Why consulting headlines? - The Consulting Blog Story

Markus Kopp is a consultant.

He’s worked 180 hours over the past two weeks. “I’m sick of working so much,” the London resident writes to us, “I want out.” He sends us the email in the middle of the night from his smartphone. It’s timestamped 1:52 a.m. Baker Street looks gloomy in the dreary, rainy weather. Kopp has just climbed into a taxi, exhausted, to finally head home. But he knows: in a few hours he’ll have to show up at the client’s office, fresh as a daisy. “Why am I even doing this to myself?” he asks himself.

Actually, Kopp did everything right.

He graduated at the top of his class from an elite business school, spent a semester abroad in England, and completed internships at three different top companies. With those credentials, Kopp could have done almost anything, but given the attractive salary and the career advancement opportunities, he ultimately chose consulting after graduation. That’s how Kopp first reached out to us while preparing for his first case interview. Through PrepLounge, we guided him all the way to his dream offer at one of the top three management consulting firms.

Kopp began his career with great enthusiasm.

He discovered and came to appreciate the exciting world of consulting. He successfully landed one project after another, moving from place to place. The jet-set lifestyle inspired him, and he enjoyed getting to know the unique atmospheres of new cities and countries. But above all, it was the interaction with his colleagues and partners – true high achievers – that inspired him. Euphoric and ambitious, Kopp wanted more and followed his urge for change.

By now, Kopp has his move within the consulting industry behind him.

He currently advises clients in the Digital Practice of another MBB consulting firm. The switch gave him a new sense of excitement back then. Now he is managing to climb this career ladder step by step as well, and today he feels he has truly accomplished something. But working as a consultant is draining. After a few years, the positive aspects no longer satisfy him quite as much, and the downsides of the job move more and more into the foreground. His workdays are getting longer and longer, and his thoughts drift ever more often toward ways out. “Honestly, every consultant out there thinks about it all the time,” Kopp reports.

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- The Typical Career Cycle of a Consultant [PDF] -

The various stages and milestones a typical consultant passes through – from the start of university to the exit from consulting.

As a consultant facing the exit, he is once again spoilt for choice.

Kopp wants out, but where exactly – he has no idea. When Kopp comes home from the project at night, he is completely drained. He has no desire to actively look for job openings, nor to work through the dozens of headhunter messages on Xing or LinkedIn that have piled up over the past few weeks. He is glad that consultingheads sends him a weekly email overview of the most exciting job opportunities – that helps him narrow down the wide range of offers – but he still struggles to reach a decision. He asks us: “Which exit options can you recommend? How am I supposed to decide?”

You would think the answers to questions like these could simply be found online these days.

That is what we thought. But the first Google search in the German-speaking market shows that while there are plenty of online guides and websites helping graduates get started in consulting (our own platform PrepLounge among them), when it comes to getting out, the top results are nothing but confusing forum threads and journalistic commentary. That is not genuinely comprehensive or informative. For Kopp, who faces one of the most important career decisions of his life, it is no help at all.

That is why we built consultingheadlines.

For Kopp – and for you, too. Drawing on our many years of experience in consulting and on our expert network, we hope to build an online career magazine for consultants that helps you with the decisions that matter.

Do you have a specific problem or an idea for an article? Then get in touch by leaving a comment or sending an email to redaktion@consultingheads.com.