As might be expected of a company with so many experts and a dedication to research, BCGers put out their fair share of publications—so many, in fact, that in 2006, the fi rm collected some of its biggest thoughts over the past 40 years into one volume, entitled The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy. Aimed at executives across all industries, the anthology offers both the now-established wisdom as the company conceived it years ago, as well as more recent thoughts on the state of business. The themes, in many cases, have remained consistent over the decades: Retain competitive advantage, break compromises, realize the value of time, and remain aware of second- and third-order causes.
In the past year, BCG experts have published two books: Accelerating Out of the Great Recession (February 2010) and Women Want More (September 2009).
GETTING HIRED
“On the surface, getting hired at BCG is similar to getting accepted to the top Ivy League schools. Like the latter, this prestigious fi rm looks meticulously at an applicant’s records, combing through candidates and selecting only the near-perfect. “I am blown away by the caliber of students applying for jobs each fall,” one consultant says. “It is so competitive, even the slightest mistakes in interviewing reduce your chances meaningfully.” The fi rm recruits from the best undergraduate, MBA and PhD programs in the world. Accordingly, just getting an interview at BCG is an accomplishment in its own right. Once inside the process, candidates shouldn’t expect any let-up in the fi rm’s selectivity metrics. “Somewhere between one and fi ve interviewees out of 100 will receive an offer,” says one insider, highlighting the sobering reality all candidates face. “Don’t let your guard down. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is judging you throughout the whole process,” offers another. The ultimately successful candidate (yes, they do exist) will have endured four to seven interviews, and will have impressed consulting staff of all levels with their “extreme intelligence, analytical capacity and general presentability.” These qualities matter more than any amount of direct experience could; “working stiffs with great credentials but no personality are not welcome.”
OUR SURVEY SAYS
Corporate Atmosphere
Vault’s Verdict: Having already reached the top, BCG consultants can rest assured that they work in an exceptionally noncompetitive environment. Here, consultants need only worry about delivering for the client—the fi rm takes care of the rest.
Overall Satisfaction
• “Outstanding place to work. Incredible colleagues, incredible clients, incredible impact.” – Associate
• “BCG is a fantastic place to work. They go the extra mile to invest in their consultants—for example, they are sending me on a special training program in Europe to help further my development. The work is interesting, the people are brilliant, and the compensation and benefi ts are second to none.” – Health care consultant
• “We deliver tremendous value for our clients while always stretching our own thinking and development. I can’t imagine a better place to work.” – Chicago partner
• “I have learned a great deal here in a short period of time, expanded my network and am now going to go to business school on the fi rm’s tab. That said, this is probably not something I will want to do for the rest of my life—it can be a pretty high-burn job.” – Associate
Firm Culture
• “BCG’s culture is collaborative, nonhierarchical and very collegial. All employees are encouraged to contribute their ideas at all times, to share their opinions and their beliefs. The senior members of the fi rm have created an atmosphere that welcomes participation, and demands truth- telling for our clients.” – Operations consultant
• “It’s diverse, and yet people are always curious and engaged in all topics. Dinner conversations are always memorable and offi ce/business events are generally something to look forward to.” – California consultant
• “We have a set of shared values that defi nes the ‘BCGer,’ but we also highly value individualism and diversity, and no two BCGers are exactly alike.” – Consumer and retail consultant
• “BCG is a meritocracy, fi lled with high-performing, ambitious people. However, I do not consider it competitive overall. I have been staffed on projects with peers from my cohort, and I never felt that we were being judged against each other.” – Midwest staffer
Supervisor Relationships
• “One of the things I like most about our fi rm is the mentorship-based culture. Partners and managers are really willing to engage with and invest in the consultants and associates. This produces a positive work environment in which you can learn a lot.” – Consultant
• “Very intelligent, thoughtful and considerate partners. They are interested in your development, invest in the people and make a point of supporting you both inside and outside of work.” – Los Angeles midlevel
Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms, 2011 Edition The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
• “Everyone is too driven by performance fear to really invest in anything outside of their own performance.” – Associate
Interaction with Clients
• “The client relationships at BCG are fantastic and are a main reason why I keep traveling. We try our best to help them, no matter what.” – Boston staffer
• “I’ve had incredible client exposure for my tenure. I’ve learned a lot about engaging with a client—from working with one, to generating business insights, to building datasets, to presenting to senior clients.” – Health care consultant
• “Excellent value creation for clients, and thus excellent client interactions.” – New York partner
• “We have great relationships with clients once we prove our worth. On the whole, clients often have a bad opinion of consultants because of past bad experiences. However, in most cases, we overcome this.” – Associate
Hours & Pay
Vault’s Verdict: Despite the intense hours requirements, no one at BCG feels like they’re being needlessly overworked. BCG consultants are utterly dedicated to their chosen professions, and are more likely to enjoy the constant travel than gripe about it.
Work Hours
• “Recognizing it’s a challenging profession, the fi rm does everything it can to lower hours.” – Canadian source
• “We work hard at BCG—but that comes with the level of challenges that we take on and the very high level of value that we deliver to our clients. We have a very good level of control over how we work, so that we can balance our workload with the things that are important to us outside of our job.” –Retail consultant
• “People make sacrifi ces at times, but the fi rm tries to manage these appropriately. I fi nd I usually do not have to work at all on weekends, which is important to me.” – Senior consultant
• “Make no bones about it—consulting is not a cushy job, and BCG is not a ‘lifestyle’ fi rm. That said, most of my peers and I fi nd the hours to be a fair trade-off for the training, challenge and relationship development it’s possible to enjoy in consulting at BCG.” – West Coast associate
Work/Life Balance
• “BCG cares about the sustainability of our work, and has spent a lot of time and resources launching a number of programs to make our work more predictable.” – Boston principal
• “We have a terrifi c effort called ‘predictable time off,’ which, while it does not make a tough job easy, does make a tough job better.” –Consultant
• “I have two kids and triathlon training, and I am able to balance all of it with BCG.” – East Coast consultant
• “If I feel things are getting out of hand, I always feel empowered to raise the issue with my manager, and there is usually a solution involving reprioritization that can be worked out.” – San Francisco midlevel
Travel Requirements
• “We never go anywhere just to have face time—it is always to engage with clients on a deeper level. That requires a good chunk of time away from home. But we always ask each other whether a trip is necessary.” – Health care insider
• “Right now, I haven’t had to travel in a month, but my last project was four days a week on the road for two months, so there is high variation.” – Chicago associate
• “I enjoy traveling for work and visiting the client site regardless of where they might be located. I travel a lot, but many times it is by choice to be closer to the rest of our team and clients.” –Senior consultant
• “There are times when I feel like I’m traveling more than is absolutely necessary for me to get my work done, but that’s oftentimes based more on client expectation than on BCG culture. In any case, there’s probably room to improve here.” – Minneapolis insider
Compensation
• “BCG provides excellent compensation, and it is a refl ection of the high level of value that we consistently deliver to our clients. Recently, some of our competitors decided to reduce salaries for incoming consultants and BCG did not, which now makes BCG’s compensation signifi cantly better than our primary competitors.” – Retail consultant
• “BCG gives associates a 50 percent salary increase at 21 months, which is extremely generous. Furthermore, BCG funded full bonuses for 2009.” – Midlevel consultant
• “Best compensation for coming out of undergraduate of any top consulting fi rm, hands down. Signifi cant fl exibility options, retirement matching, potentially huge bonus and great health insurance.” – Dallas fi rst-year
• “I always feel poor in New York, but BCG offers a very generous base salary and a solid overall incentive package.” – Entry-level respondent
Professional Development
Vault’s Verdict: BCG provides just enough “world-class” formal opportunities to effectively complement the on-the-job training culture that pervades at the fi rm.
Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms, 2011 Edition The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
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Formal Training
• “There is an enormous array of training opportunities—some are required and many are opt in.” – Consultant
• “I have attended three separate training sessions in the last year with very timely, appropriate content.” – Philadelphia junior
• “Regular global trainings with direct peers have been some of my favorite travel/affi liation experiences. It really helps build your personal global network.” – Senior consultant
• “Most of the learning takes place on the job, but there are plenty of more formal options to explore interests and areas for development (Friday workshops, offi ce lunches, web trainings).” – Associate
Promotion Policies
• “It is a strict up-or-out policy, but we all feel that there is room for promotion if we are able to perform up to standards. We don’t feel like we are competing with each other for a small number of spots.” – Chicago consultant
• “You are expected to be promoted to the next level every 21 to 27 months, with some exceptions for specialized career paths. Once you are a principal, it is three to fi ve years to partner.” – Midlevel source
• “I am very impressed by 1) transparency, 2) openness of dialogue, and by 3) quickness. Associates can earn an MBA salary after 24 to 30 months.” – East Coast staffer
• “There does seem to be a fair amount of attrition. Standards are rigorous, but the fi rm recognizes hard work and improvement.” – Atlanta consultant
Diversity
Vault’s Verdict: Though a bit male-centric at the top, BCG excels in recruiting a wide variety of talented consultants from all backgrounds. Even more impressive is the culture of warmth and acceptance the fi rm continues to cultivate, tending to diversity issues with the same skill and attention the fi rm is known for.
Diversity Issues With Respect to Women, Minorities, and GLBTs
• “I’m a minority, and have a vast amount of additional resources for that reason; the offi ce is one of the most diverse places I’ve ever experienced. I had not met many GLBT people until I started working, and some of them have become some of my best friends at work.” – Los Angeles fi rst-year • “BCG’s culture embraces diversity in all of its forms—ethnicity, gender, background, experience, etc. In this regard, I have been thoroughly
impressed.” – Atlanta consultant
• “BCG has to be the best fi rm in regard to support and celebration of GLBT community. They sponsor several conferences, host specifi c recruiting dinners at core schools, and host global and regional meetings every year to ensure connection and strong affi liation.” – Associate • “The fi rm tries hard here, but the industry isn’t that conducive to retaining women, especially after they have kids. There’s too much travel and
irregular hours. But BCG puts a lot of energy into making it easier.” – Senior consultant
Overall Business Outlook
Vault’s Verdict: BCG certainly held its own as the recession took its course. After a banner year amid 2009’s recessionary gloom, anything less than top-of-the-pile would seem like a letdown in 2010.
Overall Business Outlook
• “We are winning against our competition, and had our best year ever in 2009 while the competition was down. It has been so good through a tough economic time that even insiders are surprised at how well we are doing.” – Chicago associate
• “We gained share and grew revenue during the recession. We also promoted people on time, moved up start dates and paid full bonuses.” – Consultant
• “We have bid wins pouring in the door. Staffi ng is so tight—I wish we’d hired more people last year!” – Health care consultant
• “We are riding a strong wave of business development with many major wins and almost 100 percent utilization.” – Private equity insider