Accenture Management Consulting Analyst vs Simon Kucher & Partners Entry Level Consultant
Hello all,
I am a final year student at a reputable business school in Asia. I would say it is one of the strongest undergraduate targets in Asia.
Recently, I was offered two positions: one with Accenture as a Management Consulting Analyst and the other at Simon Kucher Partners (SKP) as a Consultant I. So I am in a dilemma as to which position to take. I like the culture at SKP very much when I went for the Recruiting Day (similar to an assessment centre) and it seems like the firm emphasises very much on a collaborative environment and work life balance. I have heard about the brutal working hours at Accenture and how projects are mostly IT focused (have witnessed this for myself when I interned there as a MC intern and did mostly TC work).
However, I am also aware of Accenture's brand name and SKP does not have a huge presence in Asia as of yet (though it is expanding quickly). SKP is also known for being a pricing expert and I am worried that if I work there my skills would be limited to just pricing and marketing. To be honest, I want to be doing strategy work and I believe SKP's projects would have more strategy involved. However, is the brand name of Accenture more valuable and worth the compromise in doing non-strategy work?
If you were me, which position would you take? I am mostly concerned about exit opportunities.
Thanks everybody in advance for your help!
I am not familiar with the firm reputations in Singapore, but my advice would be go to SKP - Sounds like you're leaning that way. Getting projects that you're interested in is very important in consulting, and so is feeling like you fit in / get along with your colleagues. I am assuming that the compensation packages are similar?
Also, you said you're concerned about the "brand name" of Accenture being better than SKP. Use Linkedin to identify where former SKP consultants have gone to work / business school and compare that to Accenture. If its similar, then I don't see how the Accenture brand is really any stronger. Also, consider what you'd likely want to do after consulting. Maybe Accenture places better into product management positions at tech companies, but if you want to do corporate strategy after consulting, SKP could have a better network in that field. It could be helpful to talk with your contacts at SKP about this too.
Not sure about projects, reputation or exit ops for either in Asia/Singapore.
However, based on US - you're right, SKP is all healthcare pricing/ marketing/ sales force effectiveness work. Very much comparable to a ZS Associates.
I would personally take Accenture for the chance at a wider variety of projects + brand name
VodkaRedBull & Usernotfound101 - Thank you both for your very insightful opinions! I'm not too sure about the compensation package of SKP, as I am still waiting for the offer to come (however I have a hunch it will be higher than Accenture's).
Fwiw, my ultimate end goal is to break into private equity and to be frank, I see strategy consulting as an opportunity to gain more valuable skills to get there. I am afraid the work done in Accenture will be mostly operational and IT in nature and I will pigeonhole myself in terms of my skills learnt and exit opps will be limited to product management roles in tech companies like what VodkaRedBull mentioned.
To be honest, like what VodkaRedBull has noticed, I am indeed leaning towards SKP but my main concern is it's a small company that is not valued/recognised by B-schools or PE firms should I decide to leave. Accenture, on the other hand, has an excellent brand name which will be recognised no matter what role you have in the company.
Any advice?
Kudamm, Go with SKP. Its not worth the compromise in all honesty, Its about the quality of the experience. I myself previously worked at ACN and transitioned (very painfully) into IB and Accenture possibly got me into the room but then left me with nothing relevant to say. I also happen to think Accenture is circling the drain, at least in the UK, so i would strongly recommend your alternative. I cant say i was overwhelmingly impressed with the company or the work during my time there.
@MBS, thanks for your advice! Could you kindly share more about your Accenture experience? Role, Operating group, type of projects etc.
I'm glad to say I took up the role with SKP. The remuneration is about 10% lower (which was surprising that a strategy firm pays so much lower than the market average) but I am happy here. I am working on 2 growth strategy projects in 2 different industries and I really like what I do here, as compared to the work I did in Accenture. Only problem is probably the small size of my office, but that's not a huge concern for me.
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