Turning a client into a employer?
I've heard it's somewhat common for a consultants exit (if they don't get the "up" part of "up or out") to be to a former client. How is this usually done?
Does the client initiate the conversation or is the consultant who is being pushed out send out feeler emails to former contacts asking if they are hiring? Is the consultant being pushed out usually given enough time to find a job? Is there ever any gap time between the push out and the new hire?
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I know an MBB consultant who left to join a client after developing a really close relationship with the CEO of that company. He left after a couple years at the BA/Associate/AC level, joined the client for a little while and eventually went to b-school and actually rejoined the consulting firm he started at to begin with. He's now still at the firm at the manager level. I have no idea how common this is though.
However, what I do know is fairly common is joining a client through an MBB-sponsored secondment/externship where a consultant will spend a 6-month period working for a company on an interim basis. Oftentimes, these interim roles lead to full-time employment.
I’m not too familiar with the specific process that occurs, but I do know that many people leave consulting not because they fear they’d be let go, but rather they are offered a good opportunity elsewhere. Sure, there are some who know they will be coached to find a position elsewhere, but many (most?) who leave to a client do so because they see some combination of higher compensation, more room to grow, better work-life balance, and more interesting work.
Spent a couple of years in consulting at the analyst (post-college) level so happy to give my thoughts/observations. It’s actually fairly common and I’ve seen it happen several times, though usually at the senior-level (will elaborate on this point later). The two main points that I’ve come to the conclusion on are:
1) Time spent together – like all our personal and professional relationships, the more you get to know someone and get a better idea of what they can bring to the table the more likely you are to work together. ….think of all the businesses started up by former friends in college, former colleagues who try to hire you away from your current job, etc. In the case of a consultant, you’ve done an long and intense project so the client knows you well and there’s little doubt left about whether you can do the job, fit into the company culture, whether you are trustworthy or not, etc. The same goes for the consultant-side of the equation; you know whether you’ll have a reasonable boss, whether you like the kind of projects/initiatives you’ll get assigned, etc.
2) Qualifications – Not to sound arrogant, but it’s a generally accepted fact that a stint in management consulting puts you in pretty high demand as an employee. Just having the name/experience on your resume will open up a lot of doors. Your credentials plus your established relationship (point #1) will pretty much put you at the “top of the list.”
One point I should add is that while I’ve seen it happen several times but that it’s not super common and this may be on account of personal circumstances; things like location and career goals/preferences. Consultants based out of a big city (e.g. NYC or Boston) may not want to go to a client located in Pittsburgh. In addition, a consultant may really like the internal strategy team and the firm but may have some reservations about the CEO and the direction that senior management may be taking the company. In short, I think it’s largely a matter of self-selection as the consultant could fairly easily get a job at a client but CHOOSES not to.
Senior vs. Junior Level – I haven’t really observed it happening at junior levels though that’s not to say it couldn’t happen, for example behind closed doors there could be job offers given but not accepted. But my thinking is that mostly junior level employees aren’t interested in going to work for a client as other options are more attractive to them like b-school or a start-up role; in the case of a start-up, the thinking is you should do it while you’re young and have the circumstances. In addition, junior-level consultants don’t always get a lot of exposure to the client’s “point people” to the extent that a close enough professional relationship exists to broach the subject of a job offer.
As for how the process works, my guess is that it’s probably happening on both sides of the table. Think of a case where you leave your prestigious Wall Street role for a start-up that your friend is running, did you ask to be put on or did he/she ask you to come aboard? It’s probably not so cut-and-dry and over the course of your personal conversations things just kind of evolved to the point where you end up coming to the mutual decision to work together. Likely the same thing here.
Lastly, in cases where you want to go to a client but it’s not part of the natural conversation (e.g. a past client from long ago), my advice would just be to network in a similar manner to alumni networking. Send an email asking how they’ve been and maybe requesting a coffee chat then talk about the things they’ve got going on at their firm and current initiatives that are underway. Work into the discussion that you may be looking for a new role and why (e.g. don’t like the travel). They may or may not have an opening (can’t hurt to ask) and if they don’t, there may be other openings in the firm in different departments (e.g. corp dev) or even possibly with an affiliate (e.g. supplier, partner, or subsidiary). Last piece of advice, like most networking, it’s probably best to keep in touch with your past clients on an ongoing basis if you can rather than just reaching out to them in your “hour of need” so you don’t come off as possibly making an imposition or being desperate.
OP, probably should give @23mich a SB, such a solid post. I do not know anything about consulting but I feel that its everyman for himself. No matter the industry.
You got a solid answer from 23mich. Having worked in consulting at a boutique firm for a few years now, there are a few additional points that should be considered if you are thinking of going to a client:
Some consulting firms have anti-poaching clauses in their proposals/contracts (ours charges the first year of salary). This can make for a very awkward conversation if you get an offer and your firm does not want to let you go.
Know who sold the project and their connection to the client. If they are golfing buddies (as happened to one poor girl at our firm) an offer can disappear very quickly.
Non-MBB/tier 2 here. Many of the analysts/consultants who have left to work at a client did so under the guise of significant other situations/getting married/having kids. I think they communicated the desire to leave consulting due to travel and the firm has been very helpful with helping to find opportunities. From the firm's standpoint, it's an effective way to ensure certain key clients are loaded with our alumni, which will hopefully play some part in driving continued sales.
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