Mayank Badhwar Associate Content Manager
Associate Content Manager
Author Name - Sidra Nasir khan
About the Author
Sidra Nasir khan is a current student at FMS Delhi. She is currently working at TATA Administrative Services (TAS) and is Alumni of NIT Bhopal. She is Currently a member of HR & OB Society at FMS. In this article, Sidra talks about the consulting domain of B-Schools in India.
Definition
Management consulting: What is it?
Simply put, consulting is the act or practice of developing answers to issues or situations that arise in actual business scenarios.
MBA Graduates
For MBA graduates, consulting careers are common. Along with banking and technology, the sector is one of the top three for MBAs to pursue after graduation, and consulting firms are frequently ranked among the greatest places to work in the world.
You may put everything you have learned during your MBA to use as a consultant, whether you find a job at one of the Big Three management consulting firms or a boutique consultancy.
You have the opportunity to collaborate with customers on projects spanning many different industries and functions and work in teams with co-workers from across the world.
MBA consulting specialties focus more intently on this career path, preparing you for a career in the field, however most MBA schools can assist you in finding a consultant job.
Skill Set for Consulting
You'll have the chance to build and improve the skills necessary to succeed as a consultant while earning your MBA. The following are essential abilities for management consultants to have:
- Collaboration/Teamwork
- Communication
- Complex problem solving
- Case cracking
- A diverse perspective
- Improvisation
- Digital-savvy
Career Growth in Consulting
| From | To | Average Period |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst | Associate with MBA | 2 years |
| Associate (MBA) | Senior Consultant | 2 years |
| Senior Consultant | Project Lead | 2-3 years |
| Project Lead | Senior Project Lead | 4-5 years |
| Junior Partner | Principal | 6-8 years |
| Senior Partner | Director | 10+ years |
Career Path for B-school consultant
Typical structure of MBBs in India is as under:
Junior to senior levels-
- Associate / Analyst - Recruited as freshers with almost zero work-experience. Typically join after completing the undergraduate. Work for about 2 years to so and then would head for PE/VC companies or Ivy league B schools
- Senior Associate / Junior Consultant - Recruited post the B-schools (in India from ISB/IIMs). This level is sort of created for Indian context since B-schools do not necessarily have 3–4 years prior work-ex requirement
- Consultant - This is the level at which MBAs join in US and western countries. Usually the candidates have 3–4 years experience before their MBA
- Project Leader / Engagement Manager - Level at which one starts to manage project teams. Lateral hiring or internal promotions happen for this position
- Principal / Junior Partner - Levels at which there is transition from project management to business development as well. Less lateral hiring and more of internal movements only
- Partner / MD - Pure business development and organizational roles (head of industry practices, functional practices etc). Very rarely lateral hiring happens here
Typical time for promotions till Project leader level is about 2 years at every level. Thereafter the average is 30 months.
List of entry-level profiles offered by consulting firms at top IIMs:
- Mckinsey: Junior Associate
- BCG: Senior Associate
- Bain & Company: Associate Consultant
- Accenture Strategy: Analyst
- AT Kearney: Senior Business Analyst
- EY-Parthenon: Consultant
- Monitor Deloitte: Consultant
- Strategy &: Associate
- Alvarez & Marsal: Associate
- Roland Berger: Consultant
Top 10 MBA Colleges In India For Consulting
Let’s take a look at how top b schools have performed in providing consulting roles. The order given below is a list and not a rank.
| S. No | B-school | Consulting Placements Scenario | Consulting Offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIM Ahmedabad | During the final placement season for the batch of 2020-2022 at IIM Ahmedabad, there were 155 offers provided in Consulting. The domestic average for the students who received offers in consulting was INR 33,29,960 per annum. | In the first cluster, BCG came out as the top recruiter with 47 offers. |
| 2 | IIM Bangalore | IIM Bangalore had 432 students in the batch of 2020-2022. They were provided 518 offers during the final placements season. The average domestic compensation provided during this placement season was INR 33,18,000 per annum. McKinsey & Company provided 11 Pre Placement offers. |
|
| 3 | IIM Calcutta | Indian Institute of Management Calcutta had 44 students in its 55th batch 2020-2022. The students received 498 offers in the final placements season. The average salary was INR 31,80,000 per annum. The average for consulting during this season was INR 36,00,000. And the maximum salary offered for the students in consulting was INR 75,00,000. | 19% of total offers were provided in management consulting. |
| 4 | IIM Lucknow | Indian Institute of Management Lucknow had 443 students in the batch of 2020-2022. 447 offers were provided. In the consulting domain, 147 total offers were provided to the students. 37% of total offers were in strategy/consulting. | Capgemini, Deloitte, Ernst and Young, BCG, and McKinsey were a few of the recruiters in the consulting domain. |
| 5 | IIM Kozhikode | IIM Kozhikode closed final placements in just 5 days for its batch of 2020-2022. 415 students participated in the process. The average compensation offered in consulting was INR 25,75,000 per annum. The maximum compensation offered in this domain was INR 36,36,000 per annum. | 29% of total offers were made in consulting |
| 6 | IIM Indore | IIM Indore has maintained its reputation again by having a good placement season for its batch of 2020-2022 which had 579 students (431 in PGP, 91 Dual Degree and 56 students in PGP Mumbai) The average salary offered was INR 24,92,000 per annum. |
|
| 7 | FMS | FMS had a good placement season for its batch of 2020-2022 which had 265 students. 259 Students participated in the final placements process and 234 offers were provided. Average CTC was at INR 27,60,000 per annum. | A total of 91 offers were provided in consulting/general management, of which 29 were pre-placement offers. |
| 8 | Indian School of Business (ISB) | ISB had a good placement season for its 890 students of the class of 2022. The 80% mean for the students of the class of 2020 was INR 29,06,434. A total of 1504 offers were provided. | 28% of the total offers provided were in the consulting function. |
| 9 | XLRI Jamshedpur | XLRI Jamshedpur completed a successful placement season for its batch of 2020-2022 which had 359 students. The finals placements process this season concluded in just 2 days. 117 recruiters participated in the process and 362 offers were provided to the students. This season also saw 24 new recruiters who participated in the process. The average salary offered was INR 29,30,000 per annum. 27% of the total offers were provided by consulting firms. | Reputed firms like McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Accenture Strategy, Deloitte, KPMG, and AON are a few of the consulting firms which participated in the process. |
| 10 | SP Jain Institute of Management and Research | SPJIMR successfully completed the final placements process for 241 students of the PGDM Class of 2022. 124 companies participated in the process and there were also 44 recruiters who participated for the first time. The average salary was INR 28,36,000 per annum. | 25.42% of the students received offers from consulting companies like Accenture Strategy, Avalon Consulting, Bain & Company, BCG, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC among others. |
Big 3 Management Consultancy Firms (MBB)
McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Co., or MBB in short are considered the Big 3 management consultancies.
| Consulting Firm | Services |
|---|---|
| McKinsey & Co. | Strategic, organizational, operational, and technological areas |
| Bain & Co. | Corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, market analysis, and finance |
| Boston Consulting Group | Retail, health, care, and chemicals |
The Big 4 Management Consultancy Firms
The big four consulting companies in India are:
- KPMG
- E&Y
- PWC
- Deloitte
One another top Consulting firm is Kearney
Kearney is a global management consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries worldwide. Kearney has consistently earned top places among global management consulting firm rankings, such as Vault's Consulting 50 and Consulting magazine's "Best Firms to Work For."
A.T. Kearney's MBA Objectives
A.T. Kearney has taken the less-traveled path when making hires at a period of uncertainty when businesses are still hoarding capital and hiring carefully. This consultancy powerhouse presented Vision 2020 in 2013, seizing the chance when others sought to cut costs. As part of this strategy, A.T. Kearney wants to grow by twofold and establish itself as the most admired consulting firm, with a distinctive culture characterised by knowledge, experience, a close-knit approach, and a creative attitude.
What qualities in a CV and history does Kearney values?
“In the end, we're searching for a consultant that can provide our clients a variety of experiences and work through difficult difficulties. As part of a candidate's application, we want a résumé, but we are aware from past experience that this is not a particularly reliable indicator of who would be successful at our company. Since we already know that a graduate of a top MBA programme is intelligent, we are searching for more.”
Kearney hires from the following B-schools
- Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
- Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
- Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
- Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
- Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.
- Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi
Is working in consulting worth it?
As a vocation, consulting offers virtually endless benefits. However, the drawbacks provide compelling evidence for the need to carefully consider all possibilities. It has been said by the wise that entering the consulting industry with both eyes open pays well.
- Work-life balance is compromised.
Working more than 100 hours a week and worrying about job, clients, competitors, deadlines, you name it, consultants frequently experience stress. Work suffers as a result, as does personal life.
- Continual travel
On the job, you can definitely rack up frequent flier points. The job description includes leading a jet-set lifestyle, and clients can be located anywhere in the world.
When hiring new employees, businesses rarely mention side effects like jet lag, loneliness, weariness, or the inevitable gastrointestinal issue brought on by all the aircraft food.
- Not really your cup of tea
Frequently, management consultants don't work on projects related to their primary field of expertise. Despite having a marketing degree, you can be asked, for instance, to plan the execution of an engineering project for a customer. The exposure might be beneficial to you, but if the field is not your strong suit, you will need to work even harder if you want to perform at your best.
- Stress and rivalry in the workplace
Feedback is essential for consultants. from customers, peers, and superiors. These determine your compensation and might create a stressful environment all around. especially if you work for a taskmaster supervisor or a client who is difficult to please.
Of course, there can also be office politics, where people vie for the most difficult or visible projects while stomping all over one another.
Consultancies have a turnover rate of 15 to 20 percent because of factors like burnout, a lack of a personal life, and the fierce competition experienced when advancing to partner level.
After consulting for a while, they transition into professions in finance, private equity, asset management, entrepreneurship, or even fully functional roles in the industries they had previously advised.
- Life after Consulting Exit Options - The Dark Side of Consulting - McKinsey Strategy Consulting to an Investment Banking Career
Obviously, consulting life has its pleasures as well as numerous problems. Motivation, desire, and most importantly, a nearly comprehensive awareness of what will be expected, are necessary for beginning the job.
If not, the charms will wear off just as quickly as your blood pressure will.
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