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Mentor
Recruiters reach out to me all the time. Usually for partner consulting jobs at other firms. Once in a while, it’s for something a bit different (excluding all the obviously dumb roles... I get lots of “you’d be a great fit for this associate director of sales operations” messages, but I see them as basically spam).
The consulting jobs at this point are pretty much never of any interest because I like my job now just fine and the hiring companies can’t afford to offer me more money than I already make.
Once in a while, I explore interesting opportunities that come up where there’s a chance of a major liquidity event, but I’m generally too well compensated to be willing to accept a bunch of risk even if there’s massive potential upside.
Makes sense P1. While I am comfortable in my current Firm, sometimes I am too comfortable and feels like not being challenged professionally. Hence I look around a little bit. It’s like a 10+ years marriage. Sometimes you get bored and think you want to start an affair but pretty quickly realize that it’s not worth it because you have a loving spouse and kids and I just need to spruce my love life a bit 😅
Headhunters mostly reach out to me for lateral moves to other firms (majority) or PE
Strategy
The responses above have it. Mostly other consulting firms. Those of us who leave to industry mostly source these roles through our networks.
This is super helpful! I was interested in pursuing partnership but I don’t see that as my long-term career. I still want to end up in industry.
I find that whenever my name is attached to a white paper, article, or press release the recruiters swoop in like vultures. Usually the roles have little to do with my skills or interests. Recruiters aren't a bright bunch and so to them they see the word partner and are drawn to us. It's a numbers game and since many industry firms like hiring ex-consultants, recruiters know that if they ping 50 partners, a good chance their client will hire one of them.
What recruiters and industry execs don't realize that the difference between a top performing partner and one on the way out the door is enormous. To them a partner is a partner.
95% lateral consulting roles but I built relationships with the few that focused on industry roles. And after 10 years it got me my retirement post-consulting gig
Very cool, P3. Can I ask which brewery?
What would motivate you to move to another advisory firm? (e.g. build a practice from scratch, etc.)
Mentor
Give it a try!
I work at a successful consulting firm; am an equity partner; earn well into the seven figures, and know how to succeed within my environment.
Try pitching me on an opportunity that would be compelling when that’s my baseline.
I suppose every firm has it’s own pros and cons. If the pros at a competitor outweigh the cons and the role provides a heightened level of autonomy, opps for more personal growth and ability to create greater impact than people will consider it (from my experience at least). Exec recruitment within consulting services is tough, typically have more success with partners who have moved to industry or the investment space and are open to the possibility of shifting back into the advisory world. Appreciate the response P1!
Mentor
I can see that. It’s very hard to poach a good successful consultant from a company that’s doing well because you have little to offer the person before even trying to compensate for the risk they take when they leave.
Easier to find people who either aren’t all that successful (would I want to hire them?); aren’t all that happy (why not?); are working at firms that are doing less well, or are not currently in consulting.
Our CEO used to like saying that no partner ever left my firm because of the money. I’m not sure that’s exactly true anymore, but it’s close to true. I’m always polite to the better recruiters because you never know when a situation could change, but it’s been at least a few years since one of them could articulate a value proposition of interest to me and it gets harder all the time as my entrenchment and income grow.