Consultants Learn To Accept The Unexpected

A handful of new management consultants talk about the misconceptions and stereotypes with which their industry has become saddled

Only money matters. Not true, Paul Gurney, an analyst at Accenture, says. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is taken seriously: "At Accenture it's been very good. There's quite a systematic approach and good CSR policies."

No ladies, thank you. "When I first started reading about consultancy . . . it came across as very male dominated," says Sweta Patel, a senior consultant at Alsbridge. "But since I've joined, I've realised it's much more balanced. In Alsbridge there are many more women than men." Kiran Savjani, a business modelling consultant at IBM, says that consultancy is still dominated by white men. "But the industry is making huge efforts to change that, and it's working," he says.

It's about hoodwinking organisations into buying services that they don't need. "No," Gurney says emphatically. "We would not be in business if we were not generating value for our clients."

It's a cut-throat world. Savjani expected colleagues to be ruthlessly competitive but found them very supportive. "I came in prepared to have to battle and I've not had to at all."

Long hours are standard. Project demands sometimes mean that consultants work late into the night, or at weekends — but that's the exception. Gurney has never had to work at weekends; Maie Ahmed, an analyst at Deloitte's consulting division, says that work-life balance is entirely possible, although when on deadline she has worked 16-hour days; and Savjani rarely has to work later than 6pm.

Bigger is better. Patel assumed that working for a Big Four consultancy would be the best move for her career, but she has found that working for a smaller specialist organisation has helped her to develop her skills much faster by giving her a broad overview and a hands-on start.

You do what you're told. Gurney didn't expect to get any say as to what projects he worked on, "but actually there's a lot of choice. They (management) work closely with us to make sure that we're going in the direction that we want."

There's lots of international travel. This is only part myth. At present Patel works in an unglamourous location near a UK airport; what travel Ahmed has done has largely been within the M25. However, Gurney has been to Cambodia and is off to Tanzania this summer, and Savjani, who expected no more than a whistlestop tour of Britain's dustier industrial estates, recently spent 8½ months in Sydney.

Consultancy is all about sacking people. "I was under that impression when I started," Ahmed says. Sometimes consultants will have to "reduce headcount" as part of their job, but they're also there to help companies to find ways to grow, which can lead to more jobs, she says.

Clients' staff will hate and/or fear you. Actually they are generally supportive and helpful, Patel says. "I have found that clients are open about sharing information." Which is handy, as much of a consultant's vaunted ability to move straight to action depends on whether or not they can ask the right questions.

Experience is essential. You don't have to start with any but you will certainly get it fast, Savjani says. "Consultancy is a great way to learn about business and about different industries, and to start your career."