Vault Career Discussions

Hi, I'd really appreciate some advices on choosing offers. Grant Thornton Infrastructure advisory VS big 4 operation strategy advisory (operational improvment work). I'd like to work in investment banking eventually and would like to know which option is better for a future career change. Thanks a lot!

I am writing my short term/long term goals essay for B-School, and I am trying to figure out if my intended career progression makes sense.  Does tech strategy consulting in the way I describe below even exist?  Also what would be my title and dept. in the company I would work for?

In the long term, I am interested in working for a large company, like a honeywell or a GE, in their corporate strategy/M&A (diff companies might call this dept diff things). I would like to be finding new technology start-ups and new small companies or even just engineers who have developed amazing new technology and inventions particularly in the Security and Public Safety Technology fields. (I currently work for a security firm doing business development)

I want to be able to throw the resources of the large company behind these "little guys" and help bring their amazing innovations to market. Getting their ideas out there in the market is more important to me than whether they develop into their own company, or their technology gets enveloped into the product line of the larger firm.

I could also see how, after developing some expertise in this area, that this would be valuable to VC firms in this sector.

In the short term, in order to accomplish this, I think the best thing for me to do would be some type of tech strategy consulting. booz allen, IBM, accenture etc. I know diff consulting firms have different areas of expertise, but that's all I can really think of that would lead me to my long term goal. any thoughts?

How long does it take to get called for the polygraph and stuff? I got a conditional offer several months ago and all I've had was a phone call to go over all my paper work again.  No polygraph or processing yet for me.  Everytime I call to check on status I don't get a straight answer except "hang in there".  This is stupid.  Maybe I'll never hear anything again and should just give up?  Sigh.

A lot of advertisements for jobs require one to have anywhere from 5-10 years of experience. Do you think that if I am given stellar recommendations and have significantly helped the company which I currently work for(i.e. I show myself to be VERY talented), I would be able to get a job, despite my lack of experience?

When I become a senior or mid level marketing exec (this is my goal) @ a company, I want to have influence on the pricing as well as the marketing strategies related to a company's products or services.... does this seem feasible at a large corporation? Do marketing managers  help  decide what price a product should be. I know marketing exec's are responsible for studying what consumers want (which, of course, they incorporate into their ads), but do they help to decide what the price of a certain product should be?

Hi,

I would like to apply to a McKinsey office that is not in my home country. I already have international academic and some intl work experience as a trainee in a two european countries. What I don't understand are the language requirements: english is a classic but they would also like you to know the language of the respective country. Question is at what level?

I would assume clients are "local" so you should have fluency in the respective language. Anybody have any experience with this?  

Thanks!

reviews are so bad, please give me some insight

Hi Guys, 
Please share some information, if you have regarding the KPMG IT advisory practice. 

I don't see much discussion about KPMG in this  website as well.\n

The KPMG website indicates that it does projects in   IT Strategy , Optimization,  Logistic And Supply chain and other stuff. These are all consulting terms and sounds like "Pie in the sky" ( No offence meant) .  I am form a technology consulting company  and I am evaluating some career options. Nevertheless the answers to these questions will help every one for sure.
 I heard KPMG is planning to ramp up its consulting arm since some of the Bearing Point folks are back here.
Can someone from this practice ( IT Advisory) or someone who has worked closely with them  can share a bit of of information on :

1>Kind of projects normally handled by this team.  percentage share would be helpful. x% implementation, y% IT strategy etc

2>Kind of clients

3>Team Composition of the projects ( Does Team members from IT advisory, Tax etc work together)

4>If these are IT strategy projects, I would tend to think they are not much in number  and how does the KPMG consultants ( starting from associate to manager to senior manager ) ensure billability. WHat is the average billability required in a year.

5>Exit options from IT advisory practice. Does KPMG allow relocation from one practice line to another? For example can they relocate to  normal consulting stream if projects in pipeline dries up.

6>Risk ( layoff)  Vs Career Growth options 

Will welcome suggestions comments from all  ranks ( associates, managers , senior manager etc). 

Thanks In Advance

My younger sister is trying to decide on whether to transfer to SUNY Stony Brook, Fordham or University of Miami (FL).   She would qualify for in-state tuition at Stony Brook and plans to go to grad school afterward. Is it worth paying the extra money for a private school?  Does Fordham have a strong nation wide reputation? Does Miami have a good academic reputation or is it mostly just known for sports?  Anything else to consider? 

(She is interested in international business and medicine)

Any and all help is appreciated!

Interviewed for an HR International position in the new york offices. Interview was easy and person who is there for 17 years seemed approachable and I would be right hand. Debating whether I should accept or not, the reviews I have been reading are quite discouraging..thoughts... on everything and anything please...

On approaching an insider in a Big 4 consulting firm, I was told that the pharma vertical is not so strong in this firm. As I come from a Pharmaceutical background, I needed some advise on the methods and resources to convert my Chronological CV into a functional CV.

Please send across any resources or suggestions to my email address. parag2005@gmail.com

Thank you very much in advance.

Does SAIC have a sign on bonus, if yes how much or how much can one ask for

I need to point out most managers at Bayer are fair. However I heard some conversation as well that good people / productive people who focus themselves on getting things done efficiently was politically mistreated by poor management having no direction in a very important department just because this employee was trying to point out the management issue. Too bad some managers could not get into the point and mistreated their employees as a result of management poor communication and negligence. 

Hello all,

	I eventually want to work for Target's (or another large retailer) Strategic Marketing department, but don't know where to start. I want to be able to start at a place where many promotional opportunities are available. I have heard from various people that if I want to be promoted in Marketing the quickest, I should go work at a place where marketing/advertising is the backbone, or at least a large sector, of the corporation. With this in mind, do you think that the best place for me to start my career would be at an Marketing Agency (before switching over to Target, or another retailer)? 

Thanks All!

Hi All,

I am looking for case partners. We  can do it over skype.

Please contact me if interested : caseprac@yahoo.com

Regards

Hi,

I have an interview in 2 weeks. I need a case partner to practice cases together. If you are interested please contact me on ehab_boutros@yahoo.ca.

Cheers

Hi All,

I am looking for case partners. We can do it over Skype

Please contact me if interested : caseprac@yahoo.com

Regards

So a person or company gets hired by any individual, organization, business, city, state or country to add value to these things by bridging together unmet needs with opportunity?

Whats the salary structure and banding for GE Corporate.. Whats the low and High salary for a Middle management professional? 

Hi everyone, I have decided to continue my education in a new direction...Graphic Design. I have been a log home builder for some time now, but really interested in a career change. I have an associates degree in visual communications, and three courses away from my batch's degree in graphic design. I have been interning for a local publishing company for 7 months as a layout designer. The question I have is, "What will be expected of me as an entry level designer?". Location is not a major issue, but I really want to know some tips on how to pursue this.