What exit opps are there after 1 year tenure?

Hi!

So let's start by first principle thinking - if you feel like you are in serious burnout and you are not feeling somehow ok with staying there, simply take a break and possibly leave. Your career is going to be 40+ years long, so you will have time to make it work and have a great outcome anyway, even if you leave consulting after 1 year.  I think the downside of “mental sickness" is way worse than leaving consulting without another job offer, so watch-out on that!

Having said that, I think the combo of consulting and investment is definitely making you appealing either to PE or VC firms. Now, as a rule of thumb PE jobs are similar to MBB/banking like hours so given your appetite I would not suggest that, unless you are quite lucky in finding “small and local" PE funds that usually invest in SMEs and have better work-life balance (but usually not top salaries). Another option I see working better could be the VC ecosystem - for VC the French tech scene is definitely quite booming so I'd suggest you to look for international VC funds operating there (e.g. check here: https://slidebean.com/blog/the-10-best-vc-firms-in-paris ). International funds have the upside of having more AUM, thus being able to afford usually higher salaries given the higher management fees. Of course, after a couple of years of work experience in a well-paid job like you have, you could aim for Associate positions.

I can speak for hours about VC but the upside I see is that generally you get great work life balance, a really interesting job with lot of exposure to innovation and a decent salary (even though not stellar like top PE, Banks, Consulting). However, if you manage to hold through, you might end up earning pretty well if the fund performs well with carried interest!

Otherwise, startups are definitely appealing as well (and can also lead to VC opportunities later) - for sourcing them I would look at media reporting the hottest ones in your area (check Sifted and Techcrunch), and I would check the portfolio companies of the best funds in the area (see link above for France for instance). Generally, to de-risk a bit the “failure” risk, I would aim for Series A or B startups, where the product market fit has been already found by the company, but the company is not huge yet so you can get quite a good equity upside if all works well. To get these jobs, best way is to find the startups as mentioned before, then go with cold outreach to founders on Linkedin saying you basically want to help, and take it from there!

I can go on for hours, but hope this helps as a starting point! Bottom line, do your homework but don't stress, you'll be fine, there are plenty of options out there for you!

Best of luck!

Edo

I totally understand your situation. A few suggestions:

1. Start networking with people who are geographically in the area you're targeting and who work in your target industries. Explore what's happening there that is interesting and allow yourself to be led by your genuine interest. You might find something that is genuinely cool for you and want to learn more about it. 

2. Find a recruiter that specialises in that area (and perhaps the industry that you're most passionate about) and led them lead the active search on your behalf.

3. Turn on the LinkedIn setting that is only visible to recruiters and which highlights that you're looking for a new role. You can even mention where the role should be to make the contact requests you receive more targeted. 

It might take a while before you find something that you like but try to be patient. As your tenure grows in your consulting job, you'll get more and more offers. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

In addition to Edoardo's good thoughts, I'd add that most decent sized MC firms have some form of ‘exit recruiting’ process to support people leaving the firm. 

Most people leave consulting, that's just the way that the pyramid structure of professional services firms work. An the great thing about consulting is that your former employees become great customers if you treat them well. 

So maybe talk to HR or your mentor, be frank with them that you're strongly considering leaving but don't know what to do next. I'm sure they'll have some material to help think through what the best next step is, people in their network that you can talk to, perspectives on what your CV should look like, etc.

Hope that helps!

B.

Hi there,

First, read this guide to help survive longer: Consulting Survival Guide - Tips for Your Consulting Career

Second - Network: Start speaking to epople!

Third - hire a career coach: They can help you figure out your path!

In general, there are many exit opps BUT you have to be careful to not get funneled into the same type of work.

If you wish to better understand consulting exits in MEA, you can check this post - it's about a study done with +900 data points on consulting exits:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/eddyzreik_navigating-your-consulting-career-in-the-activity-7197958682427453440-aBBY?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios