I just finished my third busy season as an associate in financial services auditing at a big 4. I know that auditing is not for me and am looking to change. I think management consulting seems very interesting and something I would like to pursue. How hard is it to do an internal transfer? There are not many jobs posted to the internal job site however I do know people that work in advisory to circulate my resume. I'm wondering what the pros/cons to staying at my current firm and doing an internal transfer or switching to another big 4 makes more sense. I'm currently getting my resume out to recruiters and I'm also unsure if I should stick it out until July when I get promoted to sr. associate to have the title. Help!
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It's going to be very difficult to make the jump directly from audit to advisory or management consulting. A better bet is to try to get into Transaction Advisory Services. A lot of the work benefits from having the "audit" background but you end up on deals-based work. The caveat is that you need to be consistently viewed as a top-performer to get that sort of role. It's one of the most desirable opportunities for those who want to leave audit but stay with the firm.
i've been ranked a 2, which is not the best, but better than average. i spoke to my sr. manager today and he was open to letting me switch since i vocalized my goals and was pretty surprised. he told me i need to made internal connections and get my resume out that way. has anyone had experience with this?
Yes. Your current team/market will support you through the process but they won't be able to make anything happen for you (esp. HR, they will act like they can but you won't hear anything from them).
Here's what you need to do: 1) Look in your internal database for alumni that are on the consulting side, tell them what you're looking to do and ask to learn more about consulting/advisory. The only difference between you and this person is you majored in accounting and they most likely did not (MBAs excluded). 2) Chat about their role and let them know what it is you're looking for in consulting. If it matches what their group does, you've basically skipped a step. If not, they should have a good idea of other consulting groups within the firm and may be able to put you in connect with someone. 3) Once you've identified a group of interest, tailor your resume to match some desirable skillsets. Once you have a conversation with someone from your desired group, they will ask for your resume so have it ready. 4) Start looking outside your firm for similar groups. Your audit team will try and screw you and want another busy season.. its nice to have another offer in hand 5) Follow up with the individual from your desired group, have them put you in contact with HR and a partner in your market.. This will normally result in a not so formal interview process.
The process is not difficult if you hit the right connections, but it can absolutely be long and a pain in the ass. Best of luck.
Look towards the finance focused consulting groups - PI- Finance, S&O - Finance.. The stakeholders from a client perspective are the same so the transition isn't too drastic. I work in one of these groups - PM if you have further questions.
Hey Big4MC, S&O Finance is exactly what I was looking at. Having been working in Financial Service Audit for almost 2 years, I am wondering what was your experience approaching your counsellor and basically telling them that Audit isn't for you and you wanted to pursue consulting? Thanks!
Why are you still an associate after three busy seasons?
my firm promotes associates to senior associates after 3 busy seasons. some get promoted in 2/2.5, but most are associates for 3
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