The vast majority of undergraduates who join Cornerstone eventually leave to earn a graduate degree, with most pursuing an MBA. Other departing consultants choose to pursue PhDs in economics or fi nance, or law degrees. The fi rm takes several formal steps to help consultants with the application process. It brings in admissions counselors from Wharton, Stanford, Duke, MIT, Kellogg and Chicago, or other top institutions, to give presentations and talk to students about their respective schools and the requirements for admission.
GETTING HIRED
Cornerstone recruiters aren’t looking for excellence in any specifi c fi eld—they’re looking for it throughout a candidate’s experiences, be they strictly academic or augmented by work history. Offi ces recruit from the top academic programs in their geographic area, seeking “well-rounded, enthusiastic candidates who have demonstrated excellent academic performance.” While this is somewhat typical for the industry in general, Cornerstone only reaches out to graduates who demonstrate an atypical ability to analyze and solve problems of all sorts.
Those invited to join the hiring process are subjected to anywhere from two to 10 intensive interviews, “ultimately meeting between eight and 10”
current employees. During these interviews, candidates “are given up to eight case studies,” one executive mentions. “Each case study is quite different, usually based on a case the interviewer has personally worked on,” he continues. Interviewers place particular emphasis on looking for candidates who are “able to think outside the box.”
OUR SURVEY SAYS
Corporate Atmosphere
Vault’s Verdict: Cornerstone’s outstanding fi rm culture takes the cake as the fundamental source of its consultants’ general satisfaction, an impressive display in itself.
Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms, 2011 Edition Cornerstone Research
they hope to be doing. I am already where I want to be.” – Manager
• “I am very happy with my job at Cornerstone. The work is very interesting and the nature of our cases is constantly changing. This allows me to think and learn about many different fi elds/fi rms and issues. Given our people, working in case teams is always fun.” – Associate
• “Cornerstone provides a lot of great opportunities for professional development for someone like me, who joined right after college. I’ve been able to develop technical and soft skills, and take on substantive leadership roles on case teams and on non-billable projects in a way that I never expected to right out of school.” – California staffer
• “I love almost everything about my job. I work with great people and my work is challenging. My only complaint is that the hours are often unpredictable.” – Research associate
Firm Culture
• “Cornerstone has one of the best cultures of any fi rm out there. As an employee, you feel completely comfortable interacting with everyone from admin staff to partners both in and out of the offi ce. Everyone is supportive of one another and this leads to a friendly and fun work environment.” – Analyst
• “People are extremely friendly and helpful. We enjoy working and socializing with one another. Senior management is committed to creating an environment where people are happy and are given opportunities to succeed and develop professionally.” – Senior source
• “The fi rm is very proud of its culture, and rightfully so. Organized social events allow colleagues to get to know each other outside of the work environment, and the atmosphere is friendly and collegial.” – D.C. Associate
Supervisor Relationships
• “We’re a close-knit company, so I actually know my supervisors very well. I’ve been to their homes, had one-on-one dinners with them, and grab drinks with them after work at least twice a month.” – Senior Analyst
• “I have always felt comfortable approaching supervisors, and have found that they value analysts’ input and take a signifi cant interest in their development.” – Research Analyst
• “I’ve had a chance to build some great working relationships with my supervisors—so much so that I would not hesitate to ask any of them for recommendations for graduate school or future jobs.” – Research Associate
• “I really like my supervisors. They are generally a pretty impressive set of people. Some obviously more than others, but that’s to be expected.”
– West Coast insider
Interaction with Clients
• “As you become more senior, you are given more exposure to clients and experts. I have been able to lead my own meetings with experts, which has been a great learning experience for me.” – Associate
• “It’s a bit of a mixed bag. Most of our clients are great, but some are a quite diffi cult. I have a good relationship with the vast majority clients who I work with, but there are a few who are harder to work with than the rest.” – San Francisco staffer
• “In general, Cornerstone analysts have relatively limited contact with clients, though opportunities to have more contact are available.” – Junior source
Hours & Pay
Vault’s Verdict: Hourly demands are no problem for Cornerstone consultants, who appreciate the fi rm’s commitments to keeping travel low, weekends work-free and pay at competitive levels.
Work Hours
• “I generally arrive by 8:30 a.m. and leave by 7:30 p.m. Maybe a few hours on the weekend. Some late nights and weekends are defi nitely required. People here are not into face time, per se, which is great.” – Experienced staffer
• “Historically, it seems certain high-performing analysts receive a disproportionate amount of the work, while others do not. This can lead to feelings of inequity.” – Boston entry-level
• “The workload is as advertised: on average, 50 hours per week. However, as expected, there is a lot of variation for each individual as well as across groups.” – Manager
• “The hours at CR are cyclical. Before a deadline, you might be very busy, but it balances out over time. Analysts are expected to work 50 hours per week, with 10 of those hours being non-billable tasks. Non-billable tasks include, but are defi nitely not limited to, leading the recruiting effort on campus, writing a report with professors at Stanford on current securities litigation or training other analysts.” – Associate
Work/Life Balance
• “My experience has been that managers make a concerted effort to balance your work and life. I had a pretty time-consuming hobby while working full time, and my managers worked with me to allow me to continue the hobby while still meeting the deadlines.” – Analyst
• “The fi rm is great about promoting work/life balance. Weekend work is not frequent, unless there is a fi re drill for an engagement.” – Senior Manager
• “It takes considerable upward management in order to maintain a good balance of life and work. Unless you’re proactive about fulfi lling out-of-Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms, 2011 Edition
Cornerstone Research
Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profi les, expert advice,
career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more. 95
offi ce plans, managers will expect you to basically be on call.” – Research Associate
Travel Requirements
• “Where Cornerstone really stands out to me as compared to management consulting is in the lack of travel. I really feel a sense of being home where I live, and can maintain active friendships and relationships that wouldn’t be possible if I were spending four days a week in a hotel in random city.” – New York Senior Analyst
• “Our travel demands are infrequent. I’m now at a level where I occasionally have to travel for a client meeting or something of that nature, but it’s not like it’s a regular part of my job.” – Senior Manager
• “Our fi rm usually requires no travel. There have been rare instances where one offi ce will be so busy that they need consultants from another offi ce to work out of their offi ce for a short period of time, but this will always be an optional assignment.” – Analyst
Compensation
• “I think that Cornerstone offers compensation equal to or better than the industry. Bonuses are generous. I have found that utilization bonuses do not quite compensate for the additional work done, but the aggregate fi nancial package is quite satisfactory.” – Research Associate
• “Cornerstone has always been very generous. 2009 was not a great year for the fi rm, and 2009 bonuses were below target, but we are much busier lately. And even though utilization was not great last year, the bonuses were still pretty good.” – Manager
• “I feel that you really don’t get rewarded for standing out. If you do a great job, then you get a slightly bigger bonus; if you’re terrible, then your bonus is slightly lower. But the discrepancy isn’t as high as you’d think.” – Senior Analyst
Professional Development
Vault’s Verdict: Cornerstone’s “very intense” fi rst-year training program is both comprehensive and effective. After that, consultants typically prefer informal alternatives to the fi rm’s formal offerings.
Formal Training
• “When you start, CR conducts two weeks of very intense training, which culminates in mock expert deposition. It’s a really fun process and is a serious bonding experience for the analysts.” – Entry-level respondent
• “Cornerstone conducts offi cial training sessions, given by peers or superiors. These sessions provide very useful insights for professional development. The initial training is very useful in getting one up to speed, and helps make the transition into this job really smooth.” – Research Associate
• “After a weeklong mock case, most training is learned on the job. Cornerstone also organizes weekly formal training sessions for new hires for the fi rst fi ve to six months, which are helpful for learning the best practices and software that you might not use on your fi rst case.” – Analyst
• “Not all of the training is productive. Most consultants learn more through informal mentoring on live cases.” – Boston principal
Promotion Policies
• “There is a clearly defi ned career path, as long as consultants meet the high level of expectations from the company. Consultants are evaluated on specifi c criteria (which is known to them in advance) every six months. Therefore, reviews and promotions are pretty transparent at the company.” – Manager
• “It is not an up-or-out fi rm. Consultants are given a timeline and the fi rm tends to adhere to that policy. I’d like a little more fl exibility, even if it came at the cost of job security.” – Associate
• “Cornerstone is into private rewards: salary increases, bonuses, better recommendation letters, etc., rather than title changes.” – West Coast staffer
• “At the analyst level, promotion is on a standard schedule. After fi ve years, most analysts are expected to move onto graduate school or another position.” – Entry-level source
Diversity
Vault’s Verdict: Diversity is one of Cornerstone’s strongest assets; many consultants have joined the fi rm specifi cally for the prospect of joining a truly hospitable, engaging work community.
Diversity Issues With Respect to Women, Minorities, and GLBTs
• “Cornerstone is extremely diverse. Many employees at all levels of the fi rm from analyst to CEO are women. Cornerstone is very accepting of GLBT individuals.” – Los Angeles Analyst
• “We are a pretty diverse crowd and take care in recruiting to keep things that way. Our diversity is one aspect that makes this place great.” – Manager
• “Our fi rm is very supportive of minorities and employees needing work visas and immigration support.” – Senior Analyst Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms, 2011 Edition
Cornerstone Research
Overall Business Outlook
Vault’s Verdict: 2009 was a diffi cult year for Cornerstone’s clients and competitors, but the fi rm’s leadership performed admirably, ensuring the fi rm’s continued strong fi nancial performance and positioning the fi rm to resume growth as the economy rebounds.
Overall Business Outlook
• “After a somewhat challenging year 2009, things are improving. In 2009, management took measures to prevent layoffs, unlike some of our competitors. This leaves us well placed to take advantage of an improving business situation in 2010.” – Associate
• “Employee morale is good; we are doing better than a number of our competitors, which is in part due to the fact that we are a privately-held fi rm. We operated profi tably during the economic decline, and expect to continue to operate at a good level.” – D.C. insider
• “This recession has been longer and deeper than expected. We’ve had to adjust to it but did not change our core values. We’ll be ready when demand picks up again.” –Senior Associate
• “Everyone banded together during the slower times. Business is picking up lately, and we are well positioned with our staff and expertise to take advantage of the economic upswing.” – Analyst
Confi dence in Firm Leadership
• “The leadership is excellent. Everyone loves our CEO and she is doing great things for the fi rm.” – Associate
• “The senior folks take the long view to planning. They do not view labor as a marginal cost, but rather as part of the capital stock that makes the fi rm strong.” – Research Associate
• “The fi rm is still actively run by its founders, in whom everyone has great confi dence. I think the challenge for Cornerstone is going to be in the next 10 years when the founders either retire or at least scale back.” – San Francisco staffer
• “The fi rm’s leaders are looking to create a sustainable business that will outlast them, which is great for the next generation of leaders.” – Manager
Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms, 2011 Edition Cornerstone Research
Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profi les, expert advice,
career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more. 97