ZS Associates vs Slalom Consulting
Could anyone who's at these firms or exited from here compare and attest to the parameters below? I'm considering these companies among others to make a transition. Please help, fish!
Skills development, short term/long term growth (compensation and otherwise), type of work, type of culture/people, type of industry impact, exit opportunities and any other considerations to decide between multiple offers.
I’m at ZS and thinking about jumping to Slalom, though I’ve heard it’s a bit of a step down in terms of prestige. ZS is pharma/life sciences heavy and I don’t love that. It’s been pretty difficult to see any projects outside of that industry. Slalom is supposed to be better for more technology-focused work.
The culture at ZS has been great in my experience. The people are smart and easy to work with. It makes projects fun and challenging and gives you the chance to learn a lot. Since return to office, attendance has been low and office culture is lacking though that’s probably office dependent. I’ve seen most people exit to pharma clients, some healthcare startups, etc. Curious to hear what other ZSers say though
I’ve heard nothing but great things about slalom culture. It’s more laid-back and they care about your WLB but I’ll let someone else with experience comment on that
Thank you!
Chief
ZS partner here -
I know a few people at Slalom. It’s a good firm. People love working there. It regularly wins awards in “best place to work” publications. Their local model with basically no travel and moderate hours is really great for work-life balance.
ZS is also a great firm. We have a more narrow industry focus but a broader array of work types than Slalom. Hours definitely are higher on average, but manageable for most people and not top of industry or anything like that. Some people travel a moderate amount. Very few do the 4-day on site thing.
If you’re looking to maximize comp opportunity and intend to work in consulting for a while, ZS is the way to go. If you want to have a comfortable work-life balance and spend each night at home, give Slalom a look. You won’t go wrong either way.
Chief
The ZS Value & Access practice is excellent and can provide a bridge to other strategic areas within commercial life sciences as well. We don’t do a ton of HEOR work, but people who understand that world and can pivot to value proposition topics can be very successful at ZS.
Rising Star
I love this thread, so surprisingly nice and balanced! Second almost everything that's been said, reinforced by my own experience plus knowing folks at ZS.
To oversimplify, if you value WLB, tech orientated work, and broader client set, look to Slalom. If you'd prefer prestige, higher TC, and HC/LS, go with ZS. (And, I say that as HC/LS @ Slalom.)
Thanks for that additional info!
I was deciding between offers from Slalom and ZS when I made my last transition and ultimately decided that the culture and WLB at slalom was a better fit for me. But ZS seemed great as well, just worse hours, and the package was slightly less, but I’ve heard their raises are better. Decided I’d rather be at the place where 60+ hour weeks are above and beyond, not expected
Gotcha, discussing straight is the right strategy. I'm interviewing after ages so appreciate the insight 😅
Both are great. I have a good friend at Slalom.
You will work a bit harder at ZS, but you will earn a bit less at Slalom. ZS is life sciences, Slalom is tech. All depends on what you value.
Yup, hours and intensity both.
Hard to make any more generalizations, as lot of it is team based too. Some clients may be uptight and some may be relaxed as well.
Wow! Thanks for the genuine and thoughtful insights. I'll take all your inputs into consideration. It's good to see what anyone targeting each of the two firms would get and be getting into.
I'm definitely looking for WLB but I can understand if time and again hours need to go up. I'm also looking to expand my skills (Excel data analysis, Tableau, started learning SQL; do client facing stuff with deck, proposal development, team management; all within RWE). Prefer stay in Life Sciences but interested in versatile competencies like product lifecycle and management, strategy, GTM, etc. Glad that ZS also isn't ruthless about putting in crazy number of hours, that coming from a partner.
Appreciate the honesty!
I will add that at ZS we have flexible options to help you manage your WLB, if that’s something you’re really serious about - I have team members working flex schedules, etc. Not something you’d probably do off the bat, but makes a big difference in terms of long term sustainability
Yeah most def. I have come to realize either you need great coworkers who don't suck out the energy out of you; other hobbies/activities outside of work that add joy; or both :D
Pro
Which firm are you with right now?
Appreciate the q, D1. As it's an anonymous forum, I'd say I work for a small boutique consulting.