What is Consulting?
- Solving the problems that businesses, government agencies, or non-profits come to the firm with
- Very project-focused, typically between 2-5 months
- Team-based
- Sample Projects:
- Helping a global pharmaceutical company price a new drug in the marketplace
- Planning a domestic airline's entrance into the Latin American market
- Advising a worldwide clothing retailer on whether to acquire a smaller competitor and if so, how to go about it
Lifestyle
- Lots of Travel (up to 100% of the time)
- $$
- Taking lots of notes
- On client site Monday - Thursday, Fridays in your home office
- Exit Opportunities
- Finance (Private Equity, Hedge Funds, etc.)
- Entrepreneurship (Start ups)
- Corporate roles (Corporate strategy roles)
- Back to School (MBA, Grad School, Med School, etc.)
Layout of the Industry
What's available within the field of consulting?
Strategy
High-level, forward-thinking types of projects, Most prevalent type of consulting on campus
Human Capital
Optimizing how companies are structure and use their human resources
Risk
Minimizing risk for strategy projects
Firms Recruiting at Rice
Recruiting
What can I expect going into a consulting interview?
How to Get an Internship
Skills: Quantitative Analysis, Communication, PowerPoint, Excel
Options: what friends did; CCD and RBS events and resource (Handshake); Smaller companies, Non-profits (may be unpaid)
Interviews
Fit Interview (15 - 30 min.)
Don’t underestimate the importance of this
Prepare stories (STAR Method)
Anticipate questions like “Why consulting?” and “Why this firm?”
Case Interview (25-45 min.)
Solving a business problem
Shows how you think
Requires a lot of preparation to do well
Consider Consulting If...
- You want exposure to multiple industries and types of work
- You don’t know what you want to do long-term, but think you may benefit from consulting skills
- You like constantly learning and being challenged
- You’re okay with working up to 60 hours a week in addition to travel time
Don't Consider Consulting If...
- You want a 9-5 routine or at least a predictable schedule
- You like consistency and knowing what you’ll do in a week, a month, etc.
- You want to work with the same people for more than several months at a time
- You work best independently
Sample Case
Our client is a provider of parking services in major metro areas around the United States. The CEO recently was driving to the airport and noticed a rise in private providers of parking. She thought to herself, should we enter this space? She has asked you to help her think about this and wants to brainstorm with you.
Areas to Explore
- Market Size
- Existing customer base
- Industry growth
- Competition
- Existing parking structures
- Public transit (trains, taxis, shuttles etc.)
- Revenue
- Number of spaces sold
- Pricing
- Cost
- Land (rent or own)
- Labor
Possible Threats
- Decline in air travel
- Higher fuel prices
- Security concerns (e.g. terrorism)
- Rise in alternatives
- New public transit
- Increased use of ride share apps (Uber, Lyft, etc.)
- Direct competition
- Competitive response
- Other competitors entering space