IIT Kanpur career awareness

workshop: Consulting
04th January 2009
Agenda
• What is consulting?
- What is the role of consultants
- Why do companies hire us
- Major companies globally and in India

• What are the career options after consulting?

• Pros and cons of consulting

• What is a typical day in consultant’s job

- Hierarchy
- Job profile of an undergraduate in first 2 years

• Are you fit for consulting?

- What skills matters
- What should you be expect from you first job

• How to prepare for consulting job?

- Resume
- Interview

• Other careers similar to consulting

What is consulting?

Broad based • Global majors: Bain, BCG, McKinsey

strategy advisors
• Boutique consulting: Opera, Parthenon

Expertise Providers • A.T. Kearney, Hewitt

• Accenture, IBM, Infosys,

SI Houses TCS, Wipro

• PWC, KPMG, Deloitte

Accounting Firms
What do strategy consultants
do?
CEOs & top management’s most important strategy issues

How do we respond to a Should we acquire How should we expand

rapidly another geographically?
growing new company to Organically? Through
competitor? win in our market acquisition?
place?

How do we respond to How do we create the How do we create a

changing consumer optimal manufacturing flexible and dynamic
behaviour? and distribution organization?
footprint?

Management’s important operational and implementation issues

How to reduce cost and How to implement

streamline changes in the
manufacturing? organisation: Program
management
Why do companies hire
strategy consultants?

“We don’t have the “They provide “They have

time or resources to an external, specialist skills
focus on solving objective that we don’t
long-term problems” perspective” have in-house”
Agenda
• What is consulting?
- What is the role of consultants
- Why do companies hire us
- Major companies globally and in India

• What are the career options after consulting?

• Pros and cons of consulting

• What is a typical day in consultant’s job

- Hierarchy
- Job profile of an undergraduate in first 2 years

• Are you fit for consulting?

- What skills matters
- What should you be expect from you first job

• How to prepare for consulting job?

- Resume
- Interview

• Other careers similar to consulting

Consulting can be a great
spring board for your career
Go to business school Explore other careers

• International business • Private equity

schools

• Investment banking
• Indian business schools

• General management

• Corporate Strategy /
business development
Agenda
• What is consulting?
- What is the role of consultants
- Why do companies hire us
- Major companies globally and in India

• What are the career options after consulting?

• Pros and cons of consulting

• What is a typical day in consultant’s job

- Hierarchy
- Job profile of an undergraduate in first 2 years

• Are you fit for consulting?

- What skills matters
- What should you be expect from you first job

• How to prepare for consulting job?

- Resume
- Interview

• Other careers similar to consulting

What does consulting offer
you?

… Great learning opportunity

… Interesting, varied work
… Constantly challenged
… Interesting and fun people to
work with
… My performance to be
recognized and rewarded
… Springboard to other things I
may want to do in the future
What consulting does not
offer you?
… Industry specialization
… High intellectual work
… Leadership roles in the first 1-2
years
… High responsibility
… 40 hours a week job
… International travel
Agenda
• What is consulting?
- What is the role of consultants
- Why do companies hire us
- Major companies globally and in India

• What are the career options after consulting?

• Pros and cons of consulting

• What is a typical day in a consultant’s job

- Hierarchy
- Job profile of an undergraduate in first 2 years

• Are you fit for consulting?

- What skills matters
- What should you be expect from you first job

• How to prepare for consulting job?

- Resume
- Interview

• Other careers similar to consulting

What is the hierarchy in
consulting?

Partner
IIM graduate

Manager / EM
(4-5 years)

Consultant / Associate IIT graduate

(3 years)

Senior associate consultant/ Junior associate

(1 year)

Associate consultant / Business analyst

(2-3 years)
What is a typical day in an
associate consultant’s job
Tools and resources used by Activities performed by junior
junior consultants consultants

• Power point for client • Internet research to collect

presentations information

• Primary interviews with

• Excel for financial models industry experts

• Interaction with client’s

• Specialized data research middle management
tools to collect information
• Data analysis and
implications for business

• Slides to communicate
business insights
Case example

• Example 1: One of the largest textile and apparel

company was losing market share and going into
loss, we helped them reduce cost and increase sales

• Example 2: A first generation entrepreneur

wanted to formalize and expand his business, we
created a growth plan and targets and how he can
achieve those targets
Agenda
• What is consulting?
- What is the role of consultants
- Why do companies hire us
- Major companies globally and in India

• What are the career options after consulting?

• Pros and cons of consulting

• What is a typical day in consultant’s job

- Hierarchy
- Job profile of an undergraduate in first 2 years

• Are you fit for consulting?

- What skills matters
- What should you be expect from you first job

• How to prepare for consulting job?

- Resume
- Interview

• Other careers similar to consulting

Are you fit for consulting
What should you be expecting
What skills matters
from your first job

• Ability to approach problems in • Consulting is no rocket science

structured way

• Exposure to different aspects

• Objective and logical thinking of business

• Decent communication skills • Working in a young and

dynamic environment

• Drive / passion to excel

Agenda
• What is consulting?
- What is the role of consultants
- Why do companies hire us
- Major companies globally and in India

• What are the career options after consulting?

• Pros and cons of consulting

• What is a typical day in consultant’s job

- Hierarchy
- Job profile of an undergraduate in first 2 years

• Are you fit for consulting?

- What skills matters
- What should you be expect from you first job

• How to prepare for consulting job?

- Resume
- Interview

• Other careers similar to consulting

How to prepare for
consulting job?
What should your resume
reflect
• Academic or any other
achievements
• Drive to excel
• Ability to take initiatives
• Positions of responsibility
How to prepare for case
studies
• Practice a few case studies
- Harvard / Kellogg case studies
- Find more on internet
• Tips
- Approach problems in a
structured way
- It’s the way you solve the
problem, not the solution
- Try to come across as an
energetic person
Agenda
• What is consulting?
- What is the role of consultants
- Why do companies hire us
- Major companies globally and in India

• What are the career options after consulting?

• Pros and cons of consulting

• What is a typical day in consultant’s job

- Hierarchy
- Job profile of an undergraduate in first 2 years

• Are you fit for consulting?

- What skills matters
- What should you be expect from you first job

• How to prepare for consulting job?

- Resume
- Interview

• Other careers similar to consulting

Other careers similar to
consulting
• Research and Analytics
-Inductis
-Grail research
-McKinsey knowledge center
• IT & SAP consulting
-SAP
-IBM
-Accenture
-PWC
-Deloitte