what no one tells you about consulting (Big 4 management consulting expectations vs reality)

Management consulting expectations vs reality from an analyst with one year of experience vs a senior consultant with five years of experience. We tackle what it's truly like working for a consulting firm in the City in London, UK. We go through the pros and cons and share what no one tells you about consulting life in the Big 4.

🎬 WANT TO SKIP AHEAD?
00:00 Intro
00:31 Travel
03:28 Progression
06:08 Support
07:31 Socials
09:44 Seniors are salesmen
14:31 Control over projects

🙋WHO AM I?
I'm Kajol, a Big 4 Senior Manager working in London, UK. In my spare time, I post content to do with career and life. My aim is to help you have more happier and successful work lives.

📞 CONNECT WITH ME
If you’d like to talk, I’d love to hear from you. If you want a quick response, Instagram is probably the best medium but feel free to email me too.

👩‍💻 MY APPROACH TO CONTENT CREATION
All videos are based on my four years of experience working in consulting. Topics where I've had no real life experience is based on research and 1-1 interviews with consultants who have the relevant knowledge.

🤓 DISCLAIMERS
*AFFILIATE LINK: This is an affiliate link that allows you to search the items I've mentioned in this video at ABSOLUTELY no cost to you. It helps and sustains my channel - thank you for the support!

My views do not represent the views of any company that I've mentioned in my video. Please do note that if I talk about a UK firm, counterparts in other countries are not always the same.

[Devamsha]

my two faves on screen eeee! this was so interesting to hear how you've both experienced similar environments at diff stages even through the panny d. loving these collabs aunty k 🤎

[claireisabel]

Loved chatting with you about consulting! ❤️

[letscirclebackgames]

This was a great convo to listen to! I previously worked in big 4 consulting and I resonate with a lot of what you’re saying. I’m also an introvert and felt a bit challenged by the need to be visible to the right people regardless of my performance. Also I preferred working with partners that worked on client delivery than partners that seemed very focused on sales. The partners that worked on client delivery felt sincere and felt like they were in the trenches with us 😅

[MarijoBiondic-uhsf]

Very natural and authentic video. Great job. Greetings from Deloitte Switzerland.

[Jubair]

Entertaining video, I actually have been looking into consulting recently and this gives a nice insight

[tman]

i worked for Accenture right out of school. Working for a big consulting firm is way overrated. That career was soul draining. It was a culture of vanity, popularity, and kissing up to the right people. It was endless hours of fancy presentations and consultant "lingo". Travel got old really quick. Career paths managed by "career counselors" and not your direct bosses didn't allow for the people who worked directly with you to have a more direct voice in your performance evaluations. Bench time was filled with useless work just to stay busy. Basically you were looking for a job...within a job. Kissing up and trying to know people to get on projects. Also the "laddering" system was tough too. Even if your team had 10 great peoplee....2 people had to be laddered out . Anyways...its better to stand out at a great smaller company....than get washed out as a little fish in a big company.

[ceo-strategic-advisor]

Kajol, as a former consultancy CEO, we should talk about promotion and how to move forward 🙂

[SofiaHiramatsu]

Hey Kajol, Devamsha recommended your channel, loving the content! the quality 👌🏽

[n.m.]

I have heard that overworking and having no work-balance is a common theme in Consulting. It's a big turnoff for me. Whay would you say?

[quiquenette]

Travelling the way it was before pandemic was just going to destroy your personal life and relationships. There needs to be a balance.

[studywithnymaa]

Hi, I’m thinking of getting into a big 4 through an apprenticeship but I do not want to get thrown into auditing. Do you get a choice on the role you want to get into or I would be required to work in auditing for a while before getting into consulting.

[YOUinConsulting]

So, now you announced which employer you are working for 😀 I want to second you that most of what you report I think also holds true for McKinsey. The sooner you know that it is not "just" your performance, but also your internal network that helps you get promoted, the better 🙂 And yes, the roles assigned within a team can also feel at times rather rigid. For instance, if a Junior Partner lands a success with a sales effort, he may see it "overtaken" by a Senior Partner... By the way, you mentioned you work for Deloitte Digital. Would have been interesting to learn about Claire's internal affiliation as well given she occasionally shared "contrasting evidence" 🙂 Lovely to see the two of you giggling together!

[SuperCoffee]

Can relate to so much of this! If anyone has any tips on how to network and build better working relationships with the right people (for introverts) please comment below!

[yireg]

What degree do you guys have? I’m starting my college journey and I’m deciding what degree I should pursue and you two inspired me 😊

[HoneybeeAdventures]

''Christmas socials a virtual event''- I had to laugh. I hope this year you have a real life christmas party.

[gotetyaditya]

I have finished MBA in Australia 2 years ago. I want to get into Management consulting. Honestly I want to put some fake experience. What can I put and how can I manage ??

[finejustgivemeaname]

I’d offer that the biggest voice isn’t the best attribute, if you’re not knowledgeable. Best to keep your mouth shut. Also, analysts should be willing and comfortable speaking up, but very cautious when doing it. Typically, your manager will protect you and speak for you, as they can tell when you need coverage.

[digitalsumanraj]

Kajol super talented girl and i love british accent.. And gorgeous look 😍

[der_kanadier]

You don't need 17 minutes to say, "Work is hard. Being successful is harder."

[Starrynigh]

I agree with Karol 1:45. Paris overrated .. too much crime and messy. South of France is real France !