Booz Allen Hamilton: An insider guide - Gymkhana

Insider GuideBooz Allen Hamilton2005 EditionHelping you make smarter career decisions.

Table of ContentsBooz Allen Hamilton at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1The Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Competitive Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Industry Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12A Quick History Lesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Organization of the Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Recent Client List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Typical Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23What’s Hot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25On the Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32The Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Workplace Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

At a Glance“We look for good structure, validated assumptions, and other things such ascreativity and business sense.”“We want someone who can think logically, who is responsible and a self-starter.”“You have to be very self-motivated: No one is going to tell you what to do; noone is going to make sure that you show up; no one is going to hold your hand.You have to find the motivation to do it yourself.”“When we recruit, we look for not only strong generalists, we also look forpeople who have good functional expertise.”In the Interview• Typically, you’ll be asked to discuss in detail some aspect of your workexperience, interests, or resume. You may be asked to describe a particularassignment or discuss an industry or current trend. If interviewing with thecommercial side of the firm, you’ll also be asked one or more case questions.These are usually based on an actual client engagement on which theinterviewer has worked.• Your interviewer will be looking for what sets you apart. Think about waysyou’ve demonstrated your ability to meet a unique challenge—whether throughyour involvement in sports, during a previous work experience, or in the courseof your education.What Insiders Say“In contrast to our competitors, we want to be able to bring not only the bigideas, but also the ability to make things happen.”“There’s nothing better than when the [client team] gets the accolades at theend of an engagement. I don’t need that recognition. I’ll get that internallywhen the client CEO calls the partner and says, ‘Your team did a great job.’ Mypartner will know that I did that. I think that’s very different from some of theother firms.”“Coming into consulting from industry, I was pleasantly surprised by howmuch cooperation there really is. I was worried that ‘up-or-out’ would drive alot of negative behaviors, but that’s not the case at all. I think a lot of it just hasto do with the fact that if a team is successful in their work, they all look good.If not, no one really looks good. So there’s little reward in anything less than acooperative outlook.”2

“We tend to hire overachiever types [into the World Technology Business unit].It’s not uncommon to see cars there on the weekend. People seem to really liketheir work. They’re into it. And I’ve felt that, too.”“Everyone is very bright, ambitious, and driven—very high-caliber players. Buton top of that, everyone has a very different perspective and background. Youbring such different perspectives and points of view to a problem that youreally produce a superior answer.”At a GlanceThe Career Ladder• Undergraduates enter the government side of the firm as consultants; currently,the commercial side of the firm hires few undergraduates.• MBAs, who make up the majority of commercial-sector hires, enter asassociates. After 2 to 3 years, they become senior associates and begin tomanage projects. Promotion to principal is the final step before beingelected an officer (informally known as “partner”) of the firm. The firmalso recruits PhDs and other non-MBA advanced-degree holders.• Booz Allen actively recruits experienced hires on both the government andcommercial sides of the firm. Most non-MBAs enter Booz Allen at theassociate level.Revenue2004 revenue: $2.7 billion1-year growth rate: 22.7 percent Personnel HighlightsConsulting professionals, 2004Worldwide 15,000+United States 13,000+New hires, 2004–05Undergraduate 400MBA 250MBA summer hires, 2004 300Note: All figures are WetFeet estimates. Booz Allen does not release hiring projections.3

At a Glance Compensation, 2003–04Undergraduate HiresStarting salary $40,000–65,000Signing bonusn/aRelocation bonusdepends on needMBA HiresStarting salary $100,000Signing bonus$15,000 (can vary)Relocation bonusdepends on needNote: All figures are WetFeet estimates. Booz Allen does not release salary information. Salaries for individuals workingin the firm’s government-sector business tend to be lower than salaries for those in the commercial-sector business.4

The Firm• OverviewThe Firm• Competitive Strategy• Industry Position• A Quick History Lesson• Organization of the Firm• Recent Client List• Typical Studies• What’s Hot5

OverviewThe FirmFounded in 1914 by Ed Booz, who was later joined by Jim Allen and CarlHamilton, Booz Allen Hamilton is one of the most highly regarded firms inthe management consulting industry. With more than 100 offices on six continentsand 15,000-plus employees, it’s also one of the largest. And Booz Allenhas had for years what other consulting firms now strive for: the ability todeliver strategic recommendations and the technological expertise to executethem. The firm stands out not only by helping devise strategy, but also bysticking around to help clients carry out the changes it prescribes. It focuses onlong-term client relationships; consultants work in the trenches and see theirrecommendations put into action.Booz Allen comprises two business units: the Worldwide Commercial Business(WCB) and the considerably larger Worldwide Technology Business (WTB).WCB traditionally caters to Fortune 1000 corporations, competing with strategyconsulting firms such as McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, whereas WTB works withgovernment and other public-sector organizations. WTB’s large-scale implementationprojects have made it more comparable to consulting firms likeAccenture and government-consulting powerhouse SAIC.As it is, Booz Allen’s government business—which employs nearly 12,000—isthriving, so much so that it has enabled the company to expand its commercialofferings. In recent years, the firm has endeavored to create a single, firmwideinfrastructure, including the institution of the Global Operation Team, or GOTeam, which is responsible for the worldwide organization of the entire firm.CEO Ralph Shrader recently told Consulting Magazine, “We recognize where weare different and we know where we are the same. I believe that for the fore-6

seeable future, there will always be a need fordistinctiveness between certain segments of ourbusiness, but there is a lot more in common thanwe ever gave ourselves credit for.” Insiders creditthe diversity of Booz Allen’s clients and serviceswith its relative financial health and continuedgrowth during some difficult years for theconsulting industry. According to one insider,“WTB has been doing very well during thedownturn. While WCB was going down a bit, theWTB grew much faster.”“ ”Everybody worksin teams, but yourindividuality isencouraged. Boozencourages you tofollow your passion.I’ve never feltstifled.The FirmFollowing the consulting slump that hit the industry hard in 2001, Booz Allenseems to be entering a time of growth and optimism. “Of the years I’ve beenhere,” says an 8-year veteran, “we had one of our best years in terms of profitabilitylast year. Our economics are fantastic right now.” Another Europeaninsider agrees, “Public-sector business on the commercial side, which is mostlyconsulting to ministries in Europe, is picking up. The opportunities are quitegood, better than the last couple of years.” Health-care consulting is also on therise. According to the October 2003 issue of Consultants News, “As a specialty,health-care consulting has plenty of job security and growth potential. No matterhow the economy is doing, there is always demand for health-care products andservices.” As a result, firms that cater to the health care industry are in goodstanding. Booz Allen’s work with government agencies that regulate health carehave placed at in the forefront of this market, which ensures some solid groundfor the firm even during volatile economic times.On the commercial side, Booz Allen is organized around industry and functional“natural market” teams. Staff members are hired into a geographical location, orhome team, and project teams are staffed from across the firm’s organizational7

The Firmstructure to meet specific client needs. Every project team, according to insiders,is staffed with a mix of information technology, operations, industry, and strategyexperts. Booz’s commercial career model might be best described as an hourglass:As a new hire, you’ll start by gaining broad exposure, working on at least twoprojects a year in a variety of industries. After a few years of experience, mostof your work will be focused on an industry or technical competency. If youmake it to the level of principal or officer, you’ll again apply your experience toa wider range of cases.“As an associate,” one insider tells us, “most of your work is reasonablystructured: The proposal drives the deliverables, and the job manager is incharge of developing a work plan. You are almost always working on a team,although an associate typically ‘owns’ some kind of work stream. Early on,expect a lot of oversight on your work, but everyone is busy, and the quickeryou demonstrate the ability to write sensibly and quality-check your work, themore leash you will be given. In general, there is a fair amount of rewriting fora big review, but frankly that’s where a lot of really good learning takes place.”Just as on the commercial side, government assignments are staffed with avariety of functional and subject matter experts. This sector, however, isorganized along the following business segments:• Civil• Defense• National securityThis could soon change, however, as one insider says, “The business is currentlybeing managed through these segments. No decision has been made on thefuture of segments. They are just a management device and not key to anyservice offerings, since we use the ‘no walls’ concept.”8

No matter which side of Booz Allen you work on, insiders agree that diversity iswhat sets Booz Allen’s culture apart from that of other management consultingfirms. Says one principal, “Not only do we have a very diverse bunch of peoplehere, but we embrace diversity and look for more of it.” Another insider says,“Everybody works in teams, but your individuality is encouraged. Booz encouragesyou to follow your passion in terms of industry interests. I’ve never feltstifled. I feel like I have a lot of autonomy.” Unlike at some other firms, thisdiversity applies to Booz Allen on a global scale. “You must have an internationalmindset,” one European insider tells us. “We are an international company.Wherever you go in the world, you have someone in the office speakinganother language. I’ve worked with other consulting firms, and this is the onlyone where I’ve really found this international exposure. So you must have aninternational outlook, otherwise you won’t be successful.”The FirmThe Bottom LineThings are picking up all over the consulting industry: Booz Allen was oncampus recruiting in the fall of 2003 and will return in 2004. The firm’sdiversity of clients and expertise in both the private and public sectors havebeen driving factors in its stability. But new hires shouldn’t expect to movefluidly between the two sides of the firm. As one WCB recruiter puts it,“There’s some movement but it’s on the margins. They are really differentbusiness models. I think that’s something people fail to understand. We have awonderful government business, but it has a different set of requirements, skillneeds, education needs, etc., than does the commercial side of our business.”9

Competitive StrategyThe FirmBooz Allen Hamilton’s position in the consulting industry is unique in that itsstrategy practice places it in the top tier, along with McKinsey, Bain, and BCG,while its deep technology expertise puts it well ahead of companies likeAccenture. This combination of strategy and technology—which gives the firmthe ability to help clients carry out its recommendations—is what Booz Alleninsiders say its government and commercial clients have come to expect andrely on. Indeed, many insiders emphasize that its follow-through is one of BoozAllen’s most distinguishing characteristics. “Our value proposition is different,”says one insider, “which makes our culture different. We’re willing to dropeverything to go support a client.” And it’s the culture within the firm thatsupports its ability to offer this brand of thorough support to clients. “[We’re a]firm of very smart, talented individuals who are very concerned about seeingother people be successful,” says another insider. “That translates well into theclient environment because we know that we work very hard to make notourselves but our client look good. We work very hard to make sure that theyunderstand the recommendations, and we work with them to make thoserecommendations happen. So when we leave, we know that our clients aregoing to be able to execute well, because we didn’t just hand them a recommendation—theycreated it with us.”Booz Allen’s track record of serving both government and corporate clients iscertainly its strongest differentiator, but as a result the company is sometimesviewed—by both insiders and outsiders—as two firms within a firm. A companywiderebranding effort was launched in 2001 to position Booz Allen as onefirm serving both public- and private-sector clients, and it succeeded in alleviatingto some degree that perception in the consulting marketplace.10

“Our government clients want the benefit of commercial best practices, whileour corporate clients want the special expertise we’ve developed through ourgovernment work. The tighter linkage between our business units multiplies thefirm’s power. Every team brings the full power of Booz Allen to bear on everyengagement,” a recruiter tells us. “Every commercial engagement is staffed withindustry experts and functional experts in strategy, operations, and IT. Even ifit’s a corporate strategy job, every engagement would have people with thosebackgrounds.” Still, according to most insiders, the division remains distinct.The FirmIn April 2004, one of Booz Allen’s recent initiatives, Global Assurance, becamethe global resilience natural team, a government-side group that deals with issuessurrounding homeland security for business. Booz Allen does similar work,across the firm for both commercial and government clients under what it calls“enterprise resilience,” integrating security into strategic corporate planning.Beyond security, Booz Allen is the logical choice for companies that want tosucceed in an area where the firm has earned top-dog status: working with thegovernment. “We’re seeing an increasing number of companies that want helpdeveloping a plan to do more work with the government,” says one insider.This trend is also evident abroad: “In Europe we have a growing public-sectorbusiness with some major clients in the U.K. and German governments,” saysan insider. ”This is exciting because we are doing the same type of work forthem that we do for commercial clients—and we are ahead of the game in theconsulting field in this.”Insiders see analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, as another of BoozAllen’s competitive strengths. According to one insider, “All consulting firms dothe same kind of work, though perhaps we put more emphasis on analysis andthe research behind our recommendations as opposed to just pulling them outof the sky.” Another tells us, “When we crack a problem, we really crack it. Wesweat a lot of details to get a right answer.”11

Industry PositionThe FirmIn Consultants News’ June 2004 ranking of the “50 Largest ManagementConsulting Firms in the World,” Booz Allen came in at number 12, up fromnumber 16 in 2003. 20 Largest Consulting Firms, by 2003 Consulting RevenueRankFirm1 IBM2 Accenture3 Deloitte4 Capgemini5 CSC6 BearingPoint7 Hewlett-Packard8 McKinsey & Co.9 Mercer10 SAP11 T-Systems12 Booz Allen Hamilton13 LogicaCMG14 Atos Origin15 Oracle16 Unisys17 Altran18 EDS19 TietoEnator20 Watson Wyatt WorldwideSource: Excerpted and reprinted with permission of Consultants News June 2004; Consultants News/Kennedy Information,Peterborough, NH 03458 USA; phone: 800-531-0007; www.ConsultingCentral.com.12

Where MBAs Want to WorkIn 2004, Booz Allen leapt 16 spots, from 26th to tenth, in a ranking ofemployers most popular among MBAs. The following ranking is a result ofUniversum’s 2004 survey of MBAs, who ranked the companies where theywould most like to work. Consulting Firms that Ranked in the Top 50Rank FirmThe Firm1 McKinsey & Co.4 IBM7 Bain & Co.10 Booz Allen Hamilton11 Deloitte13 Boston Consulting Group27 AccentureSource: Based on a study by Universum, published in Fortune. Ann Harrington, Fortune, 4/19/2004.13

A Quick History LessonThe FirmBooz Allen Hamilton dates back to 1914, when founder Ed Booz, a psychologyand economics graduate from Northwestern University, entered the businessworld. From the start, it seems that Mr. Booz was part entrepreneur, partbusiness advisor, and part lone wolf. He worked almost exclusively on his ownfor 15 years, advising the U.S. Army and businesses and conducting marketsurveys and statistical analyses. Booz’s approach was to begin by studying acompany’s management, organization, and personnel. With this process, hehelped define the new industry of management consulting.After hiring George Fry in 1925, Ed Booz expanded his empire to a thirdemployee in 1929: fellow Northwestern economics graduate Jim Allen. Duringthe early years, Edwin G. Booz Surveys was largely a firm of independentconsultants who worked on their own under the Booz umbrella. This lack ofstructure was evidently a little too much for Allen—he actually quit the firmtwice over the years. In 1936, Ed Booz and George Fry, together with newlyhired Carl Hamilton, persuaded Jim that they were ready to develop a formalmanagement structure and operate the firm as an ongoing business. Thus theBooz, Fry, Allen & Hamilton partnership came into being.The firm’s early years were pretty tumultuous, and by the early ’40s both JimAllen and George Fry had bolted for greener pastures. Allen was lured back toBooz for a second time in 1943 (this time as chairman), and today’s Booz AllenHamilton was born. Although Ed Booz gets top billing on the corporateletterhead, Jim Allen is widely credited with building the firm into a consultingpowerhouse by spearheading its growth and diversification.14

Besides working for commercial businesses, the new Booz Allen took on asignificant amount of consulting work for the federal government during WorldWar II, which laid the groundwork for Booz Allen’s modern-day WorldwideTechnology Business (WTB). Although many others vie for multimillion-dollargovernment consulting gigs, WTB has continued to be one of the mostsuccessful businesses in the field.Booz Allen continued to prosper over the years—so much so that its partnersdecided to take the firm public in 1970 under the guidance of a new chairman,Charlie Bowen. A poor showing in the stock market led to the repurchase of thecompany, and Booz Allen has been a privately held corporation ever since. Thetumultuous times continued well into the 1980s, when Michael McCullough putthe already unstable firm through a vast restructuring of everything from industryfocus to geographic areas. By 1988, a third of the partners had jumped ship.The FirmThe 1990s were much more prosperous for Booz Allen. William Stasior tookcharge in 1991, splitting its business into separate government (WTB) andcommercial (WCB) units. The next year, the company moved to McLean,Virginia, now the firm’s corporate headquarters as well as headquarters for itsgovernment business. The Booz Allen commercial-sector business isheadquartered in New York City.In April 1999, Ralph Shrader became the CEO of the company, and he assumedthe chairmanship in October of that year. Awaiting him was a chaotic newconsulting market, in which technology and the Internet were quickly changingthe landscape of the industry. To cope with the changing times, Booz Allenbegan to emphasize its technical savvy. (During the early stages of governmenttesting of the Internet, Booz Allen worked alongside the U.S. Department ofDefense.) One firm insider says, “Ralph Shrader has surfed well in chaotic times.He wasn’t elected for that. The wave of change just overtook the company, buthe incorporated that well into the plan.”15

The FirmIn 2001, Booz Allen was affected (like everyone else) by the bursting of theInternet bubble and a generally slumping economy. However, Booz Allen faredbetter than most firms thanks to the relative strength of its government business.Today, Booz Allen is successfully leveraging the strengths of its WTB andWCB units, and engagements with participants from both units are increasinglycommon. Booz Allen has grown to more than 15,000 employees worldwideand is among the best-known strategy and technology consulting firms in theworld.16

Organization of the FirmView from the TopIn a world of mega-mergers, Booz Allen has remained independent andprivately held. That means the firm’s officers still call all the shots (and pull inthe big bucks). The organization consists of two business units: the corporateconsulting group, called the Worldwide Commercial Business (WCB), and thelarger, government-focused Worldwide Technology Business (WTB). Thoughpeople within the firm are typically aligned with one side of the firm or theother, Booz Allen positions itself as one firm serving both government- andprivate-sector clients.The FirmView from the MiddleBooz Allen has taken a different approach to the standard management consultingsetup. Historically, new commercial-sector hires had to align with a practice group(industry focus) right away. Now Booz Allen prefers that commercial consultants—exceptfor those specializing in IT or operations—start their careersgaining broad skills across industries before they “go deep” and concentrate onone area by joining a natural market team. “I think we lost some people [in thepast] because we weren’t as flexible as we could be,” says a recruiter.Booz Allen’s approach to client work is based on the theory that a complexbusiness problem cannot be adequately addressed using a single methodology,perspective, or framework. The firm’s staffing model brings industry, strategy,operations, and information technology specialists together to form cross-17

functional project teams. “That way our clients get the best thinking from acrossthe firm, rather than just a narrower approach,” says one insider. “Virtual teamsare formed and disbanded as needed, across all areas of expertise within the firm.”Major areas of expertise include the following:The Firm• Strategy• Organization and change leadership• Operations• Information technology• Technology management• Global assurance (homeland defense and enterprise resilience services)View from the BottomOn the commercial side, recruits are encouraged to join the organization in thegeographic location they desire. Commercial-sector recruiters tell us, “In everystep of the recruiting process, we ask candidates for their geographic preference,and 98 percent of the time, they get it. But we know we need X amountof people for the New York office, and we need to know what they’re thinking,too. The people who won’t get their choice are the people who change theirminds six times in the process.” Some offices are more difficult to get hiredinto than others. For instance, recruiters say that San Francisco and New York,which attract people from across the United States, see more competition foravailable positions than does Chicago, which for the most part “attractsgraduates of the University of Chicago and Kellogg, but not Columbia.”The location you join becomes your home team. Early in your Booz Allencareer, you’ll work across industries and natural market teams. According to aprincipal at the firm, “You can express interests and preferences, but weencourage folks to work across multiple types of industries and jobs. People18

come in the door and say, ‘I’m a media guy, and I only want to be a media guy’—we look for people to be more rounded than that. Early on, we encouragefolks to get out and kind of kick around a bit.”The typical workweek means Monday through Thursday at the client’s location,wherever that might be, and a return to your home-team location on Friday.Insiders report that people in some offices have less intense travel demands.Those who prefer to travel less might want to join Booz Allen’s governmentconsulting practice. It’s headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and most of itsclients are situated in and around nearby Washington, D.C.The FirmRather than spread its staff among hundreds of different clients, Booz Allen prefersto serve a smaller group of core clients. It isn’t uncommon for the firm tosimultaneously staff several teams working on different projects for a single client.A typical commercial team may consist of the following:• One or two consultants• Four or five associates• Two or three senior associates• One or two principals• One partnerBut teams on some projects, particularly those on the government side, may besubstantially larger. And teams are often joint engagements that include consultantsfrom both the government and commercial sectors. In addition, virtuallyall project teams include members of the client organization—in accordancewith Booz Allen’s belief that, to deliver enduring results, clients themselvesmust be an integral part of the consulting process. “We most often work inteams,” says an insider. “The structure is normally a principal running a project.Senior associates have teams of four to five that they run, which include BoozAllen associates mixed with client personnel. I actually had a team of 13 clients19

at one engagement. At another, I had two subteams, each with a Booz Allenassociate and two clients.”The FirmThere are seven job titles at Booz Allen, ranging from consultant (the entrypoint for undergrads) to senior vice president (known inside the firm as seniorpartner), but job titles don’t seem to get in the way of a team effort to doquality work. One Booz principal says, “When I came here, I expected muchmore of a hierarchy. In reality, you find yourself in a team room with all levelsof people on either side of you, and you cannot help but have contact andinteraction. On the client site, it might be a little more structured and hierarchical,but still, I would feel absolutely comfortable walking into a seniorpartner’s office here, as I would hope an associate or consultant would feelwalking into my office.” Another tells us, “It’s a real meritocracy. You get toshow what you’re good at, and you get rewarded for it. This isn’t the kind ofplace where people try to get credit for things they didn’t do.” A WTB insidersays, “I have never once felt like I am being taken less seriously or prohibitedfrom doing my job because of my level. Once I had proven my credibility with[upper management], they gave me resources and trusted me to do my job andgave lots of coaching and mentoring. There was never any feeling of beingsecond-class because I was junior to them.” And a senior associate says, “I waspromoted to senior associate last fall and all three of the people at my levelwere supportive. We each used the other as a sounding board. As a matter offact, there’s a lot of cooperation. I often get referrals to others who may havehad a similar business problem to the one on my project, and I’ll contact themout of the blue. I often get a quick e-mail back with a thorough explanation oftheir situation and some reference material. Very helpful.”Insiders say that promotions occur faster than they used to, and recruitersconfirm that there is interest in promoting people more quickly. “There is noofficial time it takes to make partner,” says a recruiter. “Every path is customcrafted.”20

Recent Client ListDespite consulting firms’ notorious secrecy about their clients, we’ve turned upa few that Booz Allen has worked with:Abbott LaboratoriesAmazon.comAmerican ExpressBlue Cross Blue ShieldBMWBoeingBorden, Inc.BP-AmocoCaterpillarChicago Transit AuthorityDallas SymphonyE-TradeFederal Aviation AdministrationFord Motor CompanyGeneral ElectricGovernment of PeruGroup AXAGrupo SynkroHoneywellHudson-Bergen Light Rail Project (New Jersey)Internal Revenue ServiceL’OréalThe Firm21

The FirmLucent TechnologiesMetropolitan Life Insurance Co.Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands)MotorolaMTV NetworksMuseum of Television and RadioNational Basketball AssociationThe Nature ConservancyNet BrasilNew Jersey TransitNew York TimesNissanProcter & GamblePfizerSpecial Olympics, Inc.Standard & Poor’sTAG HeuerTurner BroadcastingUnited AirlinesU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationU.S. National GuardWashington, D.C., Police DepartmentThe World Bank22

Typical StudiesU.S. Federal Transportation AuthorityAfter 9/11, Booz Allen helped the U.S. Department of Transportation FederalTransit Administration (FTA) assess the security of public-transit systemsnationwide. With a team that included security, transportation, and counterterrorismexperts, Booz Allen developed and implemented a novel threat-andvulnerability-assessmenttool in just 30 days—in time to secure Utah’s publictransit for the Winter Olympics. According to the FTA, the Booz Allen team“identified important concerns at even the most well prepared agencies.”The FirmU.S. Transportation CommandMore than half the soldiers wounded in Operation Desert Storm were taken towrong locations and ill-facilitated hospitals. After the conflict, the U.S. TransportationCommand realized that it needed to drastically overhaul its patienttrackingprocedures. Five years after beginning work on a system, catchily titledthe Regulating and Command and Control (C2) Evacuation System (TRAC2ES),to address these issues, it was still not in operation. Booz Allen stepped in andtransformed the Web-based system to instantaneously track patients fromorigin to destination throughout the military’s health care system, during warand peace times. TRANSCOM officials subsequently report that TRAC2ES hassaved lives during recent encounters in Afghanistan and Iraq.23

Bangkok BankThe FirmIn the wake of the Asian financial crisis of the late ’90s, Bangkok Bank, one ofthe largest financial institutions in Southeast Asia, was on the brink of collapse.Booz Allen instituted a rapid “fix and build” program that not only restoredand increased the bank’s profitability, but modernized its business model, overhauling500 branches and ultimately positioning it ahead of the competition.Among other strides: Between 2001 and early 2003, the bank’s stock rose 23.5percent compared to its main competitor’s 7.5 percent.Space-Based Blue Force TrackingTogether with the U.S. Space Command, Booz Allen devised a way to use globalpositioning system technology to track battlefield movement in real time. Named“Space-Based Blue Force Tracking,” the system, which is attached to existing satellitepayloads, is used to streamline vast operations and locate wounded soldiers. Tomake the project work, Booz Allen not only engineered the technology, but alsoimplemented organizational changes, secured funding, and convinced variousmilitary constituencies to accept the new system. Three months before its pilottestdate, Blue Force was put to use in Afghanistan, and according to Booz Allen,senior military commanders now rank Blue Force Tracking among the three mostimportant new capabilities available to allied forces in Afghanistan.Innovative Approach to “Brownfield” ProjectBooz Allen used its expertise in outreach, regulatory analysis, and land-use planningto help turn long-neglected buildings in Denver, Colorado, into a thriving,livable community space. This project won the Pennsylvania Department ofEnvironmental Protection’s Phoenix Award, a prestigious award that acknowledgesinnovative projects that return unused or abandoned industrial andcommercial sites to productive uses.24

What’s HotShort and Sometimes SweetThough the economy is still unreliable, business is picking up in the consultingindustry, especially from the lows of 2001 and early 2002. But clients are lookingto get more bang for their consulting buck, and at least on the commercial side,insiders report that engagements are generally shorter than they used to be. Ofcourse, the multimonth mega-projects still exist, but well-defined 6- to 8-weekengagements seem to be becoming increasingly common. One insider tells us thatshorter projects can mean longer hours, but they also means there’s a good chancethat you’ll see plenty of variety. “In the 2 years I’ve been here,” says one associate,“I’ve worked on several strategy and operations projects in a number of industries,including energy, health care, and financial services.” Another insider says,“The assignments in the market are now a little shorter than before. They used tobe 6 months to 1 year; now we work 2- to 3-month assignments. So, we have tobe faster and more flexible in staffing people.” And a government-side insiderwarned that recent “rapid growth is causing a significant amount of work.”The FirmWorking for the GovernmentWTB insiders report that they are afforded what is a comparative luxury in theworld of consulting—a personal life outside of work. If you’re not sure youcan hack the demanding lifestyle of a commercial consultant, you could find abetter work/life balance on the government side of the firm. WTB tends towork on longer, multiyear contracts, and many government-sector consultantsare based in the federal government’s backyard, in McLean, Virginia, which25

The Firmaccounts for the key quality-of-life difference between WTB and WCB. “Myclients are 10 miles away,” says one insider. Another adds, “Some of my WCBcolleagues travel 80 percent of the time. I’m not on the road every Mondaythrough Thursday. I travel maybe 40 percent of the time.” However, anotherinsider adds, “It’s not a place where you can hang out and be a slacker. If youcome in hoping for that, then you will be quickly overcome.”And there’s no indication that government-sector work isn’t every bit as interestingand challenging as that of its commercial-sector cousin. “I’ve gotten towork for a multitude of clients,” says one WTB insider, “because other teamscome to us. Even though my team has the same technical theme, there’s a greatdiversity of work.” Says another, “I’ve done well at the firm by being able toadapt and figure out how my skills, my team’s skills, and my service offerings fitdifferent client needs. It’s not just applying the same thing over and over.”Security BlanketBooz Allen has long worked for government agencies, such as the CIA andNSA, on national security issues. But after September 11, the firm recognized aneed for similar services in the commercial sector. Cue “Enterprise Resilience,”Booz Allen’s cross-firm initiative encompassing homeland security for thegovernment sector, business resilience for its corporate clients, and the securityneeds shared by both.One insider describes the type of work Enterprise Resilience teams have done:“If your computers all went through the World Trade Center, we could helpyou figure out if you should build a redundant call center. We’ll help you handlethe overflow, which is a big deal for information-intensive industries such asbanking and insurance. We’ve also done war-gaming exercises. We did abioterrorism war game involving the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control,26

insurance companies, and HMOs. It was a 3-day game to model what wouldhappen if smallpox broke out in a city like Detroit or Virginia Beach. We’retrying to help people understand the scary world we live in.”James Woolsey, a Booz Allen vice president who used to run the CIA, is one ofthe most prominent members of the firm working in this area.Feel-Good ConsultingThe FirmBooz Allen makes an effort to offer its consultants plenty of opportunities todo good deeds. One insider working on a project for the Children’s DefenseFund says, “This is my second pro bono project at Booz Allen, and I thinkthat’s kind of nice. It makes me feel good about my consulting work. My officetakes that seriously, and we treat them just like any other client. It’s a greatopportunity, and I’m not sure I’d be able to do it at any other firm.” Anotherhot pro bono project is the Harlem Small Business Initiative, which Booz Allenworks on in collaboration with Columbia Business School and the NationalBlack MBA Association. Former President Bill Clinton is another high-profileparticipant in the project. “It’s a project that has been generating a lot ofinternal buzz,” says one insider. It’s worth noting that Booz Allen doesn’t limititself to charitable involvement and pro bono projects with star power; itsroster includes the Special Olympics, the United Negro College Fund,Christmas in April, and Amigos de las Americas.In 2004, Booz Allen signed a 3-year agreement to take over title sponsorship ofthe PGA Tour event in Washington, D.C. The event—formerly the KemperOpen, now the Booz Allen Classic—attracts more than 180,000 fans annually.“One of our primary reasons for doing this,” an insider says, “was to be able togive back to the Washington metro community. We have committed to donateat least $1 million every year to nonprofits in the D.C. area. In the first 23 years27

The Firmof the tournament, it raised only $8 million for charity, most of which was notearmarked for charities in the local area. So this is a huge deal.” The PGAsponsorship also reflects the company’s current initiative to raise the profile ofthe Booz Allen brand. “Our brand has never been better,” says one insider.“We’re investing in our brand in ways that we never did before. [Historically]we’ve been a little bit more discreet, but we’re being more aggressive aboutgetting our message out now.”28

On the Job• Consultants• AssociatesOn the Job29

ConsultantsOn the JobIn 2004, Booz Allen will be recruiting MBAs and others with advanced degreesinto its commercial business almost exclusively. Undergraduates from leadingcolleges and universities are more likely to find opportunities on the governmentside of the firm. Undergraduates enter the firm with the title of consultant.According to one recruiter, “The profile of the type of undergraduate we recruitfor WTB varies. We look for technical people, especially those with electricalengineering and computer science degrees. We also look for people with businessbackgrounds who can do analysis.” Though not common, there are alwaysexceptions, as one WTB insider explains, “We tend to look for engineers, computerscientists—people who have information systems and telecommunicationsbackgrounds. But I have somebody on my team who has a bachelor’s and amaster’s in philosophy, because the person is very logical.”The move away from hiring consultants into the commercial side of the firmreflects corporate clients’ preference for having more senior people on projects.However, the general lack of consultants on projects has not gone unnoticedby associates (MBAs and other advanced-degree holders). “It’s a reflection ofthe market, but it’s unfortunate because it piles more work onto associates,”says one. That said, a few consultants are still doing work within WCB, and thework they do is similar to that of associates, including the following:• Conduct industry research• Develop analytical approaches to solving business problems• Run computer models• Interview clients30

• Analyze data• Participate in group brainstorming sessionsA Day in the Life of a Consultant8:30 Grab coffee and a scone on the way into theoffice.8:45 Discuss how to structure our analysis ofhow much profit a television show generatesfor the network: What costs will we include?What are the direct costs vs. the indirect and shared costs that will beallocated across all of the shows?10:30 Call accounting office to request report with show-by-show productioncosts and advertising revenues.11:15 Dial into Knowledge Online (KOL) system to uncover internal companyresources on TV programming profitability.12:30 Ask team member to pick up a sandwich and Coke so I can keep surfingKOL.1:30 Call television trade organizations and order reports on televisionadvertising.2:00 Leave voice mail for several communications, media, and technologyassociates who reportedly have worked on similar studies.2:30 Start developing television show profitability model.3:30 Quick meeting with associate to discuss modeling technique.4:00 More time on the spreadsheet.5:00 Run down to accounting to pick up cost/revenue report before theaccountants all head home. Whoa! Plenty of new data to crunch!7:00 Day’s over. Head out for dinner with rest of the team. Tonight’s topic:Which slide will the partner want to change first?9:00 Home, sweet home.“ ”The environmenthere is morecollaborative thancompetitive. Theterm ‘teamwork’ isreally lived here.On the Job31

AssociatesNew MBAs at Booz Allen are hired as associates. Most of their time is spentworking as a part of a project team. “As an associate, it’s my job to gather data,test that data and check the accuracy of it, follow up with clients to make sure Icompletely understand the data, and ask the right questions in order to put ittogether and come up with sound results.”On the JobEven relatively recent associate hires enjoy a great deal of responsibility onproject teams. While working on a project, one associate reports that she “led aclient team of about eight VPs and general managers. We developed growthforecasts and looked at new markets. There were four associates, two seniorassociates, and a partner on the case, but each associate was basically runninghis or her own work team.” A recruiter explains the process: “We hire a kind of‘athlete’ out of business school: someone who’s really smart and dedicated. Itrain them how to be a management consultant. I put them on a series of jobsthat are anywhere from 8 weeks to 5 months, and I build a tool kit that’s goingto help them get to the next level. Then I tend to use the different levels of thefirm as an apprenticeship program to help train them. It’s a very differentbusiness model.”Associates are responsible for a number of different tasks, which varydepending on the type of engagement. Here’s a representative list:• Develop financial models• Facilitate work-group discussions• Conduct industry research and interview clients• Lead brainstorming meetings with project team32

• Prepare presentations and write reports; present portions of presentations tosenior management• Help manage client teamsA Day in the Life of an Associate7:30 Catch flight to Dallas for another week at everyone’s favorite oil-companyclient. Our job: Evaluate international retail-expansion opportunities. Myjob: Focus on opportunities in Australia and Asia; offer recommendationsto the officer in charge.10:30 Arrive at client site just in time for a meeting with client’s director ofstrategic planning. He says the company once considered opening aretail franchise in Australia but decided against it—too pricey. I’mthinking, “What about acquisition opportunities?”11:30 Work with consultant to generate data on petroleum franchises inAustralia.12:30 Quick lunch break: sandwiches in the cafeteria with the rest of the team.1:00 Back to the data collection project. Discover one franchise that looksinteresting—several outlets, but lower profitability than other chains.What’s behind this? Put a consultant on the case.2:30 Meet with the officer from operations for a project update and statusreport. He says I’m doing a fantastic job and perhaps there’s a projectmanagement opportunity in my future. Yes!3:00 Consultant has gathered great data on the target franchise. Now my jobis to put this into a financial model that tells a story: Is this a potentialacquisition target? Is there an opportunity to add value to this franchise,or is it a dog?4:00 I can’t believe it. My laptop just crashed—I hate the new version ofExcel! Think I’ll cool off by taking a quick walk around the building.4:40 Work with consultant to reconstruct that beautiful model I lost in virtualspreadsheet land.7:00 Time to wrap it up for the day. Outline objectives for tomorrow’smeetings.On the Job33

8:00 Check in at the Four Seasons.8:30 Get onto the Stairmaster before the health club closes.9:30 Grab dinner at the hotel restaurant, call my boyfriend, and settle in foran early evening.On the Job34

The Workplace• Lifestyle• Culture• Workplace Diversity• Compensation• Civic Involvement• Vacation• Training• Career PathThe Workplace• Insider Scoop35

LifestyleIn 2003, Consulting Magazine ranked Booz Allen sixth among the “Top 10 BestConsulting Firms to Work For” in the United States and second in the “Morale”category. Though consulting can be a grind, Booz Allen does make an effort tokeep its employees happy while they are being productive. The firm recentlycollected numerous other awards for work/life balance:The Workplace• Ranked second among the “Best Places to Work” in The Netherlands (HetFinancieele Dagblad and Great Place to Work Institute, 2004)• Among the top 25 “Best Places to Work” in Germany (Psychonomics AGand Great Place to Work Institute)• Named to the top 10 “Most Desirable MBA Employers” (Fortune, 2004)• Named to the top 10 of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers”(Working Mother, 2003)• One of 50 “Great Places to Work” in Washington, D.C. (Washingtonian)• One of the “100 Best Places to Work in IT” (Computerworld)• Recipient of a BEST Award (American Society for Training andDevelopment, 2003)• Recipient of a Workplace Excellence Award (Society for Human ResourcesManagement)Booz Allen encourages flextime, and more than 45 percent of employees takethe firm up on it. Employees job share, work compressed weeks or flexiblehours, and telecommute from around the world—which the firm supports withlaptops, e-mail, and dial-in lines for ready access to its intranet resources. Since2000, the firm has invested $10.8 million in laptop computers, and in 2002,Booz Allen took steps to improve remote connectivity. These efforts haveincreased employees’ work options: “We certainly have the capacity to do36

everything remotely, which has created opportunitiesfor people,” says an insider. “Now we havepeople who live in Rhode Island and Pennsylvaniawho are able to network their way into our NewYork, Boston, or McLean offices—the Northeasternhub. So there is a bit more flexibility inlocation.”Travel Requirements“ ”Hotshots burn outquickly here. Youmay be successfulin the short term,but people won’twant to work withyou again.On the commercial side, the firm’s travel policies include attempting to bringeverybody back to the home office on Fridays and not scheduling client presentationson Mondays. The 5-4-3-2-1 program recommends that consultants andassociates be limited to 5 days of work per week, 4 days and 3 nights at theclient site, two projects per year, and one project at a time. The firm tries to hitthese goals 80 percent of the time, recognizing that they’re not always attainableon teams assigned to projects with short time frames. According to an insider,“If you need to limit travel, the firm will try to balance the business’s needs withyour development needs to accommodate that.”“We’re trying to put people within a 3-hour drive of their home office,” aninsider tells us. “We’re still trying to embrace the 5-4-3-2-1. We also have a new[experimental] role in the New York office, an ombudsman who is responsible ina nonthreatening way for monitoring the work/life balance in different jobs. Weembrace a generic social contract which is committed to certain workload levels;preservation of agreed-upon things that are important to the team: certain nightsoff, respect for appointments that are outside of the office, preservation offamily events, etc.”The Workplace“There’s no getting away from the fact that you’re out of town most of theweek,” adds one insider. I’ve lived in Dallas for 3 years and don’t have a great37

network of friends yet.” But others, like one insider who tells us his dailycommute is an hour and a half from door to desk, actually prefer out-of-townassignments. “At the client site, everything is written off as an expense, andthere’s no (daily) commute,” an insider says. And then there’s the insider whowas not complaining when he told us that he’d “flown on a chartered Learjetfor the last 8 weeks.”Those who work on the government side report that considerably less travel isrequired of them, primarily because many of their clients are located near thefirm’s McLean, Virginia, headquarters or near other large government-focusedoffices, including San Diego and Colorado Springs.HoursThe WorkplaceHours at Booz Allen depend largely on the practice to which you are assigned,the client, and the stage of the project. A principal tells us, “You’re generally atthe client site Monday through Thursday, and then you’re looking at 12- to14-hour days, maybe a little less on Monday because you’re on an early flight.Friday, you’re looking at a 10-hour day. There’s a ramp-up phase at the beginningof a project, where the hours are more aggressive; then an execution phase,where it’s more manageable; and then at the end another ramp-up phase to tie itall together. Short-burn projects are more aggressive.” Another insider notes thatoperations projects tend to have slightly shorter hours than strategy projects.The average workweek is reportedly between 55 and 70 hours, but insiders saypersonal time off is available when you need it. “I got married this year,” saysone, “and they told me to take as much time as I needed.” Correspondingly, asenior associate who’s been with the firm for 5 years says, “I took 6 months outof my career track to be a school manager. I needed some time: My secondchild was born, and I wanted to spend some time at home and not traveling38

[for work].” Several insiders emphasize that atBooz Allen you have the ability to adjust thepressure and that managers are receptive torequests for help. Says one, “Now that I’m moresenior, and I’ve built up a decent reputation, I cansay, ‘I will do this tonight, but I won’t be able to getthe other stuff done,’ because I won’t stay up allnight anymore. It becomes more manageable whenyou have the courage to say, ‘This is what I canachieve tonight, and this is what I plan to achievein the next few days. I’m overwhelmed. Can youhelp me prioritize?’ The managers don’t alwaysrealize when they’re overloading you.”“ ”You’re generally atthe client site Mondaythrough Thursday,and then you’relooking at 12- to 14-hour days, maybe alittle less on Mondaybecause you’re on anearly flight. Friday,you’re looking at a10-hour day.A senior associate on the government side says, “The number-one thing I likeabout Booz Allen is the flexible work/life balance. I haven’t been at a 100 percent[work time] in the 3 years since my son was born. I’m home Wednesdays andFridays with the baby.” She notes, however, that she works in an area that allowsemployees to manage the work/life balance. Not every team can do that. “Thereare some legitimate reasons why that is not uniform across WTB, given certaincontract and classified requirements. For example, you’ve got to do classifiedwork in the office. But let me tell you, there are some teams that are not up tospeed with that [work/life balance].”The WorkplaceStill, when the hours get intense, Booz Allen provides support. “We saywork/life balance is important,” says an insider, “but there’s the reality ofconsulting. [The firm] really values employees. It will provide company cars ifyou leave after dark and dinner allowances when you work late.”39

CultureConsultants throughout the firm stress that you’ll be hard-pressed to find asingle “Booz Allen type.” In fact, in interviews with firm insiders, the worddiversity is used with eerie frequency: “We have a very diverse bunch of peoplehere—all kinds of backgrounds, walks of life, and perspectives,” says oneinsider. Another says, “It’s very diverse and a little eclectic in the sense that wemay all appear to be professionals and consultants upon first meeting, but onceyou get to know the individuals, you’re constantly amazed by where people arecoming from and what they’ve done.” Yet another says, “The people are prettydiverse as far as interests and educational backgrounds are concerned. Peoplehave dreams outside of consulting.” In fact, it appears that at Booz Allen theonly lack of diversity is in insiders’ opinions of their colleagues.The WorkplaceBooz Allen Family ValuesWithin its diverse workforce, Booz Allen instills a prevailing ethic that resonatesclearly across the firm. “Booz Allen is a company made up of many individuals,who are very different, but have in common that they believe in the samevalues,” says one insider. “Based on that, one could say that we have a culturewhere the individual comes first, closely followed by the firm—not the otherway around.” Similarly, a government-side insider says, “The culture of WTB iscentered around a set of core values that are explicitly stated on the first pageof the [employee] manual. Every single employee, no matter what level, isassessed on them every year. It’s the first thing the senior managers look atwhen determining how to progress someone. It’s not a platitude. It’s very mucha values-based culture.”40

Competition and personality clashes might be“ ”expected at a firm staffed by so many individualists,but insiders say that conflicts are rare.“The atmosphere is definitely a combination ofintellectual competition and camaraderie,” saysone insider. “I do not find any competitionbetween my peers within the firm; ...[instead,the] high level of demand placed on each of us todeliver quality thinking to our clients makes uscompete against these expectations but not eachother. The people are great to work with and allhave very interesting and diverse backgrounds toshare.” Says another, “The atmosphere at BoozAllen is very challenging but also very friendly. You work with an intellectual setof people; however knowledge is shared and there is a very familial atmosphere.It is competitive but not in a negative sense—more collegial. The team needs tocrack the case, not the individual.”You have to beconfident enough todispassionately sitback and pick throughsomething you’ve justsaid. People try to tearyour idea apart, so youcan’t be thin-skinned.It’s a complimentwhen people take youridea and pull it apart.In general, Booz Allen exists as a relatively laid-back alternative to the BCGsand McKinseys of the consulting world. “I think Booz Allen’s culture is moredown to earth and supportive than some firms,” says one insider. “I feel thatthe people in my office really care about each other. People are always sharingknowledge and helping each other out.”The WorkplaceBut laid-back and supportive doesn’t always mean warm and fuzzy. Anotherinsider says that “You have to be comfortable with your ideas and confidentenough to dispassionately sit back and pick through something you’ve just said.People try to tear your idea apart, so you have to be ready to contribute, butyou can’t be thin-skinned. It’s a compliment when people take your idea andpull it apart.”41

Friends, Romans, Coworkers?Most insiders with whom we talked emphasized the balance struck between funand professionalism at their individual offices. “The people here are very funloving,and I’ve made some lifelong friends here. But I also like the fact thateveryone here is extremely professional. Everyone here is really smart, and it’snice being around people I can learn a lot from and who challenge me,” aninsider says. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on the team youwork on. “There is a fair amount of variation in the subcultures of differentproject teams,” says an insider. “Some partners and job managers are veryoutgoing, with lots of team dinners and other fun interactions. Some are morein the ‘eat your spinach’ mode and head back to the hotel to do e-mail androom service. But it’s a decent balance.”The WorkplaceLikewise, office structure varies depending on where you’re stationed. In someoffices, staffers have assigned spaces, whereas others consist of virtual offices,sometimes called hoteling. “There’s a ranking system. First you share an office,then the office has a window, and then you get a private office,” says an insiderassigned to the McLean, Virginia, headquarters. “Then there’s a virtual office ina hub where you come in and get assigned a place to sit.” Some offices, like theLondon office, have a combination of both types. “There are people who aresquatters and have their own offices. And there’s the bullpen, if you’re juststopping in.”A New York insider says, “There are sets of cubicles for the associates [in theNew York office]. There are five or six associates in large rooms so they cantalk. The senior associates have their own offices. Most of the doors are open.There’s a laptop on every desk and team rooms in every hallway. I was just inwith my team—a working session over lunch. Because of the cubicle setup,associates can conduct conversation that’s both professional and social.”42

Another insider counters, saying, “There isn’t a lot of chit-chat between employees,which I think stems from the fact that we share offices and too muchtalking could be distracting.”According to one insider, “On the client site, there’s a lot of social interaction,and that’s a lot of the appeal. In terms of the office culture, there’s definitelysome of that, but it’s difficult. People are on the road, so on a Friday orSaturday, there’s a real inclination to go visit your other life and your friendsoutside of work. Do we do things socially as a work group? Absolutely. Isthere a super-robust after-hours environment? Probably less than I would liketo see, but would I participate in it a lot more? That’s difficult to say.” Even so,many insiders mention seasonal outings, happy hours, and other informalsocial opportunities. Some offices schedule activities—like ice cream socialsand citywide scavenger hunts—to get employees together. And more than oneinsider mentions marriages that were made not only in heaven, but also onBooz Allen project teams.Cutbacks after 2001 and the recent hiring boom have both had some effect onemployees’ relationships. Says one insider, “Social interaction outside of workreally varies by level. I think it used to be considerably better a few years ago,but coming out of the downturn, I think people are a little gun-shy and tend toinvest a little less in work relationships. In general, though, it’s a decent place tocome in as an associate. As you get more senior, most folks have some strongpersonal relationships with a couple other folks in the office, usually in theircohort.”The WorkplaceA WTB insider says the recent increases in hiring on that side are being feltamong staff. “We are growing so fast on the TB side; we have all these newpeople across the firm who don’t know Booz Allen. So this culture thing ishard. It’s not something I don’t like, but it’s a concern.”43

Workplace DiversityBooz Allen began a formal, firmwide diversity initiative in 1993 and appointeda director of diversity to oversee diversity recruiting, staff development, retention,training, policies, and benefits. For at least one insider, Booz Allen’scommitment to diversity was a significant factor in his decision to join the firm:“Since I’m African-American, it meant a lot to me that Booz Allen had quite afew black partners. It meant they took diversity seriously, and that was a bigselling point.” The firm actively recruits at minority conferences such as theNational Black MBA and National Hispanic MBA conferences. In 2001, thefirm rolled out a new paid internship program for college juniors and seniorswho attend any of the United Negro College Fund’s 39 member colleges anduniversities.The WorkplaceMinority hiring trends tend to differ from office to office, though some insidersreport that the government side of the firm is more diverse than the commercialside. “It’s still largely Asian and Caucasian, not as much Latino and African-American,” says an insider. A WCB insider says, “I think minorities seems to dobetter [here] in general. We’re certainly not representative of the general populationat higher levels, but we’re better than most of our clients.” Still anotherinsider says, “There probably aren’t enough minority and women in uppermanagement. We have a good mix of minorities and women up to the point ofthe senior associate position. Once people get to the more senior point, wehaven’t been able to maintain that [level of diversity]. We don’t have as manyfemale partners as some of our competitors do, [but] I don’t think it’s anythingcultural.”44

Internally, the company has many employee groups that support diversity in theworkplace, including the African-American Forum, Asia-Pacific–AmericanForum, Blacks at Booz Allen, ESL Pilot Group, German Diversity Task Force,Hispanic Forum, Hispanic Interest Group, Booz Allen Hamilton ParentsNetwork, Disability Forum, Disabilities Task Force, Junior Exempt EmployeeForum, Nonexempt Employee Forum, and GLOBE Forum (for gay, lesbian,bisexual, and transgendered employees).The firm’s Women of Greater Washington along with other site-specific women’sforums addresses gender issues at the firm. Insiders report that women at BoozAllen generally support one another, offering “encouragement and mentoring.”Diversity TrainingAccording to a Booz Allen recruiter, “Our former CEO was a huge proponentof diversity, as is Ralph Shrader, our current CEO, and it really gives it a lot ofweight, coming from the top like that.” The firm is making diversity trainingmandatory for its officers and principals, and it offers a half-day course to teachmanagers how to conduct interviews that are both probing and sensitive todiversity. For all staff, the firm offers courses in diversity such as “WorkingEffectively in a Diverse Organization” and “Managing in a Diverse Organization,”computer-based courses designed to strengthen employees’ diversity skills, andbrown-bag lunch sessions on topics such as “Interacting with People withDisabilities.”The WorkplaceBooz Allen’s Professional Development Diversity Series, open to all employees,is an employee-driven, firm-sponsored series of professional development workshopsthat includes the Women’s Professional Development, Asian AmericanProfessional Development, African-American Professional Development, LatinAmerican Professional Development, and Sexual Orientation in the Workplacecourses. Booz Allen also provides sexual harassment awareness training foremployees.45

The firm has a diversity intranet site, which includes information aboutdiversity at the firm and links to forums’ websites. Its “Disability One-Stop”site, sponsored by the firm’s Disability Forum, provides training, information,and resources for staff with disabilities and the people they work with, workfor, or supervise.RecognitionBooz Allen’s commitment to attracting, hiring, and retaining a diverse workforcehas garnered the firm awards and acclaim from a number of corners. BoozAllen has been recognized for its diversity initiatives by such organizations as theHuman Rights Campaign, Black Collegian magazine, and the National Disabilityand Business Council. In the July 2002 issue of Consulting Magazine, five African-American Booz Allen officers were profiled. The firm also received severalawards last year for its diversity efforts:The Workplace• Excellence Through Diversity Award (Parents and Friends of Lesbians andGays of Metropolitan, Washington, D.C.)• Employer of Choice (Minority Corporate Counsel Association, 2004)• New Freedom Initiative Award (U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, 2003)In addition, Booz Allen has an annual awards ceremony to recognize employeeswho’ve made a significant professional contribution to enhancing the firm’sdiversity.Opportunities for WomenIn addition to being recognized for its commitment to diversity, Booz Allen hasbeen named to Working Mother’s list of the “100 Best Companies for WorkingMothers” for each of the last 5 years. Moreover, in 2002 and 2003, the firmwas among the top ten and ranked number one among consulting firms. “We’re46

exceptionally proud of that, but we have a longway to go,” says a recruiter. In September 2000,the firm opened the Booz Allen Family Center,to provide child care, including an all-daykindergarten and extended-hours care, atcompany headquarters in McLean, Virginia. In2002, the firm extended its child-care benefits toemployees nationwide, by partnering with twochild-care companies, each with more than 620locations across the United States.Booz Allen has allowed officers to work parttimeand offers parental leave to both male andfemale employees. In a few instances, womenhave been elected to the partnership level whileworking part-time. The firm sponsors a numberof networking lunches and forums for female employees and a new Women’sProfessional Development Course. Every year the firm also recognizes six ofits female colleagues with the Women of Distinction Award. This is a colleaguenominatedaward that honors women who exemplify strong character andspirit, selflessness, sensitivity, and balance.Some insiders think the firm could do a better job when it comes to promotingwomen. One female insider says, “They’ve got the diversity thing down, but ithappens to be a lot of diverse men. There are very few women partners, andconsulting is hard if you’re trying to start a family. The firm should maybe givewomen more options. The lack of female partners to me is very discouraging.A ton more could be done on that point.”“ ”They’ve got thediversity thing down,but it happens to be alot of diverse men.There are very fewwomen partners, andconsulting is hard ifyou’re trying to start afamily. The firmshould give womenmore options. The lackof female partners isvery discouraging.The WorkplaceHowever, another female insider says, “At my level [associate] and lower, I don’tthink it’s bad at all for women. Once you get to principal and partner, there47

aren’t that many role models, and the women who are at the higher levels got towhere they are without maintaining lifestyle balance—but you could say thatabout the men as well. This is really getting down to society’s expectations forwomen vs. men. It’s not just Booz Allen.” Indeed one senior associate says,“Women have a hard time staying around long enough to make it. It’s a longslog of travel in the future of anyone aspiring to be a partner, and it crossesright though the primary child-bearing years for professional women. Somepart-time programs have been tried, but they don’t seem to fare particularlywell. This is harsh to say, but I think having a trailing spouse may be necessaryto make it and have kids in this kind of environment. ...That kind of arrangementis still rare for women. For those that don’t elect to have children, I thinkthey do fine.”In summary: “There are probably never enough women represented in the firm,”says one insider. “Minorities are also never represented well enough, but fromwhat I have seen, we do a much better job in this area than our competitors.”The Workplace48

CompensationConsulting firms are in direct competition for top talent, so starting salariesdon’t vary a great deal from one firm to the next. There are differences, however,between salaries on Booz Allen’s government and commercial business sides.Those on the government side reportedly earn less because of differences in feestructure and the partner-to-staff team ratios. “WTB is a more classic corporatestructure with long careers—people stay for 20 to 25 years,” says an insider.“There’s a lot of stability because there’s no forced up-or-out model. The pricewe pay for stability is lower salaries and not as boutique-y a kind of image,though in our market in the federal sector, we are very much a top-drawer firm.”Although the firm says its salary structures are based on market rates ratherthan on less quantifiable elements such as lifestyle, insiders report that thelifestyle differences are the very reason they find the salary gap acceptable. “It’sa trade-off,” says one. “If you want a job where you’re not working until midnightand traveling all the time, you’re going to be paid less. If you want a fastpace, you’re compensated accordingly.” WTB insiders, however, insist that theirlight travel schedules and regular work hours are dictated by the nature of theirwork: “I think one reason that the [WTB side could be] perceived as being laidbackis because our clients are government and they work a very prescribedschedule during the week. On holidays, weekends, etc., they don’t work. If I amsent to, say, the FBI on a national holiday and they’re closed, I cannot go in andwork. In some cases I cannot even work [off premises] and charge it to theproject. Sometimes we can’t access the clients after 5:00.”The WorkplaceWe expect salaries to rise across the industry for 2004–05. Booz Allen does notrelease specific salary information, but as an insider tells us, “With the war for49

talent heating up, we expect salaries to rise more quickly than they have sincethe dotcom bust.” The government-sector positions pay less, compared toprivate-sector positions, which pay on the high side. In addition to base pay,many employees are eligible for a year-end bonus based on the employee’sperformance as well as the firm’s.Summer associates who return to the commercial sector after graduation frombusiness school may be reimbursed for their second year of tuition. Summerinternships at the MBA level pay a prorated amount based on the MBA startingsalary. Compensation packages for undergrads start at around $60,000, andsigning bonuses vary widely if offered at all. Relocation bonuses are based onneed. Commercial consultants are also eligible for year-end bonuses, and BoozAllen frequently offers tuition support to those who choose to get an MBA ifthey return to the firm after graduation.The WorkplaceIn addition, you’ll get to choose from a selection of health plans, and you’ll beeligible for paid parental leave, paid personal leave to meet specified personalcommitments, and several other resources to help you achieve work/lifebalance. In the United States, Booz Allen has a profit-sharing and savings plancalled the employee capital accumulation plan (ECAP). ECAP has two parts: a401(k) plan, in which staff can put up to 10 percent of salary, and profitsharing, in which each year the firm can contribute up to 10 percent of anemployee’s eligible compensation (and it’s often the full 10 percent) and 5.7percent of eligible compensation over the Social Security wage base (ifapplicable).50

Civic InvolvementBooz Allen’s Community Relations program helps employees participate in avariety of activities and organizations. Staff members volunteer their time byworking in various community service projects at schools, shelters, and nonprofitarts organizations; doing pro bono work; and participating in charity races. BoozAllen will back up an employee’s civic commitment with dollars or equipmentand time allowances. “We get a lot of support from the partnership,” says aninsider. If you see a cause you want to get involved in, more likely than not, thefirm is going to support it.” Insiders also tell us that Booz Allen has a weeklye-mail bulletin that, along with announcing contract awards and job openings,encourages participation in various community events. Booz Allen’s intranet siteincludes an area called Community Relations Online, which helps staff findvolunteer opportunities and guides them through the process of securing thefirm’s support for charities and organizations in which they are already involved.“There are constant opportunities to get involved, and there is recognition forit,” says one insider. “It’s one of the things I like best about Booz Allen.”Booz Allen’s approach to pro bono and community work reflects the companyculture. According to one insider who has helped renovate homes in Chicago,“There are people who are smart and motivated but who don’t care about thefolks around them—and this is not caring in the touchy-feely sense. This issaying, ‘Look I see an opportunity for you be successful, and I don’t want youto waste that. I can help you be successful but I’m not going got get involvedunless you ask me. If you ask me to help, I’ll bend over backward for you.’”The WorkplaceSome of the company’s pro bono and charitable activities include work with theSpecial Olympics, The Neediest Kids, Amigos de las Americas, Toys for Tots,51

America’s Charities, Christmas in April, Northern Virginia Family Services, andthe Smithsonian Institution, to name just a few. Each year, hundreds of BoozAllen volunteers help renovate houses for those in need. The firm also raisesmore than $50,000 annually for the Children’s National Medical Center. InNovember 2001, CEO Ralph Shrader spoke out on the importance of civicinvolvement in a speech at Yale, titled “Finding a New Balance in a New World:Combining Ambition and Altruism.”Booz Allen’s charitable efforts run the gamut from the type of strategizing thefirm does for Fortune 500 companies to hands-on work such as rebuildinghomes and clearing park trails. The firm sponsors its own Involvement andImpact Awards to honor Booz Allen individuals, employee groups, and teamswhose volunteer service, leadership, or corporate citizenship demonstrate thefirm’s core values, incorporate professional expertise, produce clear and measurableresults, and generate substantial impact. This year’s awards came in sixcategories:The Workplace• Individual volunteer service• Individual leadership• Office or business unit volunteer service• Group collaboration volunteer service• Pro bono initiatives• Forum or affinity group volunteer service52

VacationBooz Allen employees are encouraged to use vacation time. That means thatonce your vacation request is set up, it isn’t moved. In fact, the concept of acancelled vacation is so foreign to Booz Allen insiders that when asked whetherthey’d ever been asked to change their vacation plans, it often stunned theminto silence. “The thought never occurred to me,” says an insider. “I usually tryto plan my vacation for a time when my project workload is light, but once I’vemade plans, no one has ever said that I couldn’t go.” Another insider says, “Inthe 9 years I’ve been here, I’ve never had to cancel a vacation, not even a 1-daydelay. That’s also because I communicate my plans far in advance.”New employees receive 2 to 5 weeks of vacation plus holidays (depending onthe country), 3 paid personal days, and 2 floating holidays that can be used attheir discretion. Employees in European offices can expect more vacation timethan those joining in the United States.The Workplace53

TrainingTraining magazine ranked Booz Allen fourth in its “Training Top 100 List” for2004, also giving it the “Best in Class” honor in the Professional ServicesCompany category. While many companies cut their training budgets last year,Booz Allen increased its investment in learning and development by nearly12 percent. Not only does the firm offer tuition assistance and pay for self-led,individualized training in specialized areas, it puts all new hires through 7- to10-day orientations—taking place in training centers around the world—wherethey learn about Booz Allen’s heritage, culture, and approach to consulting.Those from nontraditional backgrounds who join Booz Allen on the commercialside also go through a mini-MBA program. Summer associates attend a5-day orientation.The WorkplaceAnd with each promotion, employees go through a cohort class that’s designedto help them develop their craft and analytical skills, fine-tune their leadershipabilities, and enhance interpersonal communication.Many insiders agree, however, that “most of the training comes from justbeing on the project and working with the other team members. You’reexpected to carry your own weight, so a lot of the learning comes from yourday-to-day work.”54

Career PathBooz Allen seeks to develop professionals who have knowledge and expertisethat is broad as well as deep. Commercial associates are hired into home officesand work on a series of engagements across industries and functions so theycan develop broad skill sets. Senior associates select a market-facing team andbuild professional depth through specialization in an industry or function.Staffing opportunities are posted on an intranet site, and employees are able tonominate themselves for upcoming projects.Booz Allen helps employees find challenging assignments and avenues todevelop their careers. One way is through its mentorship program. Mostconsulting firms have some sort of mentoring program, but several insiders atBooz Allen spoke unusually highly of theirs. Consultants, associates, and seniorassociates each have a junior and a senior mentor who let them know what jobsare coming up and help guide their choices. Booz Allen employees—fromconsultant through senior vice president—tend to be on a first-name basis, anddoors to offices are generally open. “I personally have about ten people whocome into my office and ask, ‘Can I talk to you?’” says a senior associate.However, a WTB insider says that a formal mentoring program instituted in heroffice several years ago fizzled out, though she also says that good guidanceabounds: “We do it informally—through our assessments and through personalrecommendations.” One way or another, all WTB insiders sing praise for thesupport they receive.The WorkplacePromotions at Booz Allen are based on merit and, insiders say, are occurringmore quickly than in the past. A recruiter confirms that the firm is interested inmoving people up faster and points out that every path to partner is custom-55

crafted. “Now you can drive as hard and as fast as you want,” says a recruiter.“How quickly you progress is up to you.” The typical path to partnership takes6 to 8 years. As for what gets you promoted, an insider says, “It’s differentthings at different levels. At early stages, it’s about delivering the work. As youget more senior, it’s about managing the team, then about managing the clientand delivering the business. There’s a minimum hurdle you have to surpass. Youcan’t be a super communicator and a poor deliverer, but people who play toone area or another are recognized.”As you rise through the Booz Allen ranks, you’ll have the opportunity to play arole either in content leadership (which means you’ll sell projects and workclosely with clients, managing relationships with them) or in thought leadership(which means you’ll become an expert in an industry and share your knowledgewith others in the firm). This flexibility allows people with different skill sets tofind a place within the firm.The WorkplaceBooz Allen’s commercial side has an up-or-out policy, which means that atcertain points in your career, you must be promoted or asked to leave thecompany. An insider says, “I think there’s always going to be pressure aroundthat. But I don’t think it’s anything that I can’t get around. There’s a sense ofreality that at a certain time you either get promoted or move on, but everyoneon your project—your mentors and your job managers—want you to succeed,and that takes some of the uneasiness out of it.” This kind of support underscoresthe firm’s culture in general. According to a senior associate, “This goesback to this whole idea of helping other people succeed. I can only do thatbecause I take enjoyment in seeing someone else be successful. That also meansthat you have the same high-caliber people internally who want to help you besuccessful. So when you finally break down and ask for help, you get help fromall over the place: from partners down to the most junior people.”56

On the government side, there is no up-or-out policy, and people can eithermove up or stay at the same level for years without any pressure to leave.Opportunities for UndergraduatesAlthough most of Booz Allen’s hires on the commercial side are MBAs, thefirm does hire from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds, includingengineering, economics, business, science, math, humanities, and computerscience. Most undergraduates join the firm in the government sector.A good way to get a foot in the door before you graduate is via a Booz Alleninternship. Booz Allen’s government side has a technology and public managementinternship program with positions located throughout the Washington,D.C., metropolitan area. This program seeks students with backgrounds incomputer science, engineering, information systems, and business administration,but it also has opportunities for students pursuing degrees in the liberal artsand the hard sciences. Resumes for internship opportunities are acceptedthroughout the year and can be submitted online at www.boozallen.com.If you like consulting, but want the experience of working on the client sidewithout leaving Booz Allen, the firm offers the Third Year in Industryprogram. In this program, Booz Allen helps a consultant find a position in aclient company, where the consultant spends a year broadening his or herexposure to the client’s industry before business school. When the year is over,Booz Allen sponsors the consultant in business school (provided that he orshe agrees to come back to work at Booz Allen). The year in industry givesconsultants relevant industry experience that can help them both in businessschool and later on if they decide to return to consulting or industry.The Workplace57

Opportunities for MBAsNew MBA hires start as associates on the commercial side of the firm. After2 to 3 years, they move up the ranks to senior associate, where they manageprojects. At the top of the pyramid lie the lofty positions of principal, vicepresident, and senior vice president. Insiders report that there’s a real upwardpull for people who are ready and able to take on more responsibility.Typically, first-year MBA candidates are recruited on campus beginning in Januaryfor the Booz Allen summer program. Many of those who participate inthe summer program receive offers of full-time employment that they have 6 to9 months to accept. To fill out the balance of its full-time MBA class, BoozAllen recruiters return to campus in the fall to court second-year students.Opportunities for Midcareer CandidatesThe WorkplaceBooz Allen actively recruits PhDs and other non-MBA advanced-degree candidatesas well as experienced professionals from other consulting firms andrelated industries. Experienced industry professionals enter at different levelsdepending on their qualifications. Once on board, they’re eligible for the samepromotions and other opportunities as Booz Allen staff hired directly out ofschool.International OpportunitiesBooz Allen has an impressive worldwide footprint, with representatives in morethan 60 countries and offices on every continent except Antarctica.New hires are typically staffed into offices within their home countries, butemployees who want one have a good chance of landing an internationalassignment. Of course, this depends on your language skills and the market.58

One insider says, “The Japanese market is totally different from Singapore,where everything’s pretty much done in English. In Europe, you’ve pretty muchgot to be multilingual to build yourself a career.” The firm’s European hiringtrends are shifting. According to one European recruiter, “We intend to lookfor Europeans studying at American business schools who would like to returnto Europe. We used to do this opportunistically but it’s becoming moresystematic now.”Insider ScoopWhat Employees Really LikeShow Your Stuff“Meritocracy” seems to be a favorite word among insiders describing BoozAllen. Says one insider, “You’re expected to put your ideas and perspectives inthere, and we want to hear from new associates as much as from the partner.You have a lot of self-determination and a lot of responsibility.” The company’s360-degree appraisal process is designed to reward excellence, and employeesare impressed by its thoroughness. “Everybody is very bright and the environmentreally pushes you,” reports another insider. “There’s a lot of autonomyand responsibility on projects. If you can do it, you’ll have a chance to lead thethinking.” Says yet another, “I like to describe it as a flat hierarchical organizationwhere you are free to work your own schedule and to set your own deadlines—The Workplace59

at any level—you get empowered very early in the process. You need to takeresponsibility for what you are doing. You need to be on top of things. Onceyou demonstrate that you are on top of things, after the first 6 months, you candesign your own career.”It’s All About the PeopleAll of our insiders say that the people at Booz Allen are a major draw. “Thepeople are talented and work well together. It’s fun,” says one. “The people arereally what keep me here.” Another insider says, “The people are down-toearth,team-oriented, pragmatic, and smart—but no ‘brains on sticks.’” AEuropean insider says, “The camaraderie is great. This is my fourth consultingfirm and it’s the best place I’ve been.”Not Just Ivy LeaguersThe WorkplaceInsiders at Booz Allen tell us that the company’s recruiting efforts have a muchwider reach in comparison to some of its competitors. Many employees see thisas a real plus. One insider says, “The people are a lot more diverse than Ithought they would be. My concern was that everybody would have the standardengineering degree and then an MBA. People do have MBAs, but they havedifferent life experiences before that.” Insiders say this approach strengthensBooz Allen’s staff and helps the firm avoid the snobbery that characterizes otherfirms in the industry and that can make building a rapport with a client’s staffdifficult. A principal says, “I’ve had clients pull me aside and tell me theyappreciate how diverse we are, that it relates more to their organization.”Square FoundationBooz Allen employees point to the company’s broad consulting base as anotherbig positive. Unlike firms that offer only strategy consulting or others thatspecialize in operations or information technology, Booz Allen offers a fullrange of consulting services in six main areas: strategy, organization and change60

leadership, operations, information technology,technology management, and global assurance.“In the areas where we’re strong, we buildstrong relationships with clients,” says oneinsider. “We really kick the tires on any strategywe propose.”Watch Out!On the Road AgainIf you join the commercial side of Booz Allen,you can expect to spend a lot of time on theroad. Although the work and travel schedulemay be predictable over the course of a long project, many Booz Allenconsultants spend lots of time away from home. According to one insider, “Ithink that some people come into consulting and really aren’t ready for thecommitment that it takes. That’s something people need to be honest about:Do you want to be traveling? Do you want to be working the long hours?” Inthe words of another insider: “Travel is always a drag, especially if you havekids or someday want to!” On the government side of the business, the traveldemands are much less onerous.Relations“ ”I think that somepeople come intoconsulting and reallyaren’t ready for thecommitment that ittakes. That’s somethingpeople need to behonest about: Do youwant to be traveling?Do you want to beworking long hours?The WorkplaceWhile most Booz Allen insiders celebrate the support and mentoring theyreceive, Booz Allen, like any firm, is subject to personalities. According to oneinsider, “Some partners bring a style that can be tiresome: micromanage, pushpush-push,or arrogance. Not a lot, maybe 20 percent, but you’ll remember that20 percent well.”61

Looking Out for Number 1Insiders say that once you finish your training (which one describes as “reallyquick”), you’re pretty much on your own. If you’re not comfortable being selfmotivatedand assertive about getting ahead, Booz Allen may not be the placefor you. According to one insider, “People have to be aggressive in managingtheir own careers. There is a whole mentoring program and a staffing groupthat take people in and ramp them up, but there’s also a lot of self-direction.You can’t be a passive player and walk in the door and expect everything towork out perfectly for you.” Another insider tells us, “A lot of one’s success atBooz Allen depends on the network and alliance that you can build for yourself,especially among partners. If you think you’re getting into consulting to getaway from networking, well, that’s definitely not the case.” Not to worry, addsthis insider: “It doesn’t feel as yucky as it sounds.”Data-HeavyThe WorkplaceThough Booz Allen does its share of work on organizational and peopleissues, insiders acknowledge that the firm places a relatively heavy emphasis onquantitative analysis. Playing on stereotypes, one insider notes that the firmmight be a better fit for those coming out of MIT’s business school thanHarvard’s. Another insider says, “You should become really proficient withfinancial analysis and doing spreadsheets and modeling in order to get respectat this firm. This is coming from someone whose personal weakness isquantitative analysis, and I’ve done just fine, but it is something I’d tell peopleto be aware of.” If you’d rather spend your time dealing primarily with peopleissues, you might be happier somewhere else.But keep in mind that Booz Allen isn’t looking for employees who are brilliantwith data but bad with people. “If you have all the answers, but you can’t relaythat message in a convincing manner, it’s useless to us and to the client,” saysan insider.62

Getting Hired• The Recruiting Process• The Interviewer’s Checklist• Interviewing Tips• Grilling Your InterviewerGetting Hired63

The Recruiting ProcessAfter a few very bad years for MBAs and undergraduates hoping to work inconsulting, things are looking up. Booz Allen has been on campus recruitingevery year since 2001, and according to several insiders on both sides of thefirm, hiring is now up all around. “We’re increasing our MBA recruiting overlast year,” says one commercial-side insider. The firm has lately been quoted invarious media as saying that its hiring projections are way up.Booz Allen likes students to have as much contact as possible with the firmbefore the interview. In some cases, associates will even call students and thenmeet with them to discuss their goals for the future. This helps determinewhether the student will fit in well at Booz Allen. Insiders we spoke to thinkthis is an important opportunity to likewise help candidates decide whetherBooz Allen is a good match for them.The “Careers” section of Booz Allen’s website includes a document entitled“Interviewing Tips and Case Primer for Commercial Consulting Candidates,”which offers useful analytical frameworks, case examples, and recommendationsfor prospective hires.Getting HiredAs in most companies, it helps to know someone. An insider from globaloperations says, “The best way to get a job is to know someone who alreadyworks at Booz Allen because more than 50 percent of all new hires come fromemployee referrals. Secondary to that is responding to the posting in thewebsite.”Booz Allen puts candidates for its commercial business through a standardhiring process that begins with first-round interviews on campus and continueswith second and (sometimes) third rounds at the office for which the candidate64

is being considered. Second and third rounds“ ”usually involve multiple, back-to-backinterviews. Booz Allen relies on caseinterviews to test a candidate’s analyticalabilities, but is now emphasizing the generalresume review as well as conversation todetermine how the candidate manages his orher work, deals with conflict, acceptsresponsibility, and so on. The company seekspeople with a demonstrated record ofachievement in a career before attending business school and an intellectualtrack record in school. Cultural fit also weighs heavily in candidate assessment.According to one recruiter, “Where most people fail is that they do not preparefor the ‘fit’ part of the interview. You think that it should be easy to answerquestions about yourself, but you’re not likely to have done that in as stressfulan environment as a case interview. And if you don’t think ahead of time aboutthe key things in your life that have helped make you successful, and then beable to talk about those in an interview and relate them to your resume, you’renot going to be able to answer the fit questions very well.”We are looking formore than brains on astick. We are lookingfor more than a goodanalyst or a good writer.We are also looking forleadership skills.Remember, everyone Booz Allen is likely to interview is going to be smart andaccomplished. One insider says, “We are looking for more than brains on a stick.We are looking for more than a good analyst or a good writer. We are alsolooking for leadership skills.” More than one recent hire we spoke to emphasizedthat the case interview is the best opportunity to stand out from the crowd.“Practice the case interview,” says one recent hire. “It’s a critical part of theevaluation process. Our cases are based on prior client work of the people doingthe interview. During my case interview, I didn’t feel like they were trying to trickme. There was a logical flow.” (For a rigorous review of case questions, checkout WetFeet’s Ace Your Case series at www.WetFeet.com.)Getting Hired65

UndergraduatesCurrently, Booz Allen is not actively recruiting undergraduates into itscommercial-sector unit. But according to one recruiting insider, “Universityrecruiting is not a large percentage of the recruiting we do for the governmentbusiness, but we still hire a large number of undergraduates.” Expect severalrounds of interviews. Undergraduates with engineering, computer science,business, and public policy degrees are likely to attract the most interest. Besure to highlight any government, national security, or defense industryinternships on your resume as well.“We look for a candidate,” says one WTB recruiter. “We don’t look for aposition per se, but we look for the best talent. In an interview I try to probetheir analytical thinking process. A typical interview question I’d ask of acollege hire: Give me an example of a project you had, the problems youencountered, and how you solved them.” Insiders also emphasize that communicationand writing skills are important. Says one recruiter, “We’re lookingfor someone who can communicate their thought processes. Interpersonalskills and analytical thinking are probably the top two criteria, then obviouslyrelevant experience. I like to tell people to come prepared with three thingsthat they’ve built and white papers. We like to have writing samples. I want tomake sure these people can write. We’re doing analytical work, but we have tocommunicate that to our client.”Getting HiredOnce you’re in, Booz Allen will help you move ahead. “We do hire a lot ofjunior staff coming right out of school. A lot of them go back to school aspart of their work with us, and we support that.” says a recruiter. Where theWTB side used to encourage only technical degrees, it now promotes thepursuit of MBAs for some of its employees. “The firm gives $5,000 per yeartoward tuition,” an insider reports. “We try to encourage folks to go to more ofa state school, where they can take more classes [for that money].”66

MBAsThe best way to get your foot in the door is to sign up for the on-campusinterviewing program at your school. “I was asked many case questions in myinterviews,” says one insider hired out of B-school. “I know that interviewersderive many questions from cases they’ve been staffed on. They want to seehow you can establish a framework, step by step, to arrive at a logical solution.”Midcareer CandidatesBooz Allen hires midcareer people from other consulting firms and fromindustry. Contact the Booz Allen location of your choice. The governmentsectorside of the firm in particular brings in large numbers of experiencedhires. Like college hires, midcareer candidates must survive several rounds ofinterviews that include case questions. WTB seeks candidates with governmentexperience; candidates with security clearances are especially attractive to thefirm right now. One WTB insider says it looks for “individuals leaving governmentor military service with consulting experience and especially those withsecurity clearances.” Says another, “People with high-level security clearancesare extremely precious and few and far between. It can take up to 18 monthsto get a security clearance.”Getting Hired67

The Interviewer’s ChecklistTo give candidates a more consistent interviewing experience, Booz Allendesignates a specific person to coordinate each campus recruiting effort. His orher checklist will contain most of the following:• Drive (people who aren’t passionate about consulting usually fail)• Analytical skills (ability to analyze and assess data)• Teamwork (everything is done in teams)• Intellectual curiosity (Does this person get excited about solving problems?)• Communication skills (Can this person convey his or her ideas?)• Leadership (ability to get the most out of others)• Client skills (Can this person build effective client relationships?)• Poise (ability to remain cool under pressure)• Credibility (Does this person seem full of hot air?)• Interpersonal skills (see the “The Airport Test” below)The Airport TestGetting HiredWhat’s the airport test? The interviewer wonders, “If I were stuck at an airportwith this candidate, would I go crazy?” An insider elaborates: “You hear aboutthat airport test; I’ve done it. Aside from it taking 12 hours to get from Detroitto New York, it wasn’t bad at all.” This is to say that whoever hired this insider’straveling companion found somebody who was enjoyable company for those 12hours.68

Interviewing Tips1. Booz Allen recruiters tell us that candidates often earn dings longbefore the case arrives. Many don’t know what’s on their resumes, can’texplain why they want to work for Booz Allen, slouch in their chairs, andotherwise project a low-energy demeanor.2. Practice case questions if you’re applying to Booz Allen’s commercialbusiness. Booz Allen won’t necessarily be looking for the right answer asmuch as for evidence of how you think. Your interviewer will also want tosee that you’re comfortable with numbers. One tip from our experts: Ifyou get a question that requires discussing numbers, be sure to pick thosethat are easy to handle (e.g., 1, 10, 100,000, 250 million).3. Demonstrate your enthusiasm for the intellectual side of consulting.Consultants really get turned on by coming up with excellent solutions todifficult business problems. If you can talk convincingly about how thatwill turn you on, you may convince your interviewers that you’re BoozAllen material. (Then again, you may just convince them that you’re nuts!)4. Take the time to structure your response. “A lot of the time, I seepeople giving their gut answers right away. You should take a problem,break it apart, and analyze,” says one insider. “If you can quantify things,that’s great.”5. Know your resume. “Your resume is supposed to be a list of the mostimportant things you’ve done on one page,” a commercial-side recruitertells us. “But it’s all a list of actions and results. It’s not a list of how youactually did those things. So if you sit down for an hour with your resumeGetting Hired69

and think, How did I actually get this stuff done? How did I handle peopleand pitfalls that came along the way, etc., you’ll be much better prepared toanswer any question that anyone asks you about yourself.”6. That’s Booz Allen to you, cowboy. Insiders tell us that the firm’s name isoften shortened to omit Hamilton but that Booz by itself is too informaland should be avoided in an interview. It’s also a bad idea to refer to thefirm as “BAH.”7. Know the difference between WCB and WTB. Basically, the WorldwideCommercial Business serves commercial clients, whereas the WorldwideTechnology Business serves government and institutional clients.Getting Hired70

Grilling Your InterviewerThis is your chance to turn the tables and find out what you want to knowabout Booz Allen. We strongly encourage you to spend time preparingquestions of your own. In the meantime, the samples below should get youstarted. The “Rare” questions are meant to be boring and innocuous, while the“Well Done” ones will help you put the fire to your interviewer’s feet.Rare• Give me examples of recent projects undertaken by the firm.• Why did your last client hire Booz Allen instead of one of your competitors?• What are the business benefits and disadvantages of Booz Allen’s long-termrelationshipapproach with clients?• How do the commercial and government sides of the business work together?• Where do you see Booz Allen’s growth opportunities coming from in thenear future?Medium• Describe your efforts to diversify your staff.• What’s the turnover rate at Booz Allen?• How easy or difficult is it to transfer between offices?• If assigned to the government sector, what opportunities exist to work withclients in the commercial sector? And vice versa?• What mechanisms does Booz Allen have in place to support personal andprofessional development?Getting Hired71

• Has the lack of undergraduate hires into WCB led to a heavier workload forassociates?• How is Booz Allen addressing changes in the consulting industry?Well Done• Given its large organization and distinct industry groups, how does BoozAllen maintain a consistent culture and sense of community?• As a collection of individuals, how well do Booz Allen professionals functionon teams?• How many female and minority VPs does Booz Allen have?• What is Booz Allen doing to move ahead of its top-tier consultingcompetitors, and how effective do you think it will be?• How well have the changes you’ve made in your career development and inthe organization been received by people in the organization, and whatwrinkles remain to be ironed out?• Booz Allen has a reputation for developing numbers-driven solutions. Doyou find that to be true? If so, do you think there is any downside to thatapproach?Getting Hired72

For Your ReferenceFor Your Reference• Consulting-Speak• Recommended Reading• For Further Study• Other Sources of Information• Key People and Places73

For Your ReferenceConsulting-SpeakTo help prepare you for both your interviews and a possible career in the field,we’ve asked our insiders to give us the most up-to-date consulting jargon.Beware: Unauthorized use of these terms has been known to seriously offendevery known species of consultant.2x2. Pronounced “two by two,” this is a favorite consulting tool used to analyzea number of items along two dimensions. It’s basically a graph with X and Yaxes that cross in the middle, creating four different sectors. Don’t be surprisedif you’re asked to produce one of these during your interview.Benchmark. Here’s another standard-issue item from the consulting toolbox.Benchmarks are levels of performance or output against which you can evaluatethe performance of something else. A benchmark study is an analysis of theperformance of a number of companies along specified dimensions. Forexample, a software firm might hire a consulting firm to do a benchmark studyon how much other firms are spending on customer service.BHAG. Big Hairy Audacious Goal. This buzzword comes from the book Built toLast (see next entry).Built to Last. A book written by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, in whichthey destroy the myth that the core product is more important than the visionthe company espouses. The term now enjoys widespread usage as describing acompany with a strong culture based on a core ideology or identity. Moreloosely, it refers to those firms that want to be around for many decades orcenturies, not just a few years.74

Business design. Here’s a consultant’s definition: “For a company, it’s not aboutgrowing your top line, it’s about growing your bottom line.” (The bottom line isprofit. The top line is sales.) “Business design is about what you do, how yougear up the troops. It has everything to do with whom you hire and what theydo. It’s your channel, your product, how you execute your offering.”For Your ReferenceCase interview. In a case interview, your interviewer will give you a set of factsand ask you a question to analyze how you structure a problem, think it through,and ultimately come up with a solution. Case questions can be numerical, as in,“How many dimes are currently in circulation?,” or business-related, as in,“Suppose a client asked you to figure out why his business is experiencing anunusual decline in sales and a severe cash flow problem.” They could also just bewacky, such as, “If Dannon, Yoplait, and Colombo yogurts came to life, whatkind of people would they be?”Change management. Here’s a $5 buzzword that sounds like it’s making thingsclear, when really it’s just muddying up an already fuzzy concept. Most firmsuse this term to refer to a specific type of consulting work dedicated to suchthings as helping a company restructure its organization and cope with thehuman problems that accompany such an effort.Convergence. Consulting services in telecommunications (cable, wireless, wireline,and Internet), computers, and media—or “converging” industries. The thinking isthat the Internet, the telephone, the TV, the PDA, and the PC will someday allbecome one.Core competencies. Things a company does best.Customer relationship management (CRM). Communication technology thathelps companies manage customer information.75

For Your ReferenceDeliverable. The product or solution you give (deliver) to the client. If youpromise an analysis of shipping costs, for instance, that’s your deliverable.Deliverables typically come with dates (when you will deliver).Engagement/project/study/case/job. These are all different ways in which thefirms refer to a specific project. Interviewers often note which term you use—just to see whether you’ve read the company literature. Using the wrong word isnot an automatic ding, but you’ll impress your interviewer if you get it right.Enterprise resource planning (ERP). An IT solution to streamline operations byconnecting all parts of a business electronically—including HR, billing, andinventory. A popular consulting project during the ’90s, ERP spurred doubledigitannual growth for firms.Framework. Basically, a framework is any kind of structure you can use to lookat a problem. It can be as simple as, “The company’s problems stem from bothinternal and external factors.” Or it can be something more MBA-ish, likePorter’s Five Forces. Consultants love frameworks, and the more you use them(up to a point), the more analytical you’ll sound.Growth. From 1997–98 to around 2000, most firms shifted their focus fromreengineering—which often meant downsizing—to growth. Growth involvedtaking a small private start-up from, say, 25 or 30 employees to more than 500and going public.Implementation. These days, nobody admits to doing just pure strategy work.The reason? Too many consulting firms were criticized for leaving behind a bigstack of slides that never resulted in any action by the client. As a result, all ofthe firms talk about how they work with clients to make sure that theirexpensive analyses and recommendations are actually implemented.76

On the beach. In consulting, this refers to any period of time during which youaren’t staffed to a project. Although you won’t necessarily see any sunshinehere, you also won’t have to be any place in particular, so there’s a chance you’llbe able to leave the office early, do your laundry, pay your bills, and maybe evensee your honey.For Your ReferenceOperations. Operations refers to all of the day-to-day tasks associated with therunning of a company. In a manufacturing company, this includes the buyingand processing of raw materials as well as the sale and distribution of the finalproducts. Many consulting firms do a big business providing operations advice.At the simplest level, this just means that they help clients run their businessesbetter.Outsourcing. To reduce overhead expenses, lots of companies are turning tooutsiders to provide many of the functions and services traditionally done inhouse.Popular candidates for outsourcing include accounting services, marketingcommunications, payroll management, and data processing. Increasingly, publicfirms are turning to these services because they create stable revenue flows, whichtheir investors like.Pay-for-performance. Billing based on performance, rather than strictly on hours.Presentation. In the traditional consulting project, the presentation was themeans by which a consulting firm shared all of its insights and recommendationswith a client company. The client’s top management team would assemble in aboardroom, and a partner or case team manager would spin through dozens ofoverhead slides displaying all of the analysis his or her firm had completed.Although the standard overhead slideshow is now considered a bit sterile, it’s stilla popular drill at most firms.77

For Your ReferenceReengineering. Reengineering lost its cachet in the mid-’90s. In its purest sense,a reengineering project was supposed to involve a complete rethinking of acompany’s operations from ground zero.Shareholder value analysis. The goal of many companies is to enhance theirvalue to shareholders, and they engage lots of consulting firms to help them doit. There are all manner of ways, proprietary and not, to analyze shareholdervalue.True north. The place you want to get to. If you’re heading true north, you’removing in the right direction.Value chain analysis. An analysis of all of the processes that go into a product,from the gathering of raw materials needed to make the product to the deliveryof the final product to the customer. At best, each stage adds value to theproduct.Virtual office/hoteling. Sexy terms for an office setup in which nobody has apersonal desk or office. Means you could be hanging out with the clerks atKinko’s.White-space opportunity. A money-making opportunity in an area you aren’t setup to make money in. Think of it as an unbridged gap between what you doand what others do, or an untapped source of growth.78

Recommended ReadingFor Your Reference“D.C. Region Job Market Has Look of a Boom”Last year, 60,600 jobs were added to the D.C.-area job market, according to thisarticle, which credits that boom in part to government spending. It focuses onBooz Allen, identifying the firm as a “mainstay of Washington’s professional andbusiness services industry” and “the number two source of local employmentbehind the government itself.” It cautions that over-reliance on government taxand spending policies to boost an economy can be risky, but the short-termprognosis is generally upbeat. Part of the summary includes the news that BoozAllen hired 1,350 more people than it had originally planned last year, in supportof the firm’s effort to apply private-sector technological solutions to governmentissues. It also describes Booz Allen as being “on a hiring binge,” and quotes CEORalph W. Shrader as saying, “This year everyone is starting to feel good again.”Source: Neil Irwin, Washington Post, 5/16/04.Interview with Ralph ShraderIn this interview, Booz Allen CEO Ralph Shrader discusses the recent upswingin hiring on both the government and commercial sides of the firm, saying,“This year, we’re back in the hiring business big time,” and “We hired close to3,600 people last year in the public-sector space—there aren’t enough MBAstudents in the major schools to fill all those spots.” He also describes how thefirm is able to cross-pollinate its private- and public-sector business capabilitiesthereby making it stronger and more successful overall. He uses the health-careindustry, which he calls “a major player” for Booz Allen today, as an example,illustrating how Booz Allen’s work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration79

For Your Referencemakes it better able to assist pharmaceutical companies seeking to bring newproducts to market.Source: Consulting Magazine, July/August 2004.“Why an MBA May Not Be Worth It”The article subhead reads “One reader says he used his MBA to line his Africangray parrot’s birdcage.” The implication follows from there. As an advicecolumnist for Fortune, Anne Fisher says she’s been hearing a lot lately fromdisgruntled MBA-holders who can’t get work. She goes on to outline a scholarlypaper, recently written by two business school professors, that highlights theinefficacy of the modern MBA. The paper says, “There is little evidence thatmastery of the knowledge acquired in business schools enhances people’scareers,” and includes the current glut of MBA degrees in a stagnant market asone of the reasons MBAs aren’t getting jobs. Fisher mentions that “the supercompetitivejob market of the late ’90s led top consulting firms like McKinseyand Booz Allen to hire people who lacked MBAs. Those folks (most of whomhad only undergraduate liberal arts degrees) got, on average, 3 weeks of on-thejobtraining—after which, according to extensive research by the firms themselves,they did their jobs just as well as or even better than their MBA peers.”All of which provides a noteworthy contrast to the article above in whichRalph Shrader suggests that Booz Allen’s current growth could consume all theMBAs graduating from the major schools this year.Source: Anne Fisher, Fortune, 6/14/04.“Half of Consultants Aren’t Happy With Their Jobs”This article discusses the results of a 2003 Consulting Magazine poll, which foundthat “of 5,457 consultants from 50 of the profession’s 75 largest firms, 47%consider their firms’ morale to be no better than neutral.” The difference, thearticle contends, between this and last year’s similar findings, is that as the80

economy recovers and industry begins hiring again, many consultants who aredissatsified with long hours and diminishing returns are now leaving the profession.The accompanying Consulting Magazine survey ranks Booz Allen at numbersix (down from the previous year’s number three but still firmly in the top ten)among the “Best Consultancies to Work For,” underscoring that Booz Allenand its employees fared the tough times relatively well with work/life standardsmostly intact.For Your ReferenceSource: Consultants News, November 2003.“Culture Club”“I got my best information by arriving early and speaking to the receptionist,”says one advice-giver in this Wall Street Journal piece about how to get the skinnyon a company’s office-culture before getting a job there. The article includestips from a Booz Allen representative, who says, “If you have 10 interviews [forthe same job] in three months, figure decision making at the company is atortuous process,” and “Ask the interviewer or the company representativeabout her own background, and compare the responses among individuals.Does the company bring in people from eclectic backgrounds? That says a lotabout what you’re likely to find at the firm.” Aside from offering good advicefor jobseekers, the Booz Allen source lends insight into what is particularlyvalued at his firm.Source: Karen Hube, et al., Wall Street Journal, 3/29/04.81

For Your ReferenceFor Further StudyBooz Allen employees recommend the following books for prospective hires:1. The Advice Business, by Charles Fombrun and Mark D. Nevins (PearsonEducation, 2003).2. Marketing and the Bottom Line, by Tim Ambler (Financial Times/PrenticeHall; 2nd edition, 2004).3. Platform Leadership: How Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco Drive Industry Innovation, byAnnabelle Gawer and Michael A. Cusumano (Harvard Business SchoolPress; 1st edition, 2002).The Human Factor: Leadership in the E-economyRolf Habbel (Uberreuter Wirtschaft, 2001).“If the company’s executives do not manage to convince the employees thatthe enterprise is going in the right direction, that it will last, that it must beinnovative in order to win its future, and that it actually depends on its customersto survive, the company has no chance of being successful in the longterm,” writes Booz Allen Vice President Rolf Habbel in the preface to hisbook. Unless you read German, you may not be able to actually read this book,but you might want to be familiar with the message of its author, Habbel, aMunich-based partner at Booz Allen. “This book tries to elaborate and demonstratethat man—often overlooked as a ‘small wheel’ in the greatness of newmanagement methods and concepts—is more and more critical to beingsuccessful in this change,” Habbel writes. His message is that even though wemay be armed with the best ideas and most advanced technology tools, thebiggest barrier to the successful implementation of change is that we too oftenignore the “the human factor.” For more, visit www.boozallen.com.82

The Entertainment Economy:How Mega-Media Forces Are Transforming Our LivesFor Your ReferenceMichael J. Wolf (Times Books, 1999).Here’s a book about how mass media rules our lives that won’t tell you to destroyyour television set. Instead, it’ll tell you to turn it on and learn some lessons aboutwhat sells and what doesn’t in today’s economy. It’s written by Michael J. Wolf, aformer senior partner at Booz Allen who jumped ship for McKinsey in 2001. Ina nutshell, Wolf’s thesis is that to get ahead in today’s media-saturated marketplace,consumer businesses in all industries have to win and retain an audience byfeeding it fresh, engrossing content. The influence of entertainment in all aspectsof business and society is what he calls the “e-factor.”Balanced SourcingTimothy M. Laseter (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998).Written by Booz Allen insider Timothy Laseter, this book explores a fundamentaloperational issue affecting all kinds of businesses: sourcing. Now that reengineeringhas gone out of favor, optimizing supplier relationships is one of thehottest cost-cutting strategies in use today. If your interests lie in businessprocesses, read this book for some tips on helping your future clients maximizetheir bottom line by profitably outsourcing their assembly lines.Smart Alliances: A Practical Guide to Repeatable SuccessJohn Harbison and Peter Pekar, Jr. (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998).Written by Booz Allen consultants, Smart Alliances examines the familiar “buyor build” dilemma that has faced CEOs of all stripes at one time or another.Does it make more sense to acquire an outside business or to create one’s own?Harbison and Pekar’s proposed solution gives some compelling evidence infavor of a third alternative: forging strategic alliances with competing orcomplementary businesses for mutual benefit.83

For Your ReferenceOther Sources of InformationFor more information on Booz Allen publications, check outwww.boozallen.com.A general resource for information about the consulting industry is ConsultantsNews, which is published by Kennedy Information. For more informationabout this and other Kennedy publications, visit www.consultingcentral.com orthe Kennedy Information website, www.kennedyinfo.com.Visit www.WetFeet.com for more information about a number of consultingfirms, their jobs, and recruiting. And for help with your case interviews, checkout the WetFeet’s best-selling Ace Your Case series.Reading Fortune, Forbes, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, and the New YorkTimes is a great way to stay up to date on the latest events and issues thatmanagement consultants address, and will arm you with plenty of informationfor your interviews.84

Key People and PlacesFor Your ReferenceKey PeopleRalph Shrader, chairman and CEODennis Doughty, president, Worldwide Technology BusinessDan Lewis, president, Worldwide Commercial BusinessHoracio Rozanski, chief human resources officerRecruiting ContactsInterested candidates can post their profiles or apply for a specific job throughthe careers section of the Booz Allen website at www.boozallen.com. Thecompany will not accept e-mail or paper resumes.U.S. Commercial SectorCynthia Shamin212-551-6444Europe Commercial SectorAlison Devey44-207-393-3212 (London office)Latin America/Asia Pacific/Middle East Commercial SectorAna Quintella Rodriguez212-551-6193Government SectorJudy Merkel703-902-690085

For Your ReferenceMajor OfficesNorth American Offices (Commercial Sector)AtlantaBostonChicagoClevelandColorado SpringsDallasHoustonLos AngelesMcLean, Virginia (corporate headquarters)MiamiNew OrleansNew York (commercial headquarters)PhiladelphiaSan AntonioSan DiegoSan FranciscoTampaWashington, D.C.International OfficesFor a complete listing of Booz Allen locations around the world, go towww.boozallen.com.86

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Careers/Job SearchPrestigious, innovative, and diverse, combiningmanagement strategy with technological expertise,Booz Allen is among the most respected consulting firms in the industry and a top choice for recentgraduates and MBAs. Insiders consistently laud the firm’s open, supportive culture and commitment toemployee development, as well as their colleagues’ distinct backgrounds and personalities. The firm’slong-term commitment to its clients keeps the work not only interesting, but also fulfilling. If you thinkyou’re ready to take on challenging assignments, Booz Allen may be the place to be.Turn to this WetFeet Insider Guide to learn• How Booz Allen has fared in the challenging economy of recent years.• How the firm is organized, from top to bottom.• About typical responsibilities and day-to-day life for analysts and consultants.• What employees love most and like least about working at Booz Allen.• About the workplace at Booz Allen, including the lifestyle, hours, culture, compensation, travel, andtraining.• What the recruiting process entails, what recruiters are looking for, and tips from Booz Alleninsiders for acing the interview.WetFeet has earned a strong reputation among college graduatesand career professionals for its series of highly credible,no-holds-barred Insider Guides. WetFeet’s investigative writersget behind the annual reports and corporate PR to tell the realstory of what it’s like to work at specific companies and indifferent industries. www.WetFeet.com