Breaking into RX Consulting From Big 4 Consulting
Hello all,
I am a consulting analyst (Big 4) looking to break into RX consulting. I started at my firm within the past year, and my current practice area is not close to RX at all. I have conviction that RX is the path for me based on personal interests, conversations with RX consultants and my experience with learning materials and case studies. I am also working to move closer to our Restructuring/Turnaround and Performance Improvement groups in the meantime.
My current thought is that I spend at least a year at my current firm before I think about moving. I don't expect to end up in Big 3, but I want to build the skills to get hired at any shop. I have a few questions, and I appreciate any insight you can offer.
- How early is too early to start talking to recruiters? Early on, this would mainly about skills, requirements, and opportunities. I don't want to appear like a serial job hopper, I just know I want to end up in RX.
- Is it realistic to think that I can move into RX without doing a Masters or MBA?
- Is there anything you recommend to help me stand out from campus recruits? Assume I'm entering at the Analyst level.
Thanks in advance.
When you say "not close to RX at all", how far away are we talking about? Context matters.
Final note, competition to get into Rx co from the Big 4 is extreme, based on what I've seen. FDD/ TAS have the edge for obvious reasons, but even then there's vastly more supply than demand. Be aware of this. And don't fall into the trap of just learning investor skills, RX co loves operators.
Thank you, this is very helpful. By "not close to RX at all", I mean I am currently working on an information systems implementation. My value proposition hinges around becoming an "operator" as you say. I believe I have a very unique background for RX co that can help me stand out, and I can share more over PM if you're interested.
I see, my above points still stand, but it will be extremely difficult given the caliber of talent you'll be up against. It's a lot easier for someone from FDD to explain "why RX" than someone in IT implementation, who likely won't come in contact with anything remotely RX related in their lifetime. But, you do have a unique skillset and an operator background, so it's worth a try. Just know where you come in at relative to the competition and overprepare. The rest is out of your control.
who are the big3 in RX?
Those are the big 3 in RX consulting
Ping me
Correct me if I am wrong but it sounds like you have less than 1 year of total experience, and it is with Big 4 IT Implementation consulting? If that is correct, you will have a very difficult time breaking into Rx Co at this point in your career. I don't want to steer you away from networking with recruiters or others in the industry, but the value you will get for those efforts will be minimal. Sure, go ahead and have some intro calls with recruiters to get more information and make some contacts, but don't spend the majority of your time there. None of them will give you a serious look unless you have applicable experience or an absolutely stellar/superstar target undergrad background.
You need to focus on getting applicable experience. Auditing, FDD, TAS are good places to start and your firm has all of those. FP&A is another good area to get entry level experience. You might have to spend time at multiple areas I listed before you get a serious look for Rx Co.
I would not pursue an MBA until you have exhausted all opportunities to get some of the baseline experience I mentioned. If you go to an MBA with 1 year of IT implementation experience, it will likely be at a lower ranked program (because most target and semi-target programs wont admit someone with that experience level), and then you are just back to square one when you graduate. You could in theory leverage an MBA to get into an FP&A role or a FDD/TAS role if all your other options fail.
Good news is you are very early on in your career and you have plenty of time to figure things out. Focus on networking internally at your Big 4 firm so you can rotate into FDD or TAS, even auditing would be better than what you are doing now. If that doesn't work, try to land a role somewhere else.
Adding on to this more buyside or IB leaning roles, because B4 has groups that focus on that stuff, or try to get into a firm that does that stuff. The bar is lower (still tough though) for people coming from careers or even firms that are "selective" because of the notion that you've been screened already and are better prepped to handle the work and lifestyle that RX co demands. Much higher bar for audit and less selective careers. It sucks but that's the way the system works.
Totally agree with this. I should have been more specific for why I was recommending Audit, FDD, TAS, FP&A etc. I think the OP would have just as hard of a time transitioning to IB/PE roles from his current position, it would be a very long shot. Maybe a better shot at a Big 4 IB leaning role, but I think that would be almost as hard, even internally. Nothing is 100% impossible, but IT Implementation Consulting to IB/PE or Rx Consulting is nearly impossible.
My main point is that they need to get some level of applicable experience as a baseline and build from there. They will likely have to start in a less selective career path (e.g., accounting/FDD/TAS) and build their resume piece by piece, moving up the level of "selectivity", which is doable.
Only other option in my opinion would be to get some project experience outside of IT (he mentioned he had some opportunities), then attend a target/semi-target MBA, get into a more selective finance role (IB/PE or some kind of Strategic Finance role), then try Rx Co.
As someone stuck in consulting on IT related projects at one of Big 4's competitors, I feel like I'm pigeonholed if I don't leave within 2 years post MBA. Hitting the 1 year mark in a few weeks and really disliking the work (mostly IT strategy, some implementation work but far from business / corporate strategy). Doesn't help that the employer has a ton of ridiculous red tape and our head partner in our practice severely overpromised the type of work I would get exposure to.
The funny thing is a lot of IT related work can be half-assed and your seniors / clients will be impressed. I barely did ~20 hours of work this past week along with my team members and my team's output was considered one of the best of the multiple teams on this program engagement. Not building any skills and doing majority of my work through prompting AI for output.
Sucks because my MBA internships was BizOps / Strategy and I reported to a Manager who had previous experience in FP&A / Strategic Finance. Company wasn't hiring FT. Found the work so much more interesting than the crap I do nowadays.
I was going to say it's very possible entering this thread, since I just made the move, but seeing as you're pretty young and don't have relevant experience, I'd say it's going to be tough.
BUT, that doesn't mean it's impossible. What you need to do is start gaining relevant experience and making intermediate steps so that in the future you can move into RX Consulting. At your Big 4, are you able to network with people in more financial modeling-intensive groups and move over so that can show that you have that knowledge? Restructuring is a broad field, but you also have to understand that if we have IT needs, we have a data team in-house that can handle that workstream or hire another vendor for it. It's just not that valuable to our group.
Restructuring hires people from all sorts of backgrounds. It's not like IB where you have to go to certain schools or PE where you basically need to be in IB to have a chance. That said, what about your skills, from a recruiter, hiring manager, partner, etc. standpoint would you bring with IT experience? The work in RX is more about business operations (MAYBE you can spin something here), but even moreso about very detailed cash flow modeling, building intense 3-statement models, liquidation/bankruptcy models, etc. This is something few people will have prior experience in, which is why it's especially imperative somebody has an excellent grasp of finance and accounting before getting hired. Deadlines are tight and there's almost no room to hold someone's hand while they get up to speed.
Thank you for your response, this is very helpful and I appreciate the insight. Yes, I am able to network with people in more financial modeling-intensive groups, and I have had success in doing so.
"what about your skills, from a recruiter, hiring manager, partner, etc. standpoint would you bring with IT experience?" I'd be useful for situations with IT failures (e.g. duplicate invoices in AP), but not too much outside of that. However, I don't plan to stay in IT for long. I want to build a more well-rounded resume from B4 before I leave, meaning my unique value proposition wouldn't be centered on IT. My internships prior to my full-time IT consulting job were quite different from IT as well, so I'm not totally pigeonholed.
I've seen a lot of FDD and TAS recommendations on this thread, how does that compare to performance improvement / working capital engagements (O2C, P2P, inventory) from the lens of RX Co?
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