so what does a consultant do during the downtime?

I'm reading a story of a Bain consultant right now on another website. He says that he challenged the Project manager and then was thrown off the engagement by him. Long story short the partners sided with the consultant and the PM left 2 months after. The consultant wasn't on assignment and had a performance review and then a week after was sent out to another engagement.

But my question is what does a consultant do while they are in between engagements?

 

normally people at my firm talk to the fulfillment managers to see any available roles. if not...they try to tap their network to get staffed on projects with those that they previously worked on. being on bench/beach can be stressful if there isn't demand and that you are costing the firm money, since you aren't being billed.

some do proposal work, business cases, assist other managers if they have the capacity (or desire) - usually business development work leads to a person getting staffed - since you have been working with the sr. mgr to sell the work.... you should have an idea of the client's issues and have established credibility with the sr. mgr -so that he'll take you along.

to geofinance's point, i know people that have taken vacations in between projects while the fulfillment manager looks on their behalf - which doesn't affect a person's chargeability metrics.

 

Thats really interesting. so essentially they have to poke around and ask for extra work? I like that type of environment keeps the hungry people hungry...

if you dont mind sharing what firm is do you work at longn?

Get it!
 

i personally don't like doing extra work for others...i rather do some self learning and research on my own. but yea, some people do ask for work because they need to get staffed. the more junior you are...the less skills you have to bring to a team. also, if you have a bad reputation within your group/area of practice then you are pretty much in trouble. you'll less likely get staffed and will eventually be counseled out.

but then again, you cost the least and are billed at a high rate so they like junior people on projects. kinda like law firms, junior associates getting billed at high rates even though they know jack shit about the law...consulting has the same model.

not too comfortable giving my firm's name out there, let's just say it's a tier 2.

 

fair enough I can totally respect not disclosing that sort of information...

I'm really just starting out in trying to get into this consulting game (feel free to join my group "Toronto Prospective Monkeys" and read the only post on there to hear more about it) but I had my reservations about the whole "Cravath System" up or out being really true... thanks for the insight!

Get it!
 
Best Response

At MBB, junior consultants are not measured on billable hours. Consequently, there is no risk or downside to being on the beach (provided you are on the beach as part of the natural project ending/beginning process, and not on the beach because you are a poor performer and no one wants to staff you).

While I was at one of MBB, most people on the beach did short-term, fill-in work for other teams. This took one of two forms.

1 Doing analysis for other teams. Teams that needed extra analytical capacity would reach out to the staffing coordinators, who knew which consultants were on the beach. Consultants on the beach would then help these teams with one-off analysis. These analyses could take anywhere from 0.5 to 3 days, typically not more. You would not travel to be with the team during this time; you'd just work remotely from your local office or at home.

2 Doing proposal work for partners. Ideally, you would work on a proposal for a partner you know/like working with. Otherwise, these projects can be nightmarish because they typically have short deadlines, but are the 57th priority for the partner, so you have no support on a document re: an industry you likely know nothing about.

That said, beach time is also a good way to relax. When I was on the beach, I typically only spent 4-6 hours a day on the activities above. The rest of the time I just hung out at home.

After 6-12 months at my firm, though, I rarely got beach time. If you are a strong performer, teams will "claim" you for projects even before your current project ends, so you'll often not get beach time - you'll just immediately start your next project.

 

There's a lot to do when you're not staffed on an engagement. Business development (i.e. responding to RFPs, presentations, etc.) research, thought leadership, building POV decks...

I try to have 1-2 weeks off between engagements to spend some time with this stuff. It gets important to hone those skills too because your focus shifts to these parts of the job as you move up the chain.

-MBP
 
manbearpig:
There's a lot to do when you're not staffed on an engagement. Business development (i.e. responding to RFPs, presentations, etc.) research, thought leadership, building POV decks...

I try to have 1-2 weeks off between engagements to spend some time with this stuff. It gets important to hone those skills too because your focus shifts to these parts of the job as you move up the chain.

exactly what the guy who wrote the story said about his later years

Get it!
 
ConanDBull:
manbearpig:
There's a lot to do when you're not staffed on an engagement. Business development (i.e. responding to RFPs, presentations, etc.) research, thought leadership, building POV decks...

I try to have 1-2 weeks off between engagements to spend some time with this stuff. It gets important to hone those skills too because your focus shifts to these parts of the job as you move up the chain.

exactly what the guy who wrote the story said about his later years

Would you mind posting the website where you read the story? Sounds interesting. Thanks.

 

DagwoodDeluxe has it absolutely spot on. Exactly like that where I am.

What he mentioned about just working 4-6 hours is a crucial point. This is where consulting rapes IB. On these down periods it is really fucking chill and you can do what you want. I usually come in to work at 8.45am (here in Singapore shit starts only after 9.15) and then leave by 3-ish or latest 4-430pm. It's really chill. And no one cares.

Of course, I'm a first year consultant so there's not as much pressure on me to be billable. Though I know a few 2nd year consultants that are already mentioning words like "shit I'm on the beach, kinda annoying that I'm not billable" which must mean that sooner or later I too will start feeling some pressure.

But, for now...it's all good. Now excuse me as I go back to surfing theChive.

 

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