The Big Firm
You will occasionally hear the term “the big 5”, which is a leftover term from the earlier days. Today, there are many players in the large consulting space. These firms span the globe with offices in most major cities and employ hundreds of thousands of folks. These companies recruit heavily out of college and you can probably find one of their recruitment booths at a school’s career fair if you attend any major university.
Companies like these can be good choices for first-time consultants, as their onboarding and ramp up is geared toward low experienced hires. At a larger firm, you join the workforce alongside a series of your peers of a similar age, experience and mindset which can be a nice support structure as you learn the ropes. It is a good way to get a reputable name on your resume and is a great launching point for the rest of your career. This does not mean all hires come in through the college recruiting pipeline. Experienced hires are made at all levels of the organization to fill gaps or facilitate growth.
However, going to work at a big firm does come at a cost. Many big firms have the reputation of working their new hires long and hard hours. As an entry-level consultant, you are a high margin resource after all! If you are staffed, you are easily paying back the investment the firm has placed in you by helping to generate a significant revenue for the company. It is not unheard of to be working 50-70 hours a week at some of these firms. Many experienced employees will tell you that this is called “putting in your time”. Be wary of being pushed too hard and too often and that you are not being taken advantage of or doing something you are uncomfortable with. If in doubt, reach out to your mentor or HR representative to discuss your concerns.
Large firms usually lead to and create an up or out culture. A healthy organization is shaped like a pyramid where the base is made up primarily of less experienced, cheaper and high margin resources, and as you go up through the organizational chart, the number of folk’s decreases until you reach the C-level suite which is held by just a handful of employees. This is by design as it lines up with how to create the most effective and profitable type of company as higher experienced resources also cost more money to employ.
So, what does this mean for you? Are you on the chopping block every passing year? The answer for the most part is no. Natural attrition due to better pay, better roles and a thousand other reasons lead to most of the younger hires leaving the company for greener pastures. This is expected, so never feel bad about leaving if you have gotten your experience under your belt and have found a better opportunity. For the other half, many people enjoy working at these firms, the security they provide alignment to their personal career aspirations. For these folks, hitting your KPIs and making sure you network with your managers allows you to move higher in the organization towards that C-level suite. If you are good at what you do, you will usually see paths open up for you every two to three review cycles.
The Small Firm
Small firms are also known as the boutique firm. There are hundreds of thousands of these small businesses which range from two employees to about a hundred. Working for the smaller firm has many pros and cons. Let’s investigate some of the benefits first.
If you wish to work somewhere where your visibility and exposure to the client and your peers is high, then the small firm is the place to be. Everything you do will be seen by someone and it is a lot harder to hide behind your peers. Hopefully, this does not seem like a deterrent. This is actually a great place to be seen and recognized for your accomplishments much sooner as compared to a larger firm. Due to the size and volatility of the type of projects a small firm will be contracted to deliver, you will be required to learn and utilize a huge array of skills over a short period of time. Being early on in your career, this allows you to get first-hand experiences on a wide range of different projects and processes, letting you hone in on what you would really like to do going forward and naturally figure out your strengths and weaknesses.
The downside to working at the small firm all correlate to the positives we just mentioned. Since there is nowhere to hide, you are expected to perform at a higher level and learn a lot faster with less coaching and usually less training. Due to this, many people agree that working at a small firm can be significantly more stressful. These companies also come with a higher rate of employment risk. When large projects come to a close and cash flow dries up, there is not as much cushion to cover a bench. The smaller firm also may not have a dedicated sales team. As part of a small company, you may need to play the role of the sales person which means your core responsibilities could change day to day and that can be pretty scary.
In the end, the best type of company for you is the one that will align more with your personality and work style. If you like structure, well-planned direction and more security in your work, then bigger is better. If you like faster pace, more rounded experience and the ability to have more control of your career, then small is a better fit. If you’re not sure and fall somewhere in between, then do not worry, there are plenty of middle-sized firms that have traits of both big and small and can vary depending on the style of the leadership and firms management.
Are you interested in starting a career in consulting? Be sure do read the full book Jack of all Trades Master of Some; An Introduction to Consulting available on Amazon.