War for Talent
Transitioning from Consulting to Industry Is Easier Said Than Done
By Michael J. DeCosta
By design, many young executives
graduating from top colleges and uni-
versities choose to begin their careers
in the consulting profession.They see
consulting offering a great platform
to gain maximum exposure to the
corporate universe. Moreover, if they
are lucky, their firm may sponsor
them through a top MBA program.
Ultimately, many have the express
intention to leverage their consulting
experience and newly minted MBAs
into senior roles in the corporate
sector. While many consultants are
successful in this endeavor, others
find themselves overlooked for cor-
porate roles for which they feel emi-
nently qualified.
Reasons vary as to why consultants
may face a tough time proving to
corporate employers that they are
well qualified for a senior position.
Roadblocks consultants typically
hear include:
• Lack of true operating (P&L)
management experience
• Nominal experience managing di-
rect reports
• Overly high compensation expec-
tations
Hiring managers face these objec-
tions from their peers, often leading
to reluctance to make an offer to an
otherwise talented consultant. They
are typically hesitant because of
questions including:
• Will the consultant leave his/her
ego at the door and “play nice in
the corporate sandbox?”
6 August 2005 | CONSULTANTS NEWS
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• Will they last? Is the consultant
simply using this role as a spring-
board to the next opportunity?
(Note: This may be a good thing
too. In some cases, senior staff
roles may actually be designed to
lead a consultant to general man-
agement opportunities at the next
level in the organization.)
• Are they willing to pay the price?
Consultants ultimately need to
succumb, or at least acquiesce, to
a quasi-apprenticeship period.
• What exactly will the company be
getting in this hire? The experience
and skill set one brings from con-
sulting is remarkably different than
traditional corporate training.
Even if one survives this skepticism
and gets the job, there is no guaran-
tee of success. Even the best consult-
ants can find themselves victimized
by any of the following career transi-
tion mishaps I’ve come across in the
last few years.
Example I – Victim
of Mismanagement
Paul spent 17 years with a leading in-
ternational consulting firm before
joining a large software company in
2002 as the SVP-Consulting of its
new professional services division.
The timing certainly felt right.
After a decade of winning new busi-
ness more easily than “shooting fish
in a barrel,” the new business well
was running dry. Not only was the
demand for new ERP- and CRM-fo-
cused implementations (Paul’s area
of expertise) dramatically decreas-
ing, the need to fix problem imple-
mentations already completed was
wreaking havoc on his firm’s bottom
line and Paul’s own revenue produc-
tion. Clearly, the consulting halcyon
days were over.
When the opportunity to join this
well-respected corporation came
around, he jumped at it. Paul started
out quickly and made some early im-
pressions. Not too long after, howev-
er, he began bumping heads with
managers of the software division.
The managers negatively viewed
some of his initiatives that they felt
conflicted with their business-build-
ing objectives at key clients. In addi-
tion, Paul made some critical staffing
mistakes, hiring too many consult-
ants into his group in anticipation of
new projects that ultimately never
materialized. Less than 12 months
into the job, Paul sat down with the
CEO for a counseling out session
neither expected to happen so quick-
ly – or at all.
Example II – Victim of ‘Profiling’
Tom had fast-tracked his way
through one of the leading strategy
consulting firms in just over nine
years. By all accounts, he was on-
deck to make partner. Before making
the commitment, however, Tom felt
he owed it to himself to explore
other career options.
The only viable option, in his opin-
ion, was a role in the corporate sec-
tor, rather than another consulting
firm. Surely, his Harvard MBA and
depth of project experience with
Fortune 500 companies would make
him an attractive candidate in the job
market. He contacted several
clients, a few former colleagues, and
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War for Talent
Transitioning from Consulting to Industry Is Easier Said Than Done (Cont. from page 6)
a couple of top executive search
firms. He expected to have his pick
of opportunities. Instead, he found
little or no interest – only one call
from a junior recruiter offering a po-
sition paying one-third of what he
presently made.
It seemed corporations were hiring
only individuals who fit neatly into a
particular profile and could demon-
strate commensurate experience.
From his perspective, the days of
hiring based purely on “perceived”
talent were gone. All new hires
were highly scrutinized and clear
justification for the added expense
was required.
Example III – Victim of
Corporate Layoffs
Janice knew well the insurance com-
pany the recruiter was describing on
the phone. After all, it had been a
client of hers several years ago, and
she was amazed to learn this centu-
ry-old company was hiring a Vice
President for its Project Manage-
ment Office to “drive business
process changes in its claims adjudi-
cation function, sales force, and actu-
arial department.”
She quickly moved to the front of
the pack of prospective candidates
after the first round of interviews
and accepted the position two weeks
later when offered. It had everything
she could hope for: she was, in
essence, an internal consultant who
could take ownership of the projects
she ran and produce real results.
Everything was going smoothly until
the company missed its numbers dur-
ing the second quarter she was there.
CONSULTANTS NEWS | August 2005
© 2005 Kennedy Information, Inc., 800-531-0007. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction Prohibited by Law.
The company’s manage-
ment was also quick to Tips on Making the
Transition to a Corporate Role
lower Wall Street’s ex-
pectations for the re- Before you decide to leave your consulting job to go into indus-
try, it’s important to do the following:
mainder of the year.
• Do an honest inventory/assessment of your skills
Almost immediately, her
office, which had been • Based on your assessment, learn the different competen-
cies required for the position by interviewing other consult-
leading several growth ants who made the transition
initiatives, was disbanded
• Revisit your assessment and see which profile better suits
in favor of an enterprise- you – consulting or industry
wide cost-cutting effort. • Ask yourself “Why am I making this change?” Determine
Her position was elimi- your internal motivators for the career change
nated shortly thereafter. • In terms of culture and environment, what fits you in terms
of motivation, values, skills, etc.
How to Achieve • Reach out – form your own board of advisors and gather
‘Proactive Serendipity’ external feedback on whether they think you can be suc-
cessful in the new role
For each of these exam-
• Ask for honest, realistic feedback
ples of frustrating career
transitions that did not
work out for consultants, there are But today’s job market requires
countless examples of success sto- what we call “proactive serendipity,”
ries. In fact, some consulting firms or putting yourself in the right place
helps those that choose to leave the at the right time. The majority of
firm for corporate roles – the logic consultants who transition into a
being they could become the firm’s corporate role do so with little
future clients. Nevertheless, con- problem and go on to enjoy success-
sultants must be prepared for the ful careers.
potential uneasy entry into the next
phase of their career. But too often, consultants are ill
prepared for the rejection they
Undoubtedly, good consultants have could face in the job market. More-
a head start on their peers when over, they are hesitant to recognize
presenting their credentials in the their own learning curve. At the
job market. But what is a consul- very least, they would be well ad-
tant’s true market value? Will em- vised to approach the job market
ployers shell out the money for a using the same skills they deploy
competitive salary as willingly as with clients: patience, tenacity and a
they will pay a consultant’s profes- bit of humility.
sional fees?
Michael J. DeCosta is a Client Partner in
The War for Talent is heating up again Korn/Ferry’s Professional Services Practice.
as the number of jobs created out- Contributing are Craig P. Dunlevie, Global
paces the number of qualified execu- Head of Korn/Ferry’s Global Professional
tives to fill them. Consultants posi- Services Practice, and Marti Smye, Global
tioned in the top firms will be first in Head of Korn/Ferry’s coaching and execu-
the line of new hires. tive development services.
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