A short post to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and enjoyable break from work.
Conversations with Consultants, FTSE clients, HR managers and recruitment agencies alike all seem to point to 2006 being a very hectic year for those of us working in the consulting industry. So do have a great break and come back in the New Year fully recharged and ready for a really busy year and sky-high utilisation rates!
Season's Greetings, Tony
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Consultants - have your say!
It's that time of year again... it's the season to be merry...
... or equally it is the month each year when we give you the opportunity to have a right go at that recruitment consultant who's been totally unprofessional and hopeless in helping you get a new consulting job. Or to praise one that's worked miracles for you. And - on a more serious note - to identify the best strategies and recruitment partners for finding a consulting job in 2006.
So if you've done any job-hunting in the last year and want to have your say click here now. Our annual recruitment channel survey is published in February and this is your chance to both contribute to the findings and receive a free copy in due course. 1,000+ management consultants take part every year, if you've got 2 minutes to take part then head over to:
http://www.top-consultant.com/rc_questionnaire.asp
Many thanks & wish you all a fantastic run-up to Christmas. Tony
... or equally it is the month each year when we give you the opportunity to have a right go at that recruitment consultant who's been totally unprofessional and hopeless in helping you get a new consulting job. Or to praise one that's worked miracles for you. And - on a more serious note - to identify the best strategies and recruitment partners for finding a consulting job in 2006.
So if you've done any job-hunting in the last year and want to have your say click here now. Our annual recruitment channel survey is published in February and this is your chance to both contribute to the findings and receive a free copy in due course. 1,000+ management consultants take part every year, if you've got 2 minutes to take part then head over to:
http://www.top-consultant.com/rc_questionnaire.asp
Many thanks & wish you all a fantastic run-up to Christmas. Tony
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Sign of the times...
It's an interesting sign of the times to see the consultant survey we've just been asked to run...
With the market for candidates getting ever tighter, what this survey tells me is that consulting firms are increasingly anxious to keep their existing staff happy and to maximise the chances of readers like you staying with your existing firm rather than moving on. You see the survey is all about gauging how Management Consultants like you perceive their work/life balance, career development... and all those other soft factors that make you decide to either stay with a firm or quit.
The results of this one are going to be examined in quite some detail by the vast majority of the top consulting brands. So if you'd like to make your thoughts known and would like to see a copy of the end report then click here to take part in the survey now.
This sudden angst to keep consulting staff happy ties in to a recent meeting I had with HR Managers & HR Directors from the world's leading consultancies. All spoke of their desire to grow their consultant headcounts by double-digit figures in the next year; yet none were prepared to stretch their hiring criteria to accept a wider pool of candidates...
... well no prizes for guessing that if you all want to employ 10% more staff but the pool of potential hires hasn't grown at all - well that's a lot of firms that are going to be left shy of their recruitment targets in a year's time. Or more likely, many will have had to compromise on their entry criteria - just as they did in the dot-com boom.
This explains the heightened concern about retaining staff and the industry desire to have this survey undertaken. If you're worried about hitting the recruitment targets necessary to grow 10%, the last thing you want is a chunk of the workforce moving on that must then also be replaced (and where will these replacements come from if entry criteria aren't relaxed?). Ergo, firms are acutely aware of the need to keep employees happy - and want these survey findings to tell them what they need to change to achieve this.
With the market for candidates getting ever tighter, what this survey tells me is that consulting firms are increasingly anxious to keep their existing staff happy and to maximise the chances of readers like you staying with your existing firm rather than moving on. You see the survey is all about gauging how Management Consultants like you perceive their work/life balance, career development... and all those other soft factors that make you decide to either stay with a firm or quit.
The results of this one are going to be examined in quite some detail by the vast majority of the top consulting brands. So if you'd like to make your thoughts known and would like to see a copy of the end report then click here to take part in the survey now.
This sudden angst to keep consulting staff happy ties in to a recent meeting I had with HR Managers & HR Directors from the world's leading consultancies. All spoke of their desire to grow their consultant headcounts by double-digit figures in the next year; yet none were prepared to stretch their hiring criteria to accept a wider pool of candidates...
... well no prizes for guessing that if you all want to employ 10% more staff but the pool of potential hires hasn't grown at all - well that's a lot of firms that are going to be left shy of their recruitment targets in a year's time. Or more likely, many will have had to compromise on their entry criteria - just as they did in the dot-com boom.
This explains the heightened concern about retaining staff and the industry desire to have this survey undertaken. If you're worried about hitting the recruitment targets necessary to grow 10%, the last thing you want is a chunk of the workforce moving on that must then also be replaced (and where will these replacements come from if entry criteria aren't relaxed?). Ergo, firms are acutely aware of the need to keep employees happy - and want these survey findings to tell them what they need to change to achieve this.
It's not every day you get to tell your bosses what's wrong with your job (not unless you're giving them a resignation letter at the same time anyway). So if you'd like to take the opportunity and take part in the survey then here's where you need to go.
We are in a candidate-driven market make no mistake about it. Long may it continue!
Tony
Thursday, December 1, 2005
PA Consulting vs. McKinsey vs. Bain ??
There's an interesting read on Ovum.com this week, analysing the strengths and positioning of PA Consulting Group. Not sure I agree with the bit about PA Consulting being up against McKinsey and Bain, I'd have thought there are other consulting firms they come up against much more often. But a good read nonetheless for anyone interested in PA...
Article link
Latest job openings at PA Consulting
Tony
Article link
Latest job openings at PA Consulting
Tony
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Consultants - act now while the odds are stacked in your favour!
I was invited to join ~40 HR Directors and HR Managers from the world's top management consultancy firms last week, to review what's happening in the consultancy recruitment market. The conclusion reached was quite stark:
There's a shortage of good consulting candidates - relative to the huge recruitment targets that the firms are now trying to hit
The implications for candidates are clear - you are more in demand now than you have been at any time in the last 5 years and the competition for consulting jobs is lower because of a shortage of applicants. The conclusion - from the candidates' perspective - is that now is the time to start applying for consulting jobs while the odds are stacked in your favour. If you'd like to review the latest consulting jobs click here now.
Of course there are pockets of consulting that aren't doing so well, so there will be some candidates struggling to find work still. But for those whose skills are in demand (and particularly those wanting a role in the UK) there has not been a better time to be looking for work in a long long while. So strike now while the iron is hot!
Tony
There's a shortage of good consulting candidates - relative to the huge recruitment targets that the firms are now trying to hit
The implications for candidates are clear - you are more in demand now than you have been at any time in the last 5 years and the competition for consulting jobs is lower because of a shortage of applicants. The conclusion - from the candidates' perspective - is that now is the time to start applying for consulting jobs while the odds are stacked in your favour. If you'd like to review the latest consulting jobs click here now.
Of course there are pockets of consulting that aren't doing so well, so there will be some candidates struggling to find work still. But for those whose skills are in demand (and particularly those wanting a role in the UK) there has not been a better time to be looking for work in a long long while. So strike now while the iron is hot!
Tony
Friday, November 11, 2005
Incommunicado because...
Hi all. Sorry for the long gap in posting to our Blog. This is a reflection of how incredibly busy the consulting market - and the consulting recruitment market - are right now.
Things picked up again a good while back, but now there's an added factor in the mix...
... consultancies (and banks) have been lavishing pay rises on their staff, countering job offers employees have received from competitors and talking up the year-end bonus prospects. This means people are less likely to move jobs now than they were 6 months ago - when a move was seen as the best way of securing a promotion / rise. Which means recruiters are having to work harder just to generate the same volumes of applicants as before.
So recruiters need to hit ever more aggressive recruitment targets to meet client demand; yet at the same time they're having to work harder - and spend more - just to generate the same volume of applicants as before. The pendulum has certainly swung now such that we are in a full-blown candidates' market.
Which in a round-about way explains why I've been so quiet on the blog. We've just been blown away with client demand these last weeks - which if you're a candidate looking for a consulting job right now is great news indeed.
PLEASE NOTE: that doesn't mean everyone reading this site can just walk into a consulting job. The entry hurdles for consulting are still incredibly high - in fact that's one contributor to the recruitment problem the industry is currently facing. If you are not an exact match for what a firm and their clients are looking for, it's still going to be tough to secure a role. But for strong candidates the opportunities out there and the range of organisations currently hiring has not been better anytime in the last 5 years.
Long may it continue! Tony
Things picked up again a good while back, but now there's an added factor in the mix...
... consultancies (and banks) have been lavishing pay rises on their staff, countering job offers employees have received from competitors and talking up the year-end bonus prospects. This means people are less likely to move jobs now than they were 6 months ago - when a move was seen as the best way of securing a promotion / rise. Which means recruiters are having to work harder just to generate the same volumes of applicants as before.
So recruiters need to hit ever more aggressive recruitment targets to meet client demand; yet at the same time they're having to work harder - and spend more - just to generate the same volume of applicants as before. The pendulum has certainly swung now such that we are in a full-blown candidates' market.
Which in a round-about way explains why I've been so quiet on the blog. We've just been blown away with client demand these last weeks - which if you're a candidate looking for a consulting job right now is great news indeed.
PLEASE NOTE: that doesn't mean everyone reading this site can just walk into a consulting job. The entry hurdles for consulting are still incredibly high - in fact that's one contributor to the recruitment problem the industry is currently facing. If you are not an exact match for what a firm and their clients are looking for, it's still going to be tough to secure a role. But for strong candidates the opportunities out there and the range of organisations currently hiring has not been better anytime in the last 5 years.
Long may it continue! Tony
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Latest hiring trends revealed
Apologies for the lack of postings the last couple of weeks. We were furiously working to ensure the Management Consultancy Careers Fair was as successful as possible for both our readers and management consultancy clients. It was a resounding success and I know from the 40 firms that were exhibiting that tons of interviews are now taking place as a result.
For those of you that couldn't attend I wanted to share the latest hiring trends that I gleaned from talking to firm representatives on their stands. Click the play button below for a 5 minute overview of who firms are most interested in hiring right now...
Regards, Tony
For those of you that couldn't attend I wanted to share the latest hiring trends that I gleaned from talking to firm representatives on their stands. Click the play button below for a 5 minute overview of who firms are most interested in hiring right now...
Regards, Tony
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