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2018
Management Consultants Job Search Survey
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1 Management Consultants Job Search Survey
Management Consultants Job Search Survey
Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 1
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 1
Active vs Passive job seekers .................................................................................................................. 2
Main reasons for leaving the last permanent role ................................................................................. 2
How consultants find a job ..................................................................................................................... 4
What do management consultants look for when considering a role? ................................................. 6
How do consultants find smaller employers? ......................................................................................... 8
Top Management Consultant frustrations ............................................................................................. 9
Overview
In October 2018 Prism Executive Recruitment polled 3,000 experienced management consultants
with a short questionnaire. There was also an opportunity for respondents to provide commentary
on their experiences and opinions.
99% of the respondents had over 5 years’ total experience and 85% have been permanently
employed as a management consultant within the last 5 years.
Summary
Key Findings:
• 90% of respondents were potentially interested in a job move
• The key reason for leaving was dissatisfaction with an employer’s direction or culture
• 77% cited their own network as a main channel for identifying job opportunities. This was
particularly relevant to more experienced and senior consultants
• Applications to jobsites and via recruitment agencies were also still key job search channels
• Over 80% of consultants use LinkedIn for identifying consultancy roles
• After LinkedIn the most frequently used jobsite was Executive Appointments, closely
followed by Top Consultant and Indeed
• Job responsibilities and career prospects are key considerations in looking for a new role
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Active vs Passive job seekers
There is always much discussion about the mind-set of career minded employees with LinkedIn in
particular maintaining that most people are willing to entertain a move and also our own related
commentary on the subject.
Of the participants only 10% said they were not interested in a job move. This may seem
unsurprising given they are management consultants known to an Executive Recruitment firm!
However it should be emphasised that the management consultants selected to receive the survey
were in contact with Prism across 10 years or more of which recent “registrations” are a very small
minority. This is also exactly the same figure presented by LinkedIn.
For an individual concerned to maximise career opportunities keeping a watching eye on the job
market and receptiveness to headhunt approaches is a wise strategy. It is axiomatic that sometimes
the best time for a job move is BEFORE the point at which they get sufficiently disgruntled to start
actively looking for a role.
For an employer and recruiters it shows the importance of keeping a semi-active dialogue with
potential future hires so that they are warm to an approach when there is a job that might tick their
boxes and before they are “active” and therefore considering multiple options. It also lends
emphasis to the importance of a positive candidate experience, to which we will return later.
Main reasons for leaving the last permanent role
People move jobs for a host of reasons of course. What is especially interesting about this data is
that for more experienced consultants i.e. 10+ years’, salary and career prospects are relatively
unimportant. The overriding sentiments were around disagreement with the culture and direction of
the employer. This phrasing covers a range of different issues but in Prism’s experience in many
cases the underlying factor is related to businesses restructuring, or being taken over, or a new
strategy which employees no longer feel aligned to.
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However the data tell a different story for those at earlier stages of their careers i.e. 5-10 years
where salary and career prospects are more clearly cited as drivers for a move. In this group “new
challenge” was also a key consideration.
Many people reading this survey will recognise these factors in their own circumstance or careers
but what can employers do to mitigate these and improve retention? The encouraging news is that
salary is 8th on the list of reasons so the solution does not have to be pay rises. However it seems
that businesses which are so reliant upon their Human Capital and Talent should do more to limit
the collateral damage of strategic business decisions affecting their employees. Clearly businesses
have to change and evolve: but the biggest single factor driving staff to leave is closely related to this
dynamic.
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Main reasons for leaving last permanent role
> 20 years 10 - 20 years 5 - 10 years experience
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How consultants find a job
The main route by which management consultants’ job search is their own network and this is
especially true of the most experienced consultants. An astonishing 77% cited it as one of their main
channels.
“Own Network” is important to less experienced consultants too, but much less so, probably
reflecting the inevitability that for most professionals networks grow throughout a career. Some
viewed this as a sign of ageism with the suggestion that the more formal recruitment channels are
more likely to screen out older candidates. One observation was “websites are an utter waste of
time for applicants in their 50s. Networking seems to be the best option”.
Whilst the importance of direct employer/candidate recruitment channels is clear, consultants also
view recruitment agencies as a key part of their job search strategy, across all levels of experience
and seniority. A significant % will apply to agencies’ advertisements, or register with agencies or
both. Indeed the figures will inevitably underplay the role of “head hunters” because the question
was around job search and waiting for a headhunt approach doesn’t therefore feature! (the framing
was deliberate because we wanted to know what people would do now, not how they found their
last job which could have been many years ago).
Also many executives would view a long term relationship with a recruiter as part of their “network”,
confirmed by several comments to that effect.
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Job search channel
> 20 years 10 - 20 years 5 - 10 years experience
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Applications via employers’ own websites was one of the least popular routes: our own experience is
they are rarely “user friendly”, especially compared with the ease of other application channels. One
respondent said “own employers’ websites [are] too clunky and awkward to complete” while
another disliked the “automated, transactional” aspect.
From an applicant’s perspective it confirms the long held belief that the best route to a new job
might be the network but that a hybrid approach involving recruiters and direct approaches is
essential albeit time consuming.
For employers it emphasises both the importance of encouraging employees to refer good quality
contacts and to provide an environment where that they will be well looked after in the talent
process. It also suggests a hybrid approach that recognises talent could come via a number of
different channels is essential. Finally it once again highlights the wasted potential of the employers’
own website as a recruitment channel.
Despite the importance of the “network” many consultants also expect to apply to advertised jobs
and the dominance of LinkedIn as a job board is stark: c80% of consultants with 10 years+
experience use it and 97% of those with 5-10 years’ experience.
The differences in use of websites across experience groups were also revealing: Executive
Appointments was cited by 44% of the most experienced respondents, 24% of the 10-20 year
bracket and by only 5% of the 5-10 year cohort. This might not be surprising given the name of the
site but the minimum salary is £50,000 so it would seem likely that many of these less experienced
consultants would aspire to salaries above that.
Top Consultant remains important to experienced job seekers, but less so for those earlier in their
career while Indeed and Glassdoor are also popular, the latter more so with less experienced
respondents.
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Main websites viewed for jobs
> 20 years 10 - 20 years 5 - 10 years experience
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The demise of The Times/Sunday Times is stark: once the dominant newspaper channel for
appointments, it was cited by only 11% of respondents as a website to consider. Other sites with
11% or fewer mentions each were Jobsite/totaljobs, JobServe, eFinancial Careers, REED and
Monster.
The lessons for job applicants: LinkedIn is key BUT also consider that there are other channels
available. They will be less competitive as they are less frequently cited by other management
consultants so your chances of a successful outcome may be correspondingly greater.
For employers LinkedIn seems to be the only game in town. However a significant % of management
consultants are using other sites and for many employers it is both difficult and expensive to
differentiate themselves and compete for talent on LinkedIn. Therefore it may be worth fishing in a
different pool.
What do management consultants look for when considering a role?
The headline figures are unsurprising: the most important factor is “job responsibilities and scope”
with “salary” second albeit adding in the respondents who selected “package” too puts
remuneration as the primary factor, with 25% citing one or the other of these two considerations
However dig into the data and the differences with respect to experience/seniority are very clear:
for 5-10 years and 10-20 years’ experience “career prospects” are top priority compared with only
7% of 20 yrs+. Indeed for the 5-10 year bracket “career prospects” was more important than salary
and salary package combined.
By contrast “culture and values” didn’t feature as the top consideration with the less experienced
consultants, and “job responsibilities and scope” is also not a primary factor. However they are the
top two most important considerations for the 20yrs+ group.
Location/commute, travel and work/life balance were the most important factors for very few
respondents albeit many cited these as influencing considerations. Also, diversity & inclusivity and
size were rarely mentioned as factors.
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These variations are not entirely unsurprising and reflect people’s different priorities at different
stages of their lives and careers.
The lessons for employers and recruiters are clear:
salary and package are a key consideration and the scope to attract candidates by appealing
to other motivators if this is not right is limited. A frustration noted by many respondents
was the lack of salary information when replying to advertisements;
the message to take to the job market should be influenced by the seniority and experience
level of the individual you are seeking to attract.
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Most important factor in a new role
> 20 years 10 - 20 years 5 - 10 years experience
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How do consultants find smaller employers?
The “Big 4” and other major brands employ large numbers of management consultants and often
offer excellent training, experience and careers.
However many consultants are attracted by the opportunities available in smaller organisations. By
definition however these are less well known so the survey asked the question “how would you find
[these employers]?
“Own network” was again the primary route albeit less often cited than under the “main channel in
your job search” question. Use of a “recruitment agency” to draw attention to lesser known
organisations is cited by 44% of respondents and is clearly a key factor in potential applicants’ job
search strategy.
The relative unimportance of “job advertisements” was notable and may suggest that consultants
would not apply to job advertisements placed by an “unknown” employer.
Prism’s previous research has suggested that smaller firms are concerned that being a relatively
unknown name was a hindrance in recruitment. This survey confirms that a hybrid approach,
employing several channels’ is likely to be most effective, including the option of using recruiters to
be brand ambassadors. It also suggests that profile raising, which many firms would be hoping to do
as part of their marketing, will have the additional benefit of improving brand awareness with
potential employees.
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How consultants find smaller firms
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Top Management Consultant frustrations
The survey asked the question: “how could employers improve your job search experience?”
1) Feedback and responding. Overwhelmingly and by far the most frequent comments
related to lack of feedback or responsiveness during the application process. Respondents
referred to lack of “basic manners” and “I’m amazed at how many…firms don’t let the
candidate know” and even “if I don’t get a response I reject that employer for ever”. One
noted “so often even second interviews receive no feedback: arrogant and unprofessional”.
2) Improve advertisement and job requirements. Varied comments with especial
concerns at lack of salary details leading to wasted time on both sides; lack of clarity on
“essential” and “nice to have” experience and also “candidate requirements” reading like a
shopping list of unrealistic or irrelevant criteria. Many commented on the need for more
information around scope and responsibilities of the job role, culture and work-life balance.
3) Process. There was frequent reference to the speed of application processes and the delays
in response. Consultants also commented on the desire for clarity around the recruitment
process and the stages of interview. Generally there was a desire for improved and timely
communication.
4) Personal touch. It was clear from many comments that applicants found the increasingly
impersonal nature of websites, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and the recruitment
process frustrating. Frequently expressed sentiments were summarised in a one word
comment “humanisation”.
Addressing some or all of these points is a golden opportunity for enlightened employers to take a
lead over their competitors. This is particularly relevant for smaller firms which can demonstrate
their more human scale and concern for the individual than would ever be possible for the
behemoths!
If you would like to discuss any of the above please contact Chris Sale Managing Director, Prism
Executive Recruitment at [email protected]. For more information on our services please visit
prismrecruitment.co.uk
