Have/Will Consulting Firms stop working?

Actually in Italy MBB did not stop working but they just put on hold around 50% of projects for a month. We hope to start working soon.

Hey A,

The current situation from the hiring prospective in consulting is not that bad as it seems to be. It’s true that many firms worldwide (Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America) are slowing down their recruiting practices, but they are not freezing them.

First the companies simply need some time to adequately react to the situation and adapt.

This will have the following consequences for you:

1. The whole process will probably be a bit delayed and might take longer than usual
2. Instead of interviews in person everything will be switched to online – so keep on practicing skype interviews!

In this situation I would recommend You to write an email to HR saying that you understand the current challenging situation and asking about next steps (when and how your interviews will take place).

I hope it helps.

Good luck!

André

Hi Anonymous,

What I see currently going on (specifically talking about McKinsey) is that many projects are slowing down and travel is reduced to the absolute bare minimum possible (also clients don't necessarily want personal meetings with consultants at the moment..).

At the same time, some (few) projects even increase working remotely, but the total trend in this phase of high uncertainty is definitely pointing downwards.

Will they stop working at all? For now I don't think so, but it depends on some facts that nobody can yet foresee!

Hope that helps - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hello!

Have they stopped? No, they haven´t, but they are as affected by the global situation as all other industries. Projects are being paused and people are working from home. 

Will they stop? At this point, none can answer this question, the situation is evolving too fast. As a rule of thumb, they will replicate what the industry is doing (if clients work at 50%, so will consultants). 

However, recruiting is one of the things that should not stop. 

Cheers, 

Clara

Hello,

It depends on the country, consulting companies will follow their clients. If the client closes you have to stop, otherwise consulting companies are perfectly able to work remotely.
In Italy they have just asked their consultants not to go to the office and to work from home.

Best,
Luca

Hi,
unfortunately, nobody now is able to predict the precise effects on each business. The 2 true facts today are that interviews are taking place regularly but online instead than face to face, and that many new consulting projects are being paused (the others are continuing home-office). Therefore if this lockdown continues for long it can cause a shrinking in new hires.

Best,
​Antonello