Management Consulting: A Complete Guide to the Industry
Products for Sale — By Shopping Blogs on December 6, 2009 5:37 pm
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“Consulting is all about client results. If you want to help change the strategic destiny of organizations, pursue a high-impact career, and ensure continuous learning, then this book is a must read to help you identify the firm that best suits you.”–Thomas J. Tierney, Director and former CEO, Bain & Company
“This is the most comprehensive overview of the consulting industry to date. It is chock-full of useful information for students and professionals considering consulting as a career.”–Robert F. Bonner, Director, MBA Career Management, The Wharton School
“If graduating seniors read only one book on consulting, this should be it. Daryl and Sugata demystify the case interview and the realities of the consulting field in an easy-to-read format. Their knowledge and personal insight is invaluable to the job seeker. Many of our students have read the book and successfully landed consulting jobs–this book is a real winner!”–Sheila Curran, Director, Career Services, Brown University
“Strategic management consultants help clients perform markedly better in a world of rapid change. Consultants must constantly learn new skills, contribute to the intellectual capital of business, and build enduring relations with their clients. This book is an excellent window into the unparalleled opportunities consulting offers for personal and professional growth.”–Carl W. Stern, CEO, The Boston Consulting Group
“The perfect resource to educate job seekers about the myths and realities of consulting. This user-friendly book will teach you to nail your case interviews and land a consulting job. “–Liz Michaels, Director, Career and Placement Services, University of Chicago
“This book is an excellent starting point for anyone contemplating a career in management consulting.
Management Consulting: A Complete Guide to the Industry
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Tags: boston consulting group, mba career management, strategic management consultants
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5 Comments
In my opinion, this book was not worth my time to read it or my money to buy it. There was very little in depth information on the consulting industry. As superior guides to consulting, I would recommend the Vault Guide to the Top 50 Consulting Firms and the Vault Guide to the Case Interview. (The latter two can apparently be downloaded directly from vault.com if needed immediately)
Rating: 2 / 5
I had high hopes for this book. The “insider” essays seemed to be exercises in ego rather than discussions about the consulting profession and obtaining a job in said profession.
The material in the chapters on obtaining a job were very superficial – the type of material you might recieve from a 30-minute seminar at your college’s career center.
The focus on the case question part of an interview seemed like overkill to me. If this is really how consultants interview then I’m not sure I want anything to do with this profession. As someone who has worked on numerous consulting projects (in my role as a business professor) I can assure future consultants that obtuse questions such as “how many gas stations are in the United States?” have nothing to do with consulting.
Rating: 1 / 5
Sorry to say, but in my opinion this is not a good book. Most of the stuff within is generic and/or not saying very much that an average student would not already know. The 15 frameworks described in some 30 pages are interesting though they do not justify the rest of the book. When it comes to case questions, it even turns a bit silly. Although the question “How much does a Boeing 747 weigh” provides a problem solving case in abstracto, it is also suggested that an applicant should in fact be able to do a fair estimate assuming this and that. This is where this book is going astray. As a tool for picking the “crème de la crème” this approach appears to be an obsolete echo of the past, not a bit more succesful today than it was back then. However, it should be noted that the book holds solid and relevant case questions too. But finally, my recommendation to the individual interested in pursuing a career as a management consultant, would be for that person to find him- or herself some other book. The 30 pages containing 15 commonly used frameworks should be easy enough to cover for, and for those of the case questions that seem relevant, there are alternative sources for them too. Alas.
Rating: 1 / 5
I just spent several hours in the local bookstore looking at consulting books and this one was a real yawner. The case interviews might be fine, but the generic statements about a consultants life covered all of 3 pages. There is lots more from my experience with a high tech management firm.
Rating: 2 / 5
This is a useful guide, though can be a bit simplistic at times. Still, it is worth reading, particularly if you are very new to the industry. Also recommended for consulting careers are the Vault Guide to the Case Interview and the Vault Guide to the Top 50 Consulting Firms.
Rating: 3 / 5
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