Reply to: Advice on perm case study

[PCTNN]

I am interested in what most people are doing then?

I'm in a contract until August, with a potential 12 months extension that will bring me to August 2025.

If I even decide to take the extension. Potentially I could stay out of work for 2+ years, mostly because I don't have 4 young children

[gables]

Thanks again for advice. I am interested in what most people are doing then? Contract market not looking great and am v demoralised by the usual ghosting from agents (although there are a few things bubbling) and it seems from these forums lots are looking for perm roles.

It's mostly remote with a few days a month in the office so hoping I'll manage workload ok. Decent salary for perm too.

Currently in a contract supposedly until end of November, I say "supposedly" because the project workload has dropped of a cliff due to planned work being scaled back. So I'm actively looking and applying for contracts. If\when the contract ends I'll also include perm roles in my search as well.

[Antthe]

Thanks again for advice. I am interested in what most people are doing then? Contract market not looking great and am v demoralised by the usual ghosting from agents (although there are a few things bubbling) and it seems from these forums lots are looking for perm roles.

It's mostly remote with a few days a month in the office so hoping I'll manage workload ok. Decent salary for perm too.

[edison]

Big 4 are getting rid of a lot of staff, in part because the natural attrition rate has fallen as staff are reluctant to leave in the current jobs market.

It's not a great time to be joining big consultancy firms. McKinsey just announced they're offering to pay employees nine months pay to leave the firm and look for work elsewhere.

[gables]

Thanks very much for advice - all v helpful. I meant big 4 - typo but boring to be roasted repeatedly for it.

Contracting prob not for me at this time of life but as we know - hard to cross over to perm as often discredited for being a career contractor. 4 young kids/cost of living/interest rates and mortgage term ending means that of course Im going to worry. I've come out of an inside contract with average day rate so not able to save much due to above reasons.

Anyway, apologies if I posted in the wrong topic and thanks v much to those who've helped. Really keen to nail this.

Have a look on wall st oasis
They have a lot of advice on case studies and market sizing

Be prepared to work about a 80 hours per week at your client, then in your appraisal face questions on why you haven’t done business development, internal work or training

Sorry I can't help with answers to your specific questions; but I'd avoid any "big 4" like the plague (not by any means suggesting I'm a shoe in for a job with them, in fact probably the opposite but I digress) especially as you mention 4 young kids, as I really can't see the work life being conducive to a decent family life at all, as summed up by hungry_hog.

[hungry_hog]

Have a look on wall st oasis
They have a lot of advice on case studies and market sizing

Be prepared to work about a 80 hours per week at your client, then in your appraisal face questions on why you haven’t done business development, internal work or training

[Antthe]

Thanks very much for advice - all v helpful. I meant big 4 - typo but boring to be roasted repeatedly for it.

Contracting prob not for me at this time of life but as we know - hard to cross over to perm as often discredited for being a career contractor. 4 young kids/cost of living/interest rates and mortgage term ending means that of course Im going to worry. I've come out of an inside contract with average day rate so not able to save much due to above reasons.

Anyway, apologies if I posted in the wrong topic and thanks v much to those who've helped. Really keen to nail this.

[sreed]

Sorry about my appalling faux pas and not being up on your in jokes. Just a contractor with 4 young kids who is out of work and panicking looking for some advice about an opportunity that may be decent 🤷

Apologies Antthe I wasn’t poking fun at you and wish you the best with this opportunity!

For resources, given what I know of the big 4 consultants , I’m assuming it’ll be much the same across all of them so perhaps look at the material Deloitte has shared here

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/page...prep-tool.html

Trawl through glassdoor reviews, including the US one for the company, that can give you some tips.

While all this is going on, if cash flow is a concern, I’d also keep looking for a contract as well even if it isn’t the exact kind that matches your experience. Once you’ve got a perm joining date and it’s upon you, you can always quit the contract at short notice.

All the best and hope it works out soon!

[ChimpMaster]

Personally I'd look up the company and even the specific job role on Glassdoor. If nothing, it makes for interesting reading and gives an insight into the employer.

BTW I can empathise with being out of contract but it's part of the game and coming out of a solid 2 year stint should mean you're in a strong position financially to ride out some downtime. You can't worry every time a contract ends - most roles won't last anywhere near that length. If you're not in that position then you really need to re-evaluate if contracting is for you.

Good luck

[avonleigh]

Is there a big 5? Isn't it the big 4? - KPMG, Ernst Young, PWC and Deloitte?

[ladymuck]

Tsk, tsk. This isn't general...

Not sure if any of these links help

https://igotanoffer.com/blogs/mckins...rview-examples

[Antthe]

Sorry about my appalling faux pas and not being up on your in jokes. Just a contractor with 4 young kids who is out of work and panicking looking for some advice about an opportunity that may be decent 🤷

[sreed]

I'm interested to know too.

what industry?

big 5 in finance? or big 5 in the underwear industry

If it’s fish then apparently it’s…

[Antthe]

Thanks for sensible answers 😉. I've googled and nearly all case interview stuff is about management consultancy. Would be good to hear any personal insights on tech case studies but thanks again for signposting.

[BritishLad88]

Who are the big 5 nowadays? So many mergers and splits I've lost count.

I'm interested to know too.

what industry?

big 5 in finance? or big 5 in the underwear industry