A&M vs. LEK
Hi guys! I am currently deciding between several offers, and wanted input into which I should take! I am graduating this upcoming spring from a target school.
Alvarez & Marsal's Private Equity Performance Group (PEPI) - haven't heard of this team before recruiting, not sure what exit ops would look like
LEK - Associate role - really like the firm but have read on Glassdoor that it is a sweatshop?
Also considering:
Capital One - Product Management & Analytics - seems like great work-life balance, highly considering this but think I would prefer consulting more (although this seems like an internal consulting role)
Waiting to hear back from:
PwC Strategy& - Private Equity Value Creation group
PwC Management Consulting
(would have to push back offer deadlines to take PwC)
Between A&M and LEK, is there a clear offer that I should take (pros and cons). The comp is slightly better at A&M (for bonuses) but I care more about experience / exit opportunities. I am okay with traveling but have a slight preference for not traveling (LEK). Should I wait to hear back from PwC? Would appreciate any insights!
Have close friends working in DD teams at Bain / LEK. Can assure you sweatshop culture is well and alive - average 90 - 100+ hour weeks consistently and heard turnover is ~100% in some offices. How do you get 100% turnover, you ask? Well say an office has 30 people, more than 30 leave and are replaced in a year, mostly at the junior levels, I.e. consultant and analysts, some who leave after months, while those more senior maintain the sweatshop culture and push work down. Having said that, Bain places well into PE.
Not sure about the other players.
Bain and LEK are an entirely different firm and animal? Strange comment
GO LEK as it seems you're interested in PE
Would definitely wait for S& before deciding - somewhat better WLB than LEK, and about par in terms of exit opps. Higher pay/progress too than LEK (and obviously >>> PwC) at Associate level. Also growing at a record pace.
Have no insight on A&M; you'll definitely have a less structured experience there. Probably not worth waiting for PwC if you have the option of LEK/S&. Good luck!
You are right that S& is probably going to have better WLB than LEK, but it also has quite a sweaty reputation. People that I know that have worked there have no shortage of bad work-life stories.
Which office was this for / when did you interview?
Was for NYC office
Currently an Associate at LEK, and above comments are inaccurate re hours. This is tracked firmwide, and the average week for Associates is 60 hours, with rare spikes up to 75-80 and lulls in the 45-50 range. Won’t speak to the other points, just wanted to clear up the inaccuracy.
Not sure which LEK office you’re based in - but the global average hours you cited are significantly weighted down by Australia, known within LEK for having the least hours and a large team, and Asian offices (as they simply have a habit of underreporting actual work hours - unsurprising if you know Asian work culture). There are also certain teams with better hours, the non-DD sector teams, but the reality is that DD is what LEK is known for.
Source: was an MBA summer consultant there and declined the return offer but still keep in touch with friends / ex colleagues there
Yeah it definitely seems like a strange metric to cite, Firmwide, when it has offices around the globe. Firmwide average means nothing to associate in the Boston office for example if they are consistently way over it
Back when I was recruiting, LEK was the only consulting firm that I knew about that made their consultants go back to work after evening recruiting events.
I have a lot of respect for the LEK guys, but let me share some facts:
During my whole internship period, the office would still be quite occupied by Consultants and below even at 2am mon-thurs. On Fridays we'd end early and be back in the office again on weekends. IB hours without IB pay really.
In addition, some of their offices including the Asia ones have a practice of multiple staffing, I.e. You could be working on multiple DDs simultaneously. Ask any consultant how intense a single DD case is, and you'll realise multiple staffings are borderline ridiculous... and to top it off, Unlike MBBs, LEK does not have a research support team to aid in projects, and so, a DD team which is usually 4-6 ppl (similar to Bain) would have to juggle their additional projects, and take on research work (which is typically between 30% - 40% of a project's workload).
A lot of my colleagues at the time aspired to transition into PE, but the reality was that many burned out and took the first offers that came, be it start up or corporate roles, and a fair amount just left without jobs to take time off. Not sure about other consulting firms, but just take a look on LinkedIn and you'll have a sense of turnover at that shop - phenomenal.
I have worked at LEK for 2.5 years at the post-MBA Consultant and EM level and your characterizations of the hours is completely off base in the U.S. Not sure what system you were in during your summer.
Hours typically range from 55-65 depending on the project, which is fairly consistent with MBB as financetechconsulting has noted above. Yes, some diligences can be pretty brutal (almost never above 75 or 80), but these cases can also be pretty block and tackle (i.e., reasonable hours) at any firm if you have good knowledge of the industry and work quickly. There's an incorrect myth on here that a DD equals banking hours, and it is patently false.
Also, across firms, much of recruiting is incremental to project work and requires teams to work around it.
I'm pretty sure most of my friends at MBB work after recruiting events unless you're on a great study, let's just level set on this one.
Source: EM / PL / Manager at MBB
You go back into the office after a recruiting event that goes from say 6PM to 8PM? Legitimate question because that's what I saw with LEK. I'm not talking about going home and cracking the laptop open to polish things up, check emails etc.
To help clear things up I'm a BA/A/AC at MBB who has been on multiple DD and regular F500 projects.
My hours have consistently been 60-70, regardless of project type. Yes DD projects are typically more intense during the work day, but hours have never gone over 75 for me and are usually 65-70. The 3 worst weeks that I've had hours wise have been on a F500 projects, and they involve travel, so it's not like they're some safe haven either.
TLDR: If you're going into strategy consulting expect 60-70 hours a week with minimal (but not 0) weekend work. You won't work 80+ hours more than a few weeks a year, but you also won't work fewer than 55 hours more than a few weeks a year either.
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