BrazilSeven top strategy consulting firms attending Consultancy Castle event
Students in the Netherlands eyeing a career in strategy consulting have an ideal opportunity to meet the top players in the industry in April. The 2018 edition of Consultancy Castle allows ambitious students to meet seven of the globe’s ten largest strategy consultancy firms: A.T. Kearney, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Roland Berger, EY-Parthenon and Strategy&.
The strategy and management consultancy sector is the most popular industry to work in for graduate business students, which holds true in the Netherlands as well as for broader Europe as demonstrated by the number of studies across countries among students. Students are of the opinion that the challenging sector is the ideal springboard for their future careers.
Strategy consulting is the most prestigious segment of the consulting industry; strategic consultants are hired by organsiations, often board member or managers, to deal with their most complex issues, presenting junior consultants with an ideal opportunity to make an impact in the business environment. In addition, working in the industry offers promising career prospects, with many former consultants landing jobs at the peak of business or in politics. For example, former US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is an alumnus of Bain & Company, while according to McKinsey the firm has more than 150 former employees currently at the helm of global corporations.
The track record of strategy consultants in the Netherlands is no different. Two current ministers are former consultants. Wopke Hoekstra, the current Minister of Finance, is a former partner at McKinsey & Company, while the serving Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate, Eric Wiebes, was a former partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants (today EY-Parthenon in the Netherlands). Meanwhile, Hans Wijers, formerly the Managing Partner of BCG Amsterdam, was later elevated to the role of Minister of Economic Affairs and has been named several times by a leading newspaper in the Netherlands as the nation’s most influential person.
Consultancy Castle
For students who want to make the step up to the top echelon of strategy consulting, there are around 20 to 30 players to choose from internationally. And seven of the leading consultancies with an office in the Netherlands will be vying for the interest of top students in April during Consultancy Castle, an annual student recruitment event organised by a study association of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. The firms in attendance for this year’s event include A.T. Kearney, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Roland Berger, EY-Parthenon and Strategy&.
The three-day event features an extensive programme with cases, training, informal activities, dinners and drinks. In addition, the participating students will have the opportunity to interact with the participating strategy consultancy offices personally, to learn more about what it’s like to work as a strategy consultant and how each of the offices distinguishes itself from its peers. Entry, however, isn’t open, with space limited to just 24 of the most promising third-year Bachelor and Masters students according to a demonstration of the candidate’s outstanding CV and grades.
Reflecting on last year’s event, one participant said, “Consultancy Castle is the perfect event for students who aspire to a career in strategy consulting. You will get the chance to compare all large offices on different facets in a short time. You also work on challenging cases with a very ambitious group of students in a beautiful location. What I really liked was that in addition to the formal activities during the event, there was ample room in the evening to get to know the consultants in a more informal way.”
Another enthusiastic participant told Consultancy.eu; "A lot of information about the offices can be found online, but during an event such as Consultancy Castle you get a good picture of the company culture and the internal relations between the consultants. Do they seem to be okay with each other or are they mocking each other? Do they only manage junior consultants or are senior consultants involved? How do the consultants compete with the participants? These are all questions that Consultancy Castle can answer for you, and much more, because you can compare the offices directly in a setting that you will not find anywhere else.”
Related: Top strategy and management consulting firms in the Netherlands.
