Markus Kopp is a consultant.
He has worked 180 hours in the last two weeks. “I’m sick of working so much,” the Londoner-by-choice writes to us, “I want out.” He sends us the email in the middle of the night from his smartphone. It is time stamped 1:52. Baker Street looks uncomfortable from the dreary rainy weather. Kopp just got into a cab, exhausted, to finally go home. But he knows that in a few hours he’ll have to be dewy-eyed and back on the customer’s desk. “Why am I doing this to myself?” he asks himself.
Actually, Kopp did everything right.
Graduated top of his class at an elite business school, completed a semester abroad in England and internships at three different top companies. With his references, Kopp could do almost anything, and because of the attractive salary and opportunities for advancement, he chose consulting after graduation. That’s how Kopp first approached us when preparing for his first case interview. Through PrepLounge, we accompanied him to his dream offer at one of the top 3 corporate consultancies.
Highly motivated, Kopp started his career.
He got to know and appreciate the exciting consulting profession. He successfully anchored himself from project to project and from place to place. The jet-set life inspired him and he enjoyed learning about the different flairs of new cities and countries. But it was above all the exchange with his colleagues and partners – true high-achievers – that inspired him. Euphoric and ambitious, Kopp wanted more and pursued his drive for change.
In the meantime, Kopp has made the change within the consultancy.
He currently advises clients in the digital practice of another MBB consultancy. The switch gave him a new kick back then. Now he is managing to climb this career ladder bit by bit as well, and today he feels that he has really achieved something. But the work as a consultant is exhausting. After a few years, the positive aspects no longer satisfy him quite so much and the downsides of the job come more and more to the fore. Workdays are getting longer and longer, and thoughts are increasingly drifting toward exit options. “Honestly, every consultant out there thinks about it all the time,” Kopp reports.
– The typical career cycle of a consultant [PDF] –
As a consultant facing exit, he is now once again spoiled for choice.
Kopp wants to get out, but where exactly – he has no idea. When Kopp comes home from the project at night, he is completely exhausted. He doesn’t feel like actively inquiring about job offers, nor does he feel like going through the dozens of headhunter inquiries on Xing or LinkedIn that have piled up over the past few weeks. Although he is happy to receive a weekly overview of the most exciting job opportunities by e-mail from consultingheads – which helps him to select the diverse offers – he still finds it difficult to make a decision. He asks us, “What exit options can you recommend for me? How should I decide?”
Actually, the answers to such questions should be easy to find on the web nowadays.
That’s what we thought. But the first Google search in the German-speaking world shows that while there are many online guides and websites that help graduates get started in consulting (such as our PrepLounge platform), when it comes to getting out, only confusing forum discussions and journalistic commentaries are among the top results. It’s not really holistic and informative. That certainly doesn’t help Kopp, who is facing one of the most important career decisions of his life.
Therefore consultingheadlines!
For Kopp and also for you. With our years of experience in consulting and our network of experts, we hope to build an online career magazine for consultants that will help you make important decisions.
You have a specific problem or an idea for an article? Then get in touch by commenting or emailing [email protected].
