Consultant

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OC&C Consultants begin as either successful Associate Consultants, typically with a proven two to three year track record, business school graduates, or recruits from industry with several years' experience.

If we make you a Consultant, it means we consider you a well-rounded professional, capable of taking responsibility for, and contributing significantly to, major aspects of big and important projects.  As a Consultant you will find yourself working closely with a broad cross-section of clients, up to the most senior levels: taking the initiative, supporting and guiding client team members towards workable solutions, and being adept at recognising and addressing their concerns, and building strong, mature and mutually beneficial relationships.

Within the OC&C team, you are the Manager's key  support - and sometime sparring partner – and a confidant and coach for more junior colleagues. They look to and learn from you, as you learn from Managers and Partners. Together you undertake the analyses, develop the hypotheses, and create the  client presentations which underpin and embody our advice and recommendations.

At OC&C, formal learning never ends. Every Consultant goes through a training program whose curriculum encompasses both functional areas such as marketing, finance and economics, and, increasingly, professional and interpersonal skills such as writing, presentation, moderation and influencing. Experienced hires take an extensive course in consulting skills.

Progress through Consultant level is – as always at OC&C – merit based, and objectified through regular feedback and evaluations. We aim for rapid but controlled development. Typically you will remain a Consultant for two to three years.

Thomas
Consultant
“The variety and vibrancy of strategy consulting.”

Before joining OC&C Greater China in 2007 as a Consultant, I'd had a spell with another strategic consulting firm, managed a manufacturing company, and taken an MBA at INSEAD.

I left consulting for industry after business school to see how strategic initiatives turn into results. The experience was very rewarding, but I found myself missing the variety and vibrancy of strategy consulting, so returned to consulting with OC&C. The relatively small size of the Greater China office highlighted the value of peer support, and I get plenty from my colleagues, who are all highly professional and fun.

There's no such thing as a typical day, but the reality varies from a quiet day in the office preparing for a board presentation to running around in Changsha interviewing disco operators and studying how consumers drink. One constant would be the airport, which I visit on average twice a week, going to places throughout China and South East Asia I'd have little chance of visiting otherwise!

Durgesh
Consultant
“You can approach literally anyone for help.”

I joined the Mumbai office in 2008, with a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

One of the most satisfying things about working as a strategy consultant is the way it gives you the chance to get a real insight into a wide range of sectors before making an informed specialisation decision. It is immensely satisfying to see the ideas conceptualised by your team become the basis of change for the client. Other aspects of the appeal include the diversity of experience across different people, divisions and sectors, the challenge of coming up with game-changing ideas, and a chance to make a positive impact to the client's business.

But if those factors tend to characterise all consulting firms, I think the thing above all that really distinguishes OC&C is the way the firm places immense emphasis on the career development of every employee, while ensuring that they deliver nothing but the very best for the client. You can approach literally anyone for help. One more thing: pretty much everyone at OC&C seems to have an amazing sense of humour!

Imke
Consultant
“Challenge, variety and learning quickly in an encouraging environment”

Imke Wouters studied International Business Studies and Law in Maastricht (Netherlands), completing part of her curriculum in Canada and conducted market research in China for Dutch companies.

Strategy consulting means challenge, variety and learning quickly. And it’s project work in teams, which I really like.

I was one of 30 participants in the OC&C International Strategy Workshop in Istanbul workshop. We were selected from several European countries. The workshop was very realistic: we did a mini-assignment for one of OC&C’s clients and I really liked the OC&C people who ran the workshop. That made me decide to join this firm.

A clear plus for OC&C is its flexible approach to people development, along with the variety of the work and the smart people you work with. Also, junior consultants get plenty of opportunity to work closely with directors of the firm. And the training week in Barcelona, with colleagues from all over the world, was really special!

Elcke
Consultant
“I’ve still got a lot to learn – and at OC&C I will”

Elcke Jansen studied Technology Management at Eindhoven University, graduating in Operations Management & Logistics on research she did at Leuven University in Belgium and with ASML, a manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment.

I have to be busy, it energises me. And I’m a good planner – I know how to keep an eye on the total picture. That’s why I became enthusiastic about consulting once I’d decided to go into business. It is a dynamic and analytically challenging profession. And we work in teams of young people.

Why OC&C? For one, the quantitative approach to consulting: developing recommendations on the basis of solid analyses of hard facts. Secondly, the broad perspective we take in our work (an approach which I enjoyed as a student, too) – that is to say, we don’t look at issues in isolation but take the whole business into account.

Finally, OC&C has a super working climate. I’ve clearly got much to learn, still – and at OC&C, I will!

Paul
Consultant

I received an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, which is where I first heard of OC&C and met its US consultants. There were many factors which led to my joining OC&C, but three stood out in particular.

First, OC&C is in a very unique situation in the US – a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment with the resources of the more established international offices. Second, the company offers unmatched opportunity for professional development through its non-hierarchical structure and extensive training programs.

Lastly, the people are the highest-caliber strategy consultants, yet they maintain a very open and collaborative culture. One amazing aspect of OC&C is it’s international focus. Every project I have been involved with has had an international component to it - The facility and frequency of working with international clients and teams really differentiates OC&C.

Joris
Consultant
“At OC&C you get plenty of chances to develop”

Joris Drabbe graduated in mechanical engineering from Delft Technical University, an executive of his student association, the DTU Senate, and several committees. He had internships with OC&C and Procter & Gamble, joining OC&C in February 2005.

OC&C gives you plenty of room to grow. In the project teams to start with of course. But you can very quickly take on a more managerial role in the teams if it seems like you’re up to it. OC&C gives me the variety and the continual challenge that I’m looking for (in a job).

Very exciting are the due diligences we do for potential mergers and acquisitions. Our work informs major decisions that have to be taken quickly. In these projects, you work closely with all kinds of other professionals: investors, bankers, accountants, lawyers and technical (e.g. environmental) specialists.

Henri-Thierry
Consultant

Before OC&C I had an Engineering Background, with some experience of Logistics. I joined OC&C as an Associate Consultant just after the submission of my thesis. My most challenging project was in Russia for a leading dairy product manufacturer. Of course, the excitement was a combination of inextricable problematic, challenging, cultural experience and unique relationship with the client.

Advice to candidates? Be yourself! We want to see structured, dynamic and innovative candidates in our case study interviews, but, above all, we want to meet strong individuals who have something to share and give us a true glimpse of your ambitions and motivations!