Moving from industry into consulting looks a more attractive career path now than it has done for some time. After several years in which growth stalled, consulting firms are recruiting with a vengeance, a situation escalated by the return to the sector of big hitters Ernst & Young, KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers.
“Recruitment is going through a boom in terms of consulting,” says Kevin Narain, regional managing director, Europe, of Parson Consulting. “There are a lot of jobs around because the ‘born-again three’ are recruiting to replace the consulting divisions they sold. A few years ago it was difficult to be choosy about where you wanted to work but it is a buyer’s market now.”
With the big firms competing for the right candidates, the consulting business is having trouble finding people with the necessary experience. There are not enough from the world of consulting, so companies are looking to industry to supply the shortfall.
“The recruitment market is absolutely booming,” says Bryan Hickson of the online recruitment company Top-Consultant.com. “But the problem is the paucity of candidates with previous consulting experience. There is a massive demand but a finite supply. This has meant that companies are being pragmatic and widening their searches to people from industry with no previous consulting experience. It is a good time to move from industry to consulting.”
Nicola Connelly, manager of consultancy, strategy and change at recruitment specialist Michael Page International, says firms want people with industry and consulting experience. But for people moving for the first time from industry, the main factor is whether their experience fits what consultants are looking for.
“Expertise in demand includes working in mergers and acquisitions, in strategy, change management and business process improvement, which are all the sexy areas now,” she says. Hot sectors at the moment are financial services, energy, utilities, telecommunications and the public sector, including healthcare.
People working in industry who want to move to consulting should not delay making that switch, says Connelly. But they should also consider the implications for their lifestyle and working practices.
Those who make the move to consulting could find changing a culture shock. “It is a different way of working,” says Connelly. “There is generally a lot of travel, you are working on projects with new companies and in new places, you could be hot-desking.
“Some people thrive on the excitement of the business and others find it difficult to adjust. However, the majority of consultancy firms are addressing the question of work-life balance and understand how important it is to their employees.”
John Lockton is managing director of LCP Consulting, a firm that employs about 30 staff, all of whom have industry experience. He says the skills used in industry are similar to those needed in consulting, but applied differently. “Consulting is all about a group of people working together in short-term projects to solve a problem.
It is a different environment to running a business.
“People from industry tend to be used to leading projects whereas in the consulting role it is more about influencing, about showing people what can be done.”
However, there are advantages in employing somebody with a few years’ industry experience, adds Lockton. “Those people can have real business understanding — there is a knowledge base and some sort of proven people management capability. They will be able to communicate within a business to different types of people and they understand the politics of working in a business.”
Narain says a change in culture can create problems: “People who have been in industry bring practical experience to consulting, but the move itself, in either direction, can be difficult. If you are working in industry then most of your time is taken up with ‘business as usual’ — there is no significant change and if there is any, it is clear what you need to do. In consulting, everything you do is about change and the mandate for change isn’t clear. It can be difficult if you haven’t operated that way before — negotiating with the client and getting them to do something.”
Moving between industry and consulting is by no means a one-way street. Connelly says it is easier for people to move from consulting into industry than the other way round. And Alan Buckle, head of advisory at KPMG, notes: “A lot of our clients are former consultants who have come through consulting into industry and who know how it works. The onus on quality is even more important.”
All systems go
STEVE WHITE joined technology firm Sun Microsystems straight from school and worked in its software support division in various roles. When the opportunity arose to move into consulting this year, he leapt at the chance.
White, 39, joined Kepner-Tregoe, a Windsor-based consulting firm with whom he had already worked, implementing its customer service functions into Sun’s systems.
Having trained Sun staff in the new process, he was keen to do so at other firms: “The benefit of becoming a consultant is that you can talk to many different companies, whereas working in industry you couldn’t really spend time talking to your direct rivals and competitors. Working for an external company you are at liberty to see others, suggest joining up and working together.”
White, who lives in Hampshire with his wife and two young children, finds his new job much more varied. “My role is part internal sales, part coaching and part marketing. I wake up thinking, ‘Which of the plates shall I keep spinning today?’ ”
Consulting “keeps you on your toes because you are much more accountable,” he says. “In industry, I have seen people take their foot off the accelerator and nobody noticed. At Sun I was working alongside people who had the same skills and experiences as me, whereas at Kepner-Tregoe I am with people who have totally different skills and experiences. The opportunity to learn new stuff is limitless.”
