Booz Allen Hamilton: An insider guide - Gymkhana

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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
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Insider GuideBooz Allen Hamilton200
Page 8 and 9:
At a Glance“We look for good stru
Page 10 and 11:
At a Glance Compensation, 2003-04Un
Page 12 and 13: OverviewThe FirmFounded in 1914 by
Page 14 and 15: The Firmstructure to meet specific
Page 16 and 17: Competitive StrategyThe FirmBooz Al
Page 18 and 19: Industry PositionThe FirmIn Consult
Page 20 and 21: A Quick History LessonThe FirmBooz
Page 22 and 23: The FirmIn 2001, Booz Allen was aff
Page 24 and 25: functional project teams. “That w
Page 26 and 27: at one engagement. At another, I ha
Page 28 and 29: The FirmLucent TechnologiesMetropol
Page 30 and 31: Bangkok BankThe FirmIn the wake of
Page 32 and 33: The Firmaccounts for the key qualit
Page 34 and 35: The Firmof the tournament, it raise
Page 36 and 37: ConsultantsOn the JobIn 2004, Booz
Page 38 and 39: AssociatesNew MBAs at Booz Allen ar
Page 40 and 41: 8:00 Check in at the Four Seasons.8
Page 42 and 43: LifestyleIn 2003, Consulting Magazi
Page 44 and 45: network of friends yet.” But othe
Page 46 and 47: CultureConsultants throughout the f
Page 48 and 49: Friends, Romans, Coworkers?Most ins
Page 50 and 51: Workplace DiversityBooz Allen began
Page 52 and 53: The firm has a diversity intranet s
Page 54 and 55: aren’t that many role models, and
Page 56 and 57: talent heating up, we expect salari
Page 58 and 59: America’s Charities, Christmas in
Page 60 and 61: TrainingTraining magazine ranked Bo
Page 64 and 65: Opportunities for MBAsNew MBA hires
Page 66 and 67: at any level—you get empowered ve
Page 68 and 69: Looking Out for Number 1Insiders sa
Page 70 and 71: The Recruiting ProcessAfter a few v
Page 72 and 73: UndergraduatesCurrently, Booz Allen
Page 74 and 75: The Interviewer’s ChecklistTo giv
Page 76 and 77: and think, How did I actually get t
Page 78 and 79: • Has the lack of undergraduate h
Page 80 and 81: For Your ReferenceConsulting-SpeakT
Page 82 and 83: For Your ReferenceDeliverable. The
Page 84 and 85: For Your ReferenceReengineering. Re
Page 86 and 87: For Your Referencemakes it better a
Page 88 and 89: For Your ReferenceFor Further Study
Page 90 and 91: For Your ReferenceOther Sources of
Page 92 and 93: For Your ReferenceMajor OfficesNort
Page 94 and 95: Careers in Information TechnologyCa
Page 96: Careers/Job SearchPrestigious, inno
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