Consultant

Consultant
9:00: Arrive at the office. It really depends on which office you work in.
New York has a reputation for getting in a little later. Here in Cambridge we
get in a little earlier, but no one has to arrive before 9 a.m.. I check my
voicemail and e-mail.
9:30: I usually have a meeting or two in the mornings, typically with other
members of my case team and client team. The meeting times vary; we’ve got
to work around the senior members’ schedules. When there’s no meeting, I’m
doing research, pulling together slides and presentations, modeling, Excel,
whatever the current project is. Right now I’m researching the leading
competitors to benchmark a client’s cost structure.
1:00: Lunch. This can be as long or as short as I want it to be (unless it’s
crunch time). There’s a lot of flexibility throughout the day. The company
throws a lot of trust at its employees. I can take as much lunchtime as I need,
as long as I get the work done.
3:00: Meet with team to coordinate activities related to engagement. I
present some of the analysis I wrote up in the morning, and my boss tells me
to turn it into a formal presentation.
4:30: Work on preliminary slides summarizing analysis.
7:00: Submit preliminary results to word processing.
7:30: Check e-mail and voice mail once again.
8:00: Leave work and meet friends for drinks. As for leaving, there are two
kinds of days. There are days when it’s ticking along, there are no deadlines,
and I leave between 7 and 8. Then there are other days when I am there until
10, 11 or later.
Consultant (alternate day)
7:30: Get up, slip on sweatpants and take a jog.
9:00: Arrive at office; read the front page of The New York Times; look at
planner and determine day’s schedule.
9:30: Meet with client in the health care industry for a brief meeting. Discuss
competitors, escalating prices and the client’s other concerns.
11:00: Interview client’s competitors by phone.
12:30: Break for a quick lunch.
1:00: Interview industry experts by phone. As a CTM [case team member],
you often spend quite a bit of time going to sources, interviewing clients and
their affiliates and speaking to industry experts, either by phone or on-site.
3:00: Put the acquired information into memos, spreadsheets and slides.
There’s an unbelievable amount of slide-making at this firm.
6:00: Break for a snack. I’m a Hostess man myself.
7:00: Discuss the week’s proceedings with a senior person. If you’re more
junior, you’re told to go away and get more information. If you’re more
senior, you’re told to go and get an answer. ‘Seniority’ means how much rope
you’re given to hang yourself with!
9:00: Take off to eat a late dinner with significant other.