Doull, Ahmad Al-Khaled, Lee Black, Eric Ober

5、, Hollinger Ventures, Tekbanc, New York City Investment Fund, Globix, Hoovers, Glenn Fischer, Mark Hernandez, Ravi Mhatre, Carter Weiss, Ken Cron, Ed Somekh, Isidore Mayrock, Zahi Khouri, Sana Sabbagh, and other Vault investors, as well as our family and friends.Eric Chung thanks his wonderful new b

6、ride and muse, Laura, for being a constant source of joy and inspiration in everything he does.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION1THE SCOOP3The Basics of Consulting5What is Consulting?5Consulting Skill Sets10The Traveling Salesman Problem12Who Hires Consultants, and Why?14Industry History and Data Points

7、17Current Trends18Consulting Versus Other Business Careers23Consulting Categories27Strategy Consulting27Operations Consulting29Information Technology Consulting30E-Consulting31Human Resources Consulting32Boutique Firms33Internal Consulting Firms35GETTING HIRED37Targeting Consulting Firms39Researchin

8、g Companies, the Right Way39Understanding the Different Firms42Interviewing the Consultants46The Hiring Process49The Recruiting Process: An Overview49Tailoring Your Resume for Consulting51How to Strengthen a Non-Business Resume53Sample Resumes and Cover Letters55Visit the Vault Consulting Career Cha

9、nnel at withixinsider firm profiles, messags, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more.Vault Career Guide to ConsultingTable of ContentsSchmoozing: Building and Maintaining a Network63Is Consulting for You?66Applying to the Firm68The Interview71What to Expect in the Interview71The Resume/Behavioral I

10、nterview72Behavioral Questions74Practice Behavioral Interview Questions75The Case Interview77Sample Qualitative Case Questions80Guesstimates85Sample Guesstimate86More Sample Guesstimates87Brainteasers88Sample Brainteasers89Practicing with Your Friends Before the Interview91Questions for the Intervie

11、wer94Interview Questions That Never Get Asked95Post-Interview: Accepting, Negotiating, Declining99After the Interview99Accepting an Offer101Negotiating an Offer102Turning Down an Offer105What to Do When Things Dont Work Out107ON THE JOB111Project Types and the Project Life Cycle113Types of Consultin

12、g Projects113The Project Life Cycle116Tips for High Performance121Troubleshooting121How to Survive Your First Team Assignment125x? 2002 Vault Inc.Vault Career Guide to ConsultingTable of ContentsGetting Staffed129Better Billing130On the Beach132The Consulting Career Path135Training for Consultants13

13、5Consulting Job Descriptions137Career Progression in Consulting: Promotion Profile139Internships in Consulting140Mentors: Top-level Backing147Exit Strategies148Our Survey Says: The Consulting Lifestyle151Days in the Life159Associate159Consultant Project Manager162MBA-Level Strategy Consultant166BA-L

14、evel IT Consultant171APPENDIX173Industry Buzzwords175About the authors181Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at withxiinsider firm profiles, messags, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more.Introduction CHAPTER 1Your dream job?Love the idea of jetting to locations both exotic and banal and get

15、ting paid very well for your intellectual capital? A lot of consultants (current and prospective) do, too.Consulting continues to rank among the most popular professions for emerging MBAs and college graduates, and for good reason. As one of the best-paid professions for recent graduates, consulting

16、 offers lucrative salary packages and the chance to meet elite Fortune 500 managers. Consultants also work on some of the most interesting issues in business today: high-level strategy and integration issues.But consulting careers are no walk in the park. Pressures aigh; travel canbe onerous; the in

17、terview process can be painful; and the risks of layoff can be high in a difficult economic climate. Before setting off on the consulting route too enthusiastically, get a sense of how you might like it. Understandwhere the industry is going, your role in the industry, and howly it fitswith your nee

18、ds andality.If youreing this in an attempt to decide whether or not consulting is foryou, weve got some advice. Do aal inventory of your skills andtalents, as well as your interests or what you merely enjoy. Also, find out about other professionals experiences both the war stories and the rewards.If

19、 your network doesnt include other consultants, use the messags onVaults consulting channel or join an industry organization for leads. And this guide to see if consulting really interests you.Just remember that positions are limited, and competition ranks among the highest of many industries. Even

20、if you have a Stanford MBA or decades of experience, breaking into consulting requires perseverance and the sharpest of networking and persuasion skills. The potential rewards, however, are great.Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at with1insider firm profiles, messags, the Vault Consulting J

21、ob Board and more.Chapter 2:Chapter 3:The Basics of ConsultingConsulting Categories3Vault Live Case Interview PrepVaults consulting experts bring you a new service to help you prepare for interviews with consulting firms. Well help you prepare for that all-important case interview with a 30-minute m

22、ock interview and a 30-minute question and answer session with ourconsulting expert over the telephone.A Vault consulting expert will put you through a real case used by the major consulting firms. You will be given the case at your appointment and will be asked to explain it, dissect it, and give a

23、 rationale for your responses.The prep session will cover: Case strategies for attacking different case types Case frameworks, including Value Chain Analysis and Value Drivers Frameworks Market sizing cases A representative business strategy case (for example, a market-entry case) And more!For more

24、information go toDo you have an interview co up with a consulting firm?Unsuow to handle a case interview?The Basics of Consulting CHAPTER 2What is Consulting?A gindustry, a moving targetConsulting, in the business context, means the giving of advice for pay.Consultants offer their advice and skill i

25、n solving problems, and aired bycompanies who need the expertise and outside perspective that consultants possess. Some consulting firms specialize in giving advice on managementand strategy, while others are known as technology specialists.Someconcentrate on a specific industry area, like final ser

26、vices or retail, andstill others are more like gigone-stop shops with divisions that dispenseadvice on everything from top-level strategy, to choosing training software, to saving money on paper clips.But consulting firms have one thing in common: they run on the power of their people. The only prod

27、uct consulting firms ultimately have to offer is their ability to make problems go away. As a consultant, you are that problem-solver.Not the kind of consulting we meanAs a standalone term, consulting lacks real meaning. In a sense, everyones a consultant. Have you ever been asked by a friend, Do I

28、look good in orange? Then youve been consulted about your color sense. There are thousands upon thousands of independent consultants who peddle their expertise and advice on everything from retrieving data from computers to catastrology.There are also fashion consultants, image consultants, andweddi

29、ng consultants. For the purposes of this career guide, we are going to use the term consulting to refer specifically to management consulting.Management consulting firms sell business advisory services to the leaders ofcorporations, governments, and non-profit organizations.Typicalconcentrations in

30、consulting include strategy, IT, HR, finance, and operations. Types of problems in consulting include pricing, marketing, new product strategy, IT implementation, or government policy. Finally, consulting firms sell services in virtually any industry, such as pharmaceuticals, consumer packaged goods

31、, or energy.Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at with5insider firm profiles, messags, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more.Vault Career Guide to ConsultingThe Basics of ConsultingFirms can be organized or broken up according to topic, type of problem, or industry. For example, a firm migh

32、t focus on strategy problems only, but in virtually any industry. Bain & Company is an example of one such firm. Another firm might focus on just a specific industry, but advise on nearly anytype of issue. Oliver, Wyman and Company, which focuses on the finalservices industry, is an example of this

33、type of firm. Many of the larger firms have a matrix organization, with industry practice groups but also functional practice groups. And some firms are extremely specialized. For example, a firm might have only two employees, both focusing solely on competitive analysis in the telecommunications in

34、dustry. All of these are examples of management consulting.Caveats about consultingAll this might sound great, but before we go on, we should address some common misconceptions about consulting. Implementation You might be thinking, All consultants do is figure out problems at companies and explain

35、them. Awesome. Im going to be making great money for doing something really easy. Unfortunately,thats not true. Spotting a (Most people with a fair perspective can identify as problems is a mere fraction of the battle. amount of common sense and an outsiderss problems. And in many cases,salso unders

36、tand where the problems lie.)The job of the consultant, therefore, isnt just about knowing whats wrong. Its about figuring out how to make it right. Even finding the solution isnt the end of the story. Consultants must make sure the solution isnt too expensive or impractical to implement. (Many cons

37、ulting firms have whats called an 80 percent solution: Its better to put in place a solution that takes care of 80 percent of the problem than to strive for a perfect solution that cant be put into place.) A corollary to this is the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of a problem can be solved in 20 percent of

38、the time. Consultants must also getbuy-in from thes.Not only does bureaucracy often makeimplementation tough, but consultants must also convince individual employees to help them make solutions work.Its tough to solve problems and thats whys hire consultants. Glamour Consulting canbe exciting and hi

39、gh profile, but this isthe exception, not the rule. Chances are, you wont be sitting across from the CEO at your next project kick-off, and you probably wont be staying in four-star hotels in the coolest cities in the world (though both are6? 2002 Vault Inc.Vault Career Guide to ConsultingThe Basics

40、 of Consultingpossible). Depending on the industry and location of yours business,your environment might be a mid-range hotel in a small city, and you might be working with the senior vice president of one of the companys many business units. Prestige Consulting is widely thought of as a prestigious

41、 career among business circles, particularly MBAs. But you should realize that in contrast to work in investment banking, your work in consulting will probably never get mentioned in The Wall Street Journal. Very few consulting firms are publicly recognized for the help they give.As a result, few pe

42、ople outside of the industry really understand what consulting is. In fact, a running joke about consulting is that no one can explain it, no matter how hard or many times one tries. If you want a job you can explain to your grandmother, consulting isnt for you. Most civilians wont have heard of you

43、r firm unless it has been involved in a scandal, that is. Income The salary looks attractive on paper, but remember, its not easy money. Divide your salary over the (large) number of hours, and the pay per hour isnt much better than other business careers.So what does a consultant actually do, anywa

44、y?Most non-consultants are mystified by the actual job and its day-to-day responsibilities. There are good reasons why this is so. While youre used to giving advice and solving problems, you may not understand how thistranslates into a career path.The problem is compounded becauseconsultants tend to

45、 use a very distinctive vocabulary. You may not know what your skill set is, or how not to boil the ocean, or what the heck consultants mean when they talk about helicoptering. In addition, many consulting firms have their own specific philosophies and problem-attacking frameworks, which only raise

46、the level of jargon. (If youre stumped, check out the glossary at the end of this book.)The short answer is that you will be working on projects of varying lengthsat varying sites for differents.What you do will depend on yourseniority, experience, phase of the project and your company. If you are a

47、 partner, you are selling work most of the time, whereas if you have a recent MBA degree, you are probably overseeing a couple of entry-level consultants doing research. For the most part, well describe the job that entry-level and mid-level (MBA or the equivalent) consultants do. Generally, project

48、s follow the pitching/research/analysis/report writing cycle.Visit the Vault Consulting Career Channel at with7insider firm profiles, messags, the Vault Consulting Job Board and more.Vault Career Guide to ConsultingThe Basics of ConsultingDepending where you are in the project lifecycle, here are so

49、me of the things you could be doing:Pitching Selling the practiceHelto sell and market the firm (preparing documents and researchingprospectives in preparation for sales calls)Helto write the proposalPresenting a sales pitch to a prospective Microsofts presentation software)(usually with,ResearchPer

50、forsecondary research on theand its industry usinginvestment banking reports and other research sources (these include Bloomberg, OneSource, Hoovers Online, Yahoo! News and SEC filings)Interviewing thes customers to gather viewpoints on the companyChecking your firms data banks for previous studies

51、that it has done in theindustry or with the insights on the firm, and speaking to the project leads about theirFacilitating a weekly business issuesteam discussion about thecompanysAnalysisBuilding Excel discounted cash flow (DCF) and/or other qutativefinal msAnalyzing the gathered data and the mfor

52、 insightsHelto generate recommendationsReporting Preparing the final presentation (typically a deck ofslides,though some firms write up longer reports in Microsoft Word format) Helto present the findings and recommendations to theImplementationActing as a project manager for the implementation of yo

53、ur strategy, if your firm is typically active during the implementation phase of a projectExecuting the coding, systems integration, and testing of the recommended system, if you work for an IT consulting practiceDocumenting the teams work after the project is over8? 2002 Vault Inc.Vault Career Guid

54、e to ConsultingThe Basics of ConsultingAdministration Working on internal company research when your firm has no projects for you. (Being unstaffed is referred to as being on the beach, a pleasant name for what is often a tedious time.) Filling out weekly time tracking and expense reportsKeep in min

55、d that the analysis phase usually the most interesting part is probably the shortest part of any assignment.Consultants staffed onprojects typically do a lot of research, final analysis, Excel mbuilding and presentation. You will attend lots of meetings in your quest to find the data, create the pro

56、cess and meet the people who will help you resolve the issues youve been hired to address. And, when youre not staffed, you will spend time on the beach doing research on prospectives and helwith marketing efforts.(Its called on the beachbecause the time when youre not staffed on a paid engagement is usually less frenetic though not always so!) Consulting firms spend a lot of time acquiring the work, and depending on how the firm is structured or how th