I've just stepped out of the Management Consultancies Association's annual conference to pen a short blog update on the healthy state of the market - as reported by the keynote speakers.
Having attended (indeed sponsored) the Institute of Management Consultancy's annual conference a couple of weeks back, it's been interesting today to hear many of the same messages emerging:
* Consultancies are experiencing robust growth in client demand - and double-digit growth is again expected in the next year
* Attracting and retaining talent is now the number 1 challenge facing consulting Partners
* Having to get deals approved by Procurement departments as well as by client decision-makers is a more and more prevalent requirement. A successful deal agreed over lunch with the CEO is now only half the battle. Getting over the procurement hurdle is at least as difficult
* Experience rather than talent is what clients are demanding in today's market. They want consultants on the team that have detailed experience in their sector - and are less interested in the "bright young things" with an MBA but no sector-specific insights they can bring to the project
Overall the mood at both events has been buoyant, with consultants quietly confident about business prospects and expecting that 2006 will be a vintage year.
Glad we're back in a market where everyone's cheery again... :-) Tony
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Indian firms in push to gain consulting share
Just seen a sterling in-depth analysis of how the Indian IT giants (Tata, Wipro, etc.) are making a big push to raise consulting revenues - and why, from a strategic point of view, this is critical for them to achieve in the next years. You can find the full article here. Will be fascinating to see this battle unfold... Anyone any thoughts on who the winners will be? Tony
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Tirade against consultants shows no signs of letting up...
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
A new set of figures about spend on external advisers is released by the UK government and in no time at all we've got national newspapers bemoaning the waste of taxpayers' money and the outrageous daily rates being paid to consulting gurus.
At this point I'd like to quote Mick James from a piece he wrote defending consultants earlier this year:
"I’m appalled by the inability of a national newspaper to even consider the possibility that some of this consultancy spend might represent value-for-money"
If you missed his sterling defence of the consulting profession, you can find it here:
How much longer do consultants have to keep justifying their very existence?
Reading the latest Scotsman article and Independent article it's hard not to be equally appalled. Where's the balance in these pieces, the journalistic integrity? In one there's a quote from an MP outraged at the government spending £1,000 an hour on consulting gurus. Sorry - £1,000 an hour?!?! Which planet?!
In the other the £2,000+ daily rates of some consultants are compared with the "daily earnings" of other professionals. A top lawyer, for example, can expect to be paid £1,200 a day. The implication being how can these consultants possibly be worth £2,000+ ? The only problem is the apples & pears nature of the comparison. The lawyer actually has take home pay of £1,200 a day, whereas the figure for consultants is their daily billing rate - only a fraction of which will be their take home pay! But of course, that wouldn't fit the thrust of the article - which is to show consultants in the worst possible light. My take? Success breeds envy...
Seen any other articles that are similarly biased against the profession? Or that rare breed - an article defending consultants? Do post them here if you would... Rgds, Tony
Monday, August 15, 2005
Staff shortages in consulting
Question: When is a jobs bonanza not a jobs bonanza?
Answer: When your skills don't match the skillsets consulting firms are actually looking to hire!
My last blog post attracted criticism from several candidates who felt there simply isn't a "jobs bonanza" in the management consulting market right now. The evidence they presented is that they've found it impossible to secure a new job in consulting this year. The caveat to my "Jobs bonanza" statement is, of course, that the demand profile for consulting services has shifted quite considerably over the last years - so those individuals that were in demand 5 years ago are not necessarily the same people firms would like to hire today. I do stand by my assertion that this is the best time in the last 5 years to be looking for a consulting job - but clearly only if you've got the skills that are in demand.
The results of our first Quarterly "Consulting Prospects" survey will be out in the next couple of weeks - and the survey findings highlight the areas within consulting that are growing most robustly (and thus the practice areas that are most likely to be hiring). Unsurprisingly practice areas like Manufacturing are on the demise, whilst the likes of Financial Services and TMT consulting are back in vogue. Watch this space for the full findings...
But back to the "Jobs bonanza" debate.
As sponsors of the MCA's riverboat cruise last week, I had the chance to meet with a couple of hundred consultants from the likes of Accenture, Capgemini, Atos Consulting, BT, Deloitte, etc. Having been challenged on the state of the recruitment market in consulting, I went to the event hoping to hear first hand from consultants just how busy they are and how aggressively they are now recruiting.
I wasn't disappointed.
In aggregate, I heard that the major consultancies are now bumping up against serious capacity constraints - they simply don't have the number of consultants necessary to meet accelerating client demand. Recruitment teams are under tremendous pressure and have been given some stratospheric hiring targets for the next year. To try and address the shortfall, consultancies are getting creative and I heard that firms are encouraging consultants to take extra pay in lieu of holidays; introducing initiatives to entice new mothers back into employment; bolstering employee referral schemes. In short, all the things you would expect organisations to do if they find they are turning away business owing to staffing shortages.
The key for those struggling to get hired, then, is to present oneself (in the form of one's CV / resume) as someone that has the skills that are currently in demand. If you can prove you have these skills you will get hired. Back in 2003 the state of the market was a valid impediment to even suitable candidates securing a consulting job; but in 2005 you need to look beyond this. A lack of interviews or offers is a reflection on the candidate rather than the market...
Tony
PS if you need help reworking your CV / resume, click here now
Answer: When your skills don't match the skillsets consulting firms are actually looking to hire!
My last blog post attracted criticism from several candidates who felt there simply isn't a "jobs bonanza" in the management consulting market right now. The evidence they presented is that they've found it impossible to secure a new job in consulting this year. The caveat to my "Jobs bonanza" statement is, of course, that the demand profile for consulting services has shifted quite considerably over the last years - so those individuals that were in demand 5 years ago are not necessarily the same people firms would like to hire today. I do stand by my assertion that this is the best time in the last 5 years to be looking for a consulting job - but clearly only if you've got the skills that are in demand.
The results of our first Quarterly "Consulting Prospects" survey will be out in the next couple of weeks - and the survey findings highlight the areas within consulting that are growing most robustly (and thus the practice areas that are most likely to be hiring). Unsurprisingly practice areas like Manufacturing are on the demise, whilst the likes of Financial Services and TMT consulting are back in vogue. Watch this space for the full findings...
But back to the "Jobs bonanza" debate.
As sponsors of the MCA's riverboat cruise last week, I had the chance to meet with a couple of hundred consultants from the likes of Accenture, Capgemini, Atos Consulting, BT, Deloitte, etc. Having been challenged on the state of the recruitment market in consulting, I went to the event hoping to hear first hand from consultants just how busy they are and how aggressively they are now recruiting.
I wasn't disappointed.
In aggregate, I heard that the major consultancies are now bumping up against serious capacity constraints - they simply don't have the number of consultants necessary to meet accelerating client demand. Recruitment teams are under tremendous pressure and have been given some stratospheric hiring targets for the next year. To try and address the shortfall, consultancies are getting creative and I heard that firms are encouraging consultants to take extra pay in lieu of holidays; introducing initiatives to entice new mothers back into employment; bolstering employee referral schemes. In short, all the things you would expect organisations to do if they find they are turning away business owing to staffing shortages.
The key for those struggling to get hired, then, is to present oneself (in the form of one's CV / resume) as someone that has the skills that are currently in demand. If you can prove you have these skills you will get hired. Back in 2003 the state of the market was a valid impediment to even suitable candidates securing a consulting job; but in 2005 you need to look beyond this. A lack of interviews or offers is a reflection on the candidate rather than the market...
Tony
PS if you need help reworking your CV / resume, click here now
Monday, August 8, 2005
Jobs bonanza for consultants!
Have just returned from summer vacation, so apologies there've not been postings to our consulting blog for the last weeks. But the exciting news as I got back to my desk is that there's been an absolute flood of bookings from consulting firms committing to attend this October's management consultancy careers fair at Olympia.
It seems that firms are expecting a real hiring spree when the holiday season is over and I've returned to find we now have 40+ exhibitors at the careers fair - including prestigious employers like Accenture, Atos Consulting, BearingPoint, Capgemini, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, IBM, Infosys, PA Consulting, Proudfoot and Serco Consulting (to name but a few).
Would be great if you could join us there - if of interest do click on the image below for full details...
Hope to see you there in just a few weeks' time. Tony
It seems that firms are expecting a real hiring spree when the holiday season is over and I've returned to find we now have 40+ exhibitors at the careers fair - including prestigious employers like Accenture, Atos Consulting, BearingPoint, Capgemini, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, IBM, Infosys, PA Consulting, Proudfoot and Serco Consulting (to name but a few).
Would be great if you could join us there - if of interest do click on the image below for full details...
Hope to see you there in just a few weeks' time. Tony
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