60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Preparation for Consulting Interviews, November 24, 1999
By A Customer
I've read them all - Wet Feet, Vault, HBS, Naficy - and this book is the one that helped me the most. Naficy is anecdotal and dated at this point; HBS is written for Harvard students and contains recruiter info that pertains only to them; Wet Feet is just superficial; and although Vault has some useful content, Management Consulting has all of the same info plus much much more. Don't bother with the others - just get this book.
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49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the only management consulting book you'll need!!!, April 11, 1999
By A Customer
This book is fabulous! Twitchell and Biswas have produced a book that will accelerate your consulting job search.
In a single volume, they have provided everything you will need to land a job in consulting. Just glance at the Table of Contents and you will quickly realize how comprehensive the book is: 1) The Management Consulting Industry; 2) The Consultant's Work and Lifestyle; 3) Insider Perspectives on Consulting; 4) Planning Your Consulting Career; 5) Mastering the Case Interview; 6) Negotiating Your Offer; and finally 15 Essential Frameworks, 100 Case Questions and 10 Sample Answers, and a Directory of 50 Firms. Unlike Wet Feet Press and The Vault Reports, which require you to buy multiple books to get a complete picture, this book provides everything you need to learn about the consulting industry and master the case interview in ONE VOLUME.
And if you're looking for a personal, insider's perspective, you can't beat this book. Not only do Biswas and Twitchell provide insight into their own experience as consultants, they have also devoted close to 100 of the 300 pages to original essays written by the founding partners and managing directors of the world's top consulting firms: McKinsey, Booz-Allen, Bain, BCG, Monitor, Mercer, Mitchell Madison, Arthur D Little, Andersen, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, The Wilkerson Group, Vertex, and many more... It is truly an impressive list - and surely, if you're planning to interview with any of these firms, you had better read up on what they've written!
I know there are a lot of books out there on consulting, but this is by far the best I've seen yet. As the Worldwide Managing Director of Bain said about the book, "Management Consulting is a must-read!"
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!, March 12, 1999
By A Customer
That is all I can say to the authors of this book!
Five months ago, I wanted to make a career switch. Since I like troubleshooting and problem solving, and, to be frank, I needed a higher salary if I was to continue living in San Francisco, I thought consulting might be a good avenue to pursue.
My first interview was with Deloitte and Touche, and ... I BOMBED IT. Although I had talked to several of my friends who were in or had been in consulting, and even a business professor at UC Berkeley (where I went to college), I was ill-prepared for the CASE INTERVIEW.
I agree with another reviewer (Carlsbad, CA) that case interviews may not be the best tool for recruiting consulants. Afterall, how many consultants (outside veterinary consultants) really need to know how many kittens there are in the USA? HOWEVER, until the PREMIERE consulting firms stop using them to gage how one thinks under pressure about an unfamiliar problem, then you cannot beat Biswas and Twitchell's "Management Consulting: A Complete Guide to the Indusrty" and Wet Feet Press' "So You Want to be a Management Consultant" for preparation.
{I guess where I disagree with Carlsbad, CA's review is that this book (or any book) written as a guide to a recruiting process and the industry as a whole, should not and cannot be faulted for the problems in the recruitment process or in the industry. I am thankful that this book covered the case interview so well -- since that is exactly what I faced when I was looking for consulting jobs. Moreover, unlike the reviewer from Carlsbad, CA who is a business professor and a part-time consultant, I now do consulting full-time. While there are times I don't enjoy working long hours, I cannot fault this book for telling me about the often grueling lifestyle -- although I can certainly fault the industry for it.}
Now, if you have the money, I suggest that you buy both this book, and the Wet Feet Press book. But if you don't have money to burn, I would definitely buy Biswas' and Twitchell's Guide first for two reasons: 1) it offers realistic qualifications about the grueling consulting lifestlye, and 2) it has great essays by reknowned consultants.
These two parts will help you to answer questions from recruiters about your personal lifestyle requirements (are you willing to travel, are you willing to be away from home, are you willing to work 60-80 hours a week consistently), and it always helps to know the names and histories of renkowned consultants (like John Wilkerson, who has an essay in this book) when discussing your future as a consultant.
More importantly, you have to decide whether Management Consulting is the right career for you (The sections about lifestyle (work requirements) and by renowned consultants will help you answer that question).
When I was done interviewing, I had four offers to consider from some great firms! While I can't say that all of it was due to reading this book or Wet Feet Press' book, a large part of my success came from being better prepared for case interviews, and knowing what to expect from a consulting career.
Thank you Mr. Biswas and Mr. Twitchell!
Jason Chu (Email: bc154@scn.org)
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