Industry exit options for consultants

Hi there,

Q: What are important factors to take into mind? Should I consider the firms that do not typically hire strategy consultants?

I would prioritize your interests over where you see other people going and do the following:

1. Identify the top industry you would like to work in
2. Identify all the relevant firms you would like to target there
3. Find a referral in as many firms as possible
4. If you have multiple offers, choose the most attractive one
5. If nothing works, move to the second-best industry and repeat

For referrals, you can find some tips here.

If there are not many alumni of your university/consulting firm, step 3 could be more difficult but still doable.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

Let's keep this really really simple. Only consider firms/roles that:

1. You value
2. Value you

Only work where you want to be. Where you can see yourself in the future. Additionally, only work at a place that values your background. If x company doesn't hire people of your background, well of course you should not spend finite time on them!

How do you figure this all out?

Network.

Get on the phone with people. Reach out to people you know but also people you don't know. Not only will these chats help you figure out which companies might hire you, but it will also help you figure out which ones you like AND it will increase your chances of getting interviewed/offered a role.

As I left BCG I had a plethora of options and interviews lined up. Why? 

Did I let them reach out to me? Nope (no one will)

Did I cold apply? Nope (It rarely works)

Did I ask x person to put me in touch with y person to put me in touch with z person and then apply? Bingo!

Happy hunting :)

Dear candidate,

1) For candidates from string firms, like MBB the exit options to industry are great, they are vast and great. The difference is if you are looking for a particular role. In that case pre-consider whether it is best to start on the path right away or consult.

2) if you need flexibility and cannot find your dream role at once, in industry you have lots of entry points such as inhouse consulting, strategy roles, management programs and diverse roles that offer consulting background as a hiring criterion. For more senior positions you can work with recruiters to get there or you could practice networking on preplounge and get referrals.

3) should you be looking at spe ific sectors like PE funds,then it is valuable to get some consulting project or client experience in that case.

Best regards.

Hi there,

below my short perspective. The topic is very broad and would warrant a lot of more discussion. 

I have (and I am) through this process myself - so feel free to DM to chat more 

Would appreciate your thoughts on how to pick suitable industry exit opportunities for consultants. What are important factors to take into mind? 

I would use the following angles to reason about this 

1) Clarify your long-term plan (10 years) - What is your goal in term of type of industry (e.g. industry and which one vs. PE vs. VC vs. …), Total Compensation, Ideal position, Ideal setting (E.g. type of culture of the firm)?

- What type of work/industry/setting did you enjoy in consulting?

- In which industries you have a track record before consulting and thus a “leg-up” vs. other people?

- Which type of setting do you prefer (e.g. slow vs. fast, pressure-oriented vs. laid-back, …)?

- What is your Target Total Compensation you want to reach? Does the industry I am chosing allow me to get there?

….

2) Reason backwards on how to get there and determine best “unconstrained” 1st step out of consulting

- Create relationship and talk to people (they should become your own “steering committee” ) that have what you want in terms of ideal position, TC… about what is the best trajectory/first step out of consulting to get there

- Create a list of your target firms and aggressively network to get positions there (alumni network can be very useful)

3) Assess each exit opportunity ("constrained" choice set) based on above plan + backward reasoning weighting most important factors to you (rational part) + correct assessment for feeling (emotional / deep part)

E.g. to me most important factors to weight are → Growth Potential of position, TC growth potential of exit opportunities over 5-10 years (NPV), enjoying team and day-to-day work  

Should I consider the firms that do not typically hire strategy consultants? 

Hard to answer - should be a case-by-case holistic evaluation on your side based on above (e.g. does it fit vs. long-term plan and my preferences …).

For sure starting in a Strat team w/ peers from consulting firms or ideally your consulting company help ease the transition to industry

Hope it helps

Hi,

I think whether the company tends to hire ex-consultants or not should be less of a worry.

As a few other coaches have mentioned, you should first figure out where you want to be and what you want like/dont like to find a more suitable industry exit option. 

I'm sure you can come up with a set of key decision criteria - so instead ill share a 2 other considerations based on having known several people who have made the switch and talking to many others in industry:

1. One boss vs many bosses
   • This is one of the key differences in industry vs. junior levels in consulting
   • While you can always move to the next project / partner constellation (to a certain extent), you often don't have this luxury in industry
   • Thus - probably important to factor this in when making a decision - you need to really believe in your direct leadership
2. No longer the top dog
   • This is a dynamic that you have to be comfortable with
   • Strategy is a support function in industry, and since it is not revenue generating, will not have the same clout/weight 
   • In consulting, as part of the consulting team/client facing team, you were the ‘front line’ players in the team
   • In industry, as i'm sure you might have noticed from your projects, support functions sometimes struggle (nobody listens to them etc)
   • So you might want to also consider potentially other types of roles 

All the best!

Hi, great question – as someone who was just considering the same for over a year, I can share my two cents. 

One of my mentors gave me this advice and it helped me when I was planning my leave. He told me to consider what kind of life I wanted to have in 5 years – just in career, but my overall life. Did I want to have a family? Did I want to be financially stable? Did I want to be living in a certain geography? We often get swept up in our careers and it's important to step back to see the holistic view of our lives. 

After working in consulting, consider what you value most. Is it the problem-solving? The WLB? The prestige? The salary? All valid answers, but not all achievable in the same job. By answering this question, it'll help you find what job is best for you. 

Consulting opens the door to many industries, functions, and opportunities in more places than you realize. However, there's even more out there than you might even know. If you're planning to step outside of consulting, make sure you spend time exploring all your possible options before making the leap.

Hello,

This is a great question to think about at your stage, and it is also quite broad. It ultimately depends on where you see yourself down the line, what firm you are currently working at, and what connections and skills you have developed while you are there.

The consulting skillset is fairly general and applicable in many strategy positions. Even if you want to exit to an industry you have only had limited exposure to, generalist consulting experience shows that you are able to quickly learn on the job, so a lack of industry experience doesn't have to be a big limiting factor per se. Many of the larger consulting companies have good reputations and deep networks in many industries, which you could and should definitely leverage to get to where you want to go. If you work at a smaller boutique firm, there might be a bit more legwork involved on your part to establish initial connections, but your consulting experience will still open doors for you!

So, to answer your questions:

What are important factors to take into mind? 

I would start by thinking about what it is that you actually want to do, where you see yourself in a few years, and solve from there. Again, consulting really does open doors, and if you are interested in strategy positions as you say, you should be well-positioned to apply regardless of the firm's track record of hiring consultants. You can convince them of why you would be a good hire for them during the recruiting process. Of course, you should also consider the standard set of job-relevant factors: salary, progression opportunities, benefits, office culture, travel, etc.

Should I consider the firms that do not typically hire strategy consultants?

Absolutely! Just be sure to tailor your application packet to highlight the skills, experiences, and qualities that you think they would find most valuable. But just because they don't typically hire strategy consultants doesn't mean they wouldn't ever hire strategy consultants, if they find someone who is a good fit.