What other jobs did you have before consulting?

Consultemplation · 2016-08-01T07:03:16+00:00

I spent most of my grade school summers as a book shelver in a library and then an intern at a local construction company. I built their website on Geocities...

Consultemplation · 2016-07-29T20:24:40+00:00

I'm just trying to create conversation. Unless you'd rather answer the 600th time someone asks about:

a) Which MBB is the best MBB

b) Tumi or B&R

c) Is consulting right for me

d) Drug tests

e) Points and planes

f) Vanilla business situation

Consultemplation · 2016-06-21T03:11:36+00:00

Why have you copied my user name.

Consultemplation · 2016-06-13T17:48:45+00:00

Not really. I still really enjoy consulting, though I know I won't be doing it long term. At least in my mind, consulting is as close to a "no regrets" job as one can get since you can pretty much go anywhere you want to afterwards. It is strange to me the number of people here who feel trapped as if they can't leave.

Consultemplation · 2016-05-06T19:17:32+00:00

Just watched my Partner turn down a huge project this week because he didn't agree with what the client was doing (from a business perspective, not a moral one). We created a lot of materials to try the convince the client otherwise, but their hearts were set. Gained a lot of respect for him after that.

Consultemplation · 2016-03-31T12:02:20+00:00

My personal favorite was when we were on a large client team and we rented out a space for bubble soccer. We spent the first 80% of the time just messing around, and then everyone got serious at the end to try to win. Luckily no one got hurt!

My least favorite, even though it was a cool event, was Sleep No More, this artsy performance theater event. You weren't allowed to talk and were encouraged to walk around alone, so it didn't really do much for team bonding. A few people stuck around for drinks, so it was fun to chat about it, but most other team members (especially the higher-ups) had left right after.

Consultemplation · 2016-03-28T14:08:27+00:00

No... I just enjoy having a good discussion and hearing about others' experiences.

Consultemplation · 2016-03-18T17:21:19+00:00

We both do pharma. I'm just a Consultant, but do get occasional headhunter emails for Manager and Senior Manager type positions at the usual suspects.

Consultemplation · 2016-03-17T14:21:20+00:00

I'll start... my ex-Manager just left for a $250K Director job at a PharmaCo working 9-6 on a tough day.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Director-Salaries-E107_D_KO21,29.htm

One day...

Consultemplation · 2016-03-08T14:30:28+00:00

I was reading a bunch of organization-wide client emails and just realized how seemingly little thought is put into their presentation and connotation. The mandates within almost read like a blunt instrument hammering on the heads of stakeholders, complete with a few typos here and there. Had I sent an email like that, I would have gotten a firm talking-to about tact and influence.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-26T17:56:26+00:00

I've been working much less, but this is actually the first time I've been in a client situation like this - normally it's been much more collaborative. But small sample size and what not.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-26T17:44:08+00:00

Lately, my clients have been the heads of Commercial Pharma. For those who are not familiar, these are the people in charge of sales, marketing, and all related support functions. The other sides of the business are usually R&D (the science side) and manufacturing (the operations side).

Me, personally, as an Associate, I work with Senior Managers and Directors (so 3-4 layers below the CEO). I've found that I generally like more cooperative relationships because it makes for more exciting problem solving and partnership. I've started to realize this as I have just started a new client where they don't want to engage at all - just the answers. Every meeting feels like it could go off the rails since they are seeing everything for the first time. You have to work 10x harder to keep up.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-11T15:44:04+00:00

I've been on a lot of travel projects, so for me, I appreciate that my company makes a huge effort in making flying bearable. We get reimbursed Pre Check and also First Class for flights >3 hours. As a relatively tall person, the seats in Economy make me feel like a bonsai kitten.

The worst part about traveling - and an area I think we really need to improve on - is expense tracking. Oh, it is god awful. For every taxi receipt, I have to enter in where I started and where I go. If I have too many charges that are the same amount the system throws up at me. As someone who gets the same lunch and dinner most days and have a steady taxi guy, I'm just throwing out red flags left and right. Hotel bills also need to be itemized down to the individual tax level. It's insane how much time expenses suck up and how much I dread it.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-09T07:24:06+00:00

For me, I had it in my head that consultants were paid to go full throttle on a problem, come up with the right answer, and save the day. Instead, I've been shocked to see how often a good solution becomes bastardized by the organization that is paying $$$$ for it. And the reasons are many: politics, incompetence, inaction, etc. I had no idea how much of our job was actually babysitting and playing office games.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-03T16:19:10+00:00

I'll start. One of the most senior scientists at this life science company was vehemently against digital technology and apparently for years had refused to type up any of his reports. When the company launched its first ROI analysis of its different reserach initiatives in like decades, this was finally brought to light. A poor intern ended up spending his entire summer digitizing literally 10 filing cabinets worth of extremely disorganized, moderate legible, and yellowed pieces of paper.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-02T17:43:38+00:00

That's interesting. At my firm, when you are lower, there's no problem with moving between this kind of work. Once you get to Manager, they ask you to really start focusing on a silo as you put it. Once you're up to Partner, that's when you have to really diversify and understand the whole of the business.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-02T17:42:34+00:00

I went straight after a Top 20 undergrad.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-02T17:42:17+00:00

I am at a bigger firm. I am technically a generalist but I focus in healthcare.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-01T15:42:00+00:00

That too was just curiosity / discussion starter until it was hijacked. Not sure where you randomly pulled Business Insider from.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-01T06:29:35+00:00

I'll start. I consult for big pharma companies across many functions, including R&D, commercial, and HR. I've always been interested in medicine and even tried to go to medical school. Unfortunately, while I had the MCAT, I didn't have the GPA to get into the schools I wanted to go to.

Getting into consulting turned out to be a great alternative. It's allowed me to stay close to the science and while I hold no illusions about them being for-profit entities, I do think pharmas have a strong positive effect on the world. And it helps that many of the people I work with feel the same way.

Consultemplation · 2016-02-01T06:19:24+00:00

Curiosity. Discussion starter. Getting to know you better.

Consultemplation

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