IBM Business Consulting Services: The WetFeet Insider Guide

IBM Business Consulting Services

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IBM Business Consulting Services ISBN: 1-58207-330-9

Each WetFeet Insider Guide represents hundreds of hours of careful research and writing. We start with a review of the public information available. (Our writers are also experts in reading between the lines.) We augment this information with dozens of indepth interviews of people who actually work for each company or industry we cover. And, although we keep the identity of the rank-and-file employees anonymous to encourage candor, we also interview the company’s recruiting staff extensively, to make sure that we give you, the reader, accurate information about recruiting, process, compensation, hiring targets, and so on. (WetFeet retains all editorial control of the product.) We also regularly survey our members and customers to learn about their experiences in the recruiting process. Finally, each Insider Guide goes through an editorial review and fact-checking process to make sure that the information and writing live up to our exacting standards before it goes out the door. Are we perfect? No—but we do believe that you’ll find our content to be the highestquality content of its type available on the Web or in print. (Please see our guarantee below.) We also are eager to hear about your experiences on the recruiting front, and your feedback (both positive and negative) about our products and our process. Thank you for your interest. The WetFeet Guarantee You’ve got enough to worry about with your job search. So, if you don’t like this Insider Guide, send it back within 30 days of purchase and we’ll refund your money. Call us for details or e-mail us comments at 1-800-926-4JOB or [email protected]. Photocopying Is Prohibited Copyright© 2002 WetFeet, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. No copying in any form is permitted. It may not be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, in part or in whole, without the express written permission of WetFeet, Inc.

Table of Contents Quick TOC Cheat Sheet The Industry

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The Firm Overview A Quick History Lesson Strategy: Integration & Services The Bottom Line Industry Position Organization of the Firm

4 5 7 9 10 11

On the Job Research Associate Consultant

14 16

The Workplace Lifestyle & Hours Culture Workplace Diversity Compensation Travel Vacations, Benefits & Perks Training Career Path Insider Scoop & Watch Outs!

20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24

Getting Hired The Recruiting Process Interviewing Tips Grilling Your Interviewer

28 29 30

For Your Reference Recommended Reading Other Resources The Numbers Key People & Recruiting Contacts

32 32 33 33

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On the Job

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T h e Wo r k p l a c e

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Getting Hired

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Fo r Yo u r R e f e r e n c e

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The IBM Business Consulting Services Cheat Sheet

C H E A T S H E E T

The IBM Business Consulting Services Cheat Sheet Headquarters IBM Business Consulting Services New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 Phone: 914-499-1900 Fax: 770-644-5530 www-1.ibm.com/services/fullbusiness.html Primary Competitors Accenture, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, CSC, McKinsey & Co., Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte Consulting (Soon to be Braxton), The Boston Consulting Group, KPMG Consulting. Key Differentiating Factors > Industry-leading size and technical capability > Deep experience in major industries—particularly in health care, insurance, and telecommunications—across the globe > Access to world-class technology research In the Recruiter’s Words > “We look for people who are quick on their feet, not necessarily being right all the time, but exhibiting a creative thought process.” > “Being a team player is key. We work on small teams of three to eight. Be confident enough to speak your mind, but thoughtful enough to put the group first.” > “Be sure you understand the consultant lifestyle—that it’s long hours, that it can be a grind.” > “Be the type who can roll with it; laugh at surprises rather than cry. Because this occupation is hectic and ever-changing—you never know what’s going to happen.” In the Interview > “Don’t be shy. You don’t have a lot of time, so talk. The recruiter doesn’t want to be pulling teeth. You need to volunteer information about yourself without waiting for the recruiter to ask questions.” > “Talk about your successes. How you turned lemon into lemonade. How you won over the grumpy boss. How you stuck your neck out at the right time. How you made everyone better with your presence, your ideas.”

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> “Be aware of current events. Show that you’ve read the papers, been on the IBM website, watched Louis Rukeyser on CNBC’s “Wall Street.” > “Know the history of IBM. About Thomas Watson, Senior and Junior; about the PC; the early ’90s troubles and how Louis Gerstner turned it around …” > “Be ready for cases—they are a big part of our interview process. Maybe study up on some famous ones so that you can reference similar concepts and fundamentals. The recruiters want to see how your mind works.” > “Don’t try to play a ‘role.’ We want nice, smart people, and you can’t fake either one. At IBM, we’re looking for a commitment, a long-term relationship.” What Insiders Say > “It’s a great company to work for, but there is a protocol that comes with working at a big organization.” > “IBM is always voted one of the best places to work, and they aren’t stuffing the ballots. It’s true.” > “Bigness has its benefits. You do have the ability to change careers—and the opportunity to live all over the world.” > “Consulting is rough. Frankly, at times, I don’t know why anybody would want to do this for a living. On the other hand, sometimes I can’t imagine having a normal job.” The Career Ladder Undergraduates enter as research associates. MBAs enter as consultants. Personnel Highlights, Worldwide—IBM Business Consulting Services Total number of professionals/employees, 2001: Estimated number of new undergraduate hires, 2002:

60,000 n/a

Estimated number of new MBA hires, 2002:

n/a

Estimated number of new summer hires, 2002:

n/a

Estimated Compensation Figures, 2002-03 Undergraduate starting salary: Signing bonus: Relocation bonus:

MBA starting salary: Signing bonus: Relocation bonus:

Variable Depends on need

$90,000 to $120,000 Variable Depends on need

Source: WetFeet research

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$45,000 to 60,000

The Industry “Consulting would be hard, challenging work no matter what company you went to work for. But all the firepower we have here gives me sort of an undefinable—maybe psychological—edge.”

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I N D U S T R Y T H E

Overview For some, the three letters “IBM” may conjure up visions of giant mainframe computers filling up entire floors of office buildings, but the reality is far different today. In the 1990s, under the gun competitively and thought to be in real danger of disintegrating by industry pundits, Big Blue made a fast-paced transformation to a services-led company under then-CEO and current Chairman of the Board Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. How fast-paced? In 1991, IBM’s nonmaintenance services did less than $6 billion in business, about 9 percent of IBM’s total revenues of $64.8 billion. Last year, IBM’s Global Services division did $35 billion, about 40 percent of IBM’s revenues of $85.9 billion. Tellingly, it was the first time that IBM’s service-derived revenue exceeded IBM’s hardware sales revenue. What this means is that, more than anything else, IBM today is a service company. And one of its biggest services is consulting. Remember the date October 2, 2002. That’s when IBM’s metamorphosis to a service company reached a new milestone, when a huge, new business group under the Global Services umbrella was unveiled: IBM Business Consulting Services (BCS). BCS is so new that the paint’s barely dried on the lettering. At the moment, the old parts from which it was assembled are being re-jiggered; titles, functions, and hiring needs are being sorted out. But this much we know for sure: BCS combines PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting—a Big Five consultancy that IBM acquired for $3.5 billion in the summer of 2002—with IBM’s existing Business Innovation Services unit. The result: the world’s largest consulting and services organization, with estimated revenues of around $16.3 billion (according to Consultants News) and more than 60,000 professionals in 50-plus countries. To give you an idea of how big that is, BCS dwarfs the number-two consulting firm, Accenture, by $6 billion and is three to seven times the size of the rest of the top ten consultancies. It accounts for more than one-sixth of IBM’s total revenues.

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BCS’s goal is to get more involved in a client’s business than ever before by offering a unique “end-to-end” capability—an all-inclusive one-stop shop that can help clients capitalize on information technology to improve business performance, from strategic thinking to implementation, with accountability for results. BCS offers general business consulting as well as information technology consulting. In the former, it advises customers on how to become more

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T H E I N D U S T R Y

competitive; better support their own customers; be more efficient; and become an e-business. In the latter, it offers a wide range of evaluative, advisory, and implementation services geared toward helping customers maximize the return on their technology investment. Services include information technology strategy, business recovery, networking, and systems management. In short, BCS tries to develop solutions for a company, then build and deploy those solutions—even if this involves adapting other companies’ computer equipment. That last statement would have shocked the founders of a company that strictly made business equipment for nine decades before a crisis made it re-think its business. And it illustrates how important IBM Global Services and its new Business Consulting Services group is and will be to IBM’s future from this point forward.

A Quick History Lesson The fact that Business Consulting Services has become such a crucial part of IBM would have astounded the company’s hardware-oriented founding fathers. From the beginning, IBM was all machines, all the time. A 1911 merger created IBM’s New York City-based predecessor company, C-T-R (ComputingTabulating-Recording Company), which made commercial scales, industrial time recorders, meat and cheese slicers, tabulators, and punched cards. Starting with legendary president, Thomas J. Watson, Sr., in 1914, the company began to focus on large, custom-built tabulating machines and dumped small office products. Watson also developed a distinct company culture that focused on customer service; well-groomed, dark-suited salesmen; and a variety of teambuilding exercises, including employee sports teams, family outings, and a company band. His slogan, “THINK,” became a mantra for C-T-R’s employees. Revenues zoomed to $9 million in 1918. In 1924, after launching the Electric Accounting Machine and the high-speed Carroll Rotary Press, C-T-R changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation. During the Great Depression, IBM was the rare company that provided group life insurance, survivor benefits, and paid vacations, and actually grew. A lot of that was due to what was called “the biggest accounting operation of all time”—the Social Security Act of 1935, which brought the company a landmark government contract to maintain employment records for 26 million people. Other U.S. government departments quickly followed.

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IBM’s first steps to computing came during World War II, when it made bombsights, rifles, and engine parts as well as the 50-foot-long, eight-foot-high, fiveton Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also called the Mark I. It was the first machine to execute long computations automatically. It took less than a second to solve an addition problem, but about six seconds for multiplication and twice as long for division—far slower than any pocket calculator today. In the ’50s, things sped up fast as vacuum tubes and transistors replaced electromechanical switches and Thomas J. Watson, Jr., took over as CEO. Eisenhower was still president when the IBM 7090 transistorized mainframe computer came on line; it could perform 229,000 calculations per second. Other major innovations followed: In 1964, System/360, the first large “family” of computers to use interchangeable software and peripheral equipment came into being—a bold departure from the monolithic, one-size-fits-all mainframe. In 1973, the price-reading supermarket checkout station and an early form of today’s automatic teller machines were introduced. In 1981, a product was developed that would ultimately lead to a new era in computing, rock IBM down to its foundations, spur IBM’s metaporphosis to a services-oriented company, and ultimately lead to the development of IBM Business Consulting Services. It was a desktop machine with off-the-shelf parts, 16 kilobytes of user memory (expandable to 256 kilobytes), one or two floppy disks, an optional color monitor, a processor chip that came from Intel, and an operating system called DOS (Disk Operating System) from a 32-person company called Microsoft. It was the phenomenally popular IBM Personal Computer. The PC.

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Ironically, as the decade progressed and PCs from many companies were coupled with servers that linked them with larger computers in the background, IBM found itself in deep trouble. Individuals and individual departments now made their own computer purchases; sales of the all-in-one computer systems that IBM sold plummeted. Piece-part technologies took precedence over integrated solutions. By 1993, the company’s annual net losses reached a record $8.1 billion. IBM considered splitting its divisions into separate independent businesses. Articles in The Wall Street Journal and business magazines began to suggest the unimaginable: “Break up IBM.”

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T H E I N D U S T R Y

Strategy: Integration and Services Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. arrived as IBM’s chairman and CEO on April 1, 1993—the first IBM leader not from IBM. He’d been chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco, an American Express executive, and a McKinsey management consultant. Immediately, he put the kibosh on the push to split up IBM. Gerstner figured that would have destroyed a unique IBM advantage: its expertise in solutions, services, products, and technologies. Customers sorely needed that expertise all in one package, he thought, not in pieces. “I was surprised to learn that the computer industry had been able to get away with inventing new things and just ‘throwing them over the wall,’ leaving customers to figure out how to integrate and apply them,” Gerstner writes in the 2001 IBM Annual Report. “Businesses desperately needed someone to help them make sense of this chaos.” Gerstner saw the resultant disarray in information technology—companies’ willy-nilly, uncoordinated purchases of the latest technological breakthroughs—as a cry for help, for “technology integrators” to save the day. It was a cry he thought that IBM alone was qualified to answer: “It was obvious that no other company had the technical expertise to win product battles against competitors and the business knowledge to become a trusted partner for its customers.” In 1995, Gerstner articulated IBM’s new vision: that network computing and integrated solutions would drive the next phase of industry growth. “As IT (information technology) moves out of the back office and into the executive suite, what matters most is the ability to integrate technology into the lifeblood of the company,” he said. To that end, that year IBM acquired Lotus Development Corp. and its Notes software program in a hostile takeover. It was the largest software acquisition ever, and it filled the networked-computing hole in the company portfolio. Of course, IBM had deep experience in information technology services. But as IT became a profit center all its own in the ’90s, not just a front man selling IBM hardware, IBM Global Services took off. Global Services, which encompassed consulting, and outsourcing, and e-business, transformation, and systems management services, grew at 20-plus percent a year, making it IBM’s fastest-growing segment and the company’s largest revenue source by 2001.

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In the summer of 2002, the stage was set for a massive manifestation of the integration plan that the now-retired Gerstner had set in motion: the acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Consulting and the subsequent creation of the new $16.5 billion behemoth, IBM Business Consulting Services (BCS).

T H E

The PwC Deal Most onlookers called the $3.5 billion PwC purchase a shrewd move by IBM, a bare-bottom, recessionary bargain, and a perfect strategic fit bound to pay off. “Cheap as Chips,” read one headline, noting that Hewlett-Packard almost paid $18 billion for PwC two years earlier. “IBM Corp reasserted its position at the top of the IT services,” according to another headline. “Quite a deal,” numerous analysts were saying. PwC was the 30,000-strong, $5.5 billion-inrevenues (fiscal year ending in June 2002) consulting arm of the huge auditing firm of the same name. It had been on the fence for awhile as its parent tried to figure out how to divest it—outright sale or IPO—following the rash of post-millenium accounting scandals. Why the generally positive reviews? And why the belief among many that the move will trigger a wave of similar consolidation among IT services and consulting firms? Answer: The deal worries IBM's competitors because Gerstner’s vision has become reality. Services customers are veering toward larger, more established companies that offer a wide range of services and focus on business solutions rather than pure technology. Inside Consulting’s Tom Rodenhauser writes that IBM sees PwC as filling a “generalist void that will allow it to work its way up the client’s value chain.” IT services reputations have suffered from, as he puts it, “the plumber syndrome,” while auditing-based consultants are seen as “architects.” Upshot: One needs the other as they stretch to become one-stop shops—single-source partners with services and industry expertise up the wazoo.

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Ginni Rometty, the global head of the new IBM Business Consulting Services, pretty much says the same thing. “Opportunities await any company that could deliver the full scope of business and technology services,” she says in an IBM internal document. Taking on the full scope of business and technology is now possible through the blending of IBM’s traditional strength in technology, with PwC’s in strategy and business process consulting. Rometty notes that each side brings specific expertise to the table: PwC Consulting’s is business process, e-business integration, supply chain, and CRM (customer relationship management). While IBM has a lower level of these capabilities, it brings “a treasure chest of new, value-enhancing capabilities”— innovations from the world’s largest industrial research group, with eight labs, 3,000-plus employees worldwide, and five Nobel prizes, as well as the resources Copyright 2002 WetFeet, Inc.™

I N D U S T R Y

Will the marriage work? Despite the differences in capabilities, and the clamor of some naysayers, Rometty stresses that the couple speak the same language: “Over the last decade, IBM had established a respected consulting organization of our own, while PwC Consulting was rapidly strengthening its technical skills, particularly in the areas of process integration and application development.” Both also bring longstanding client relationships at the senior executive level. Among their top accounts, more than 40 percent have been customers for ten years or more.

T H E

of IBM Global Finance and the strength of IBM’s software and hardware brands.

The Bottom Line BCS is the fusion of two organizations with complementary skills, similar cultures, and a common vision. BCS has deep experience in major industries across the globe, unparalleled research capabilities, and onsite, outsourced, or on-demand delivery capabilities. “By joining forces,” says Rometty, “we have created solid, market-leading competencies at every point in the services value chain—making for a single, efficient, accountable, trusted partner to manage a client’s strategic initiatives.”

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I N D U S T R Y T H E

Industry Position IBM Business Consulting Services (BCS) is the world’s largest provider of business consultants and services experts, providing a wide range of general management and information technology consulting services. Specializing in helping customers leverage technology to improve performance, it competes with other large consulting firms. As you might expect, a consulting firm as immense as IBM BCS has deep experience in major industries across the globe, including aerospace and defense, automotive, banking, chemicals and petroleum, consumer packaged goods, education, electronics, energy and utilities, financial markets, government, health care, insurance, life sciences, media and entertainment, retail, telecommunications, travel and transportation, and wholesale. Of those, BCS has seen strong activity particularly in health care, insurance, and telecommunications. Health care, which includes providers, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences, is experiencing rapid growth with the aging population and concomitant pressure to upgrade its IT systems to reduce errors, speed drug approvals, enhance customer experiences and improve overall business performance. Insurance industry firms use BCS services to increase customer retention, reduce costs, and develop new distribution strategies. Telecommunications companies need a game plan for leveraging wireless and broadband to improve service to customers.

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Consultants News estimates that BCS—in combination with PwC Consulting figures—had a global consulting revenue of $16,300 million for fiscal year 2001 and enjoyed a 3 percent growth in global consulting. U.S. consulting revenue for the same period was $5,500 million with a 4 percent decline in growth. As a comparison, IBM, Accenture, and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young came in one, two, and three in Consultants News’ June 2002 ranking of the “50 Largest Management Consulting Firms in the World,” with global consulting revenues of $10,800 million, $9,460 million, and $5,875 million, respectively, for fiscal year 2001. Against these numbers, it’s clear that the merging of PwC and IBM makes for a giant among giants. Note: Revenue information used for the CN ranking was based on estimates; most companies that were ranked are private and do not release revenue information.

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I N D U S T R Y

IBM Business Consulting Group is organized into 13 business units in three worldwide regions. Reporting to BCS general manager Ginni Rometty are Michael S. Collins, who handles the Americas, David V. Dockray, in charge of EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and Hideki Kurashige, heading up the Asia-Pacific region. The 13 units include the following:

T H E

Organization of the Firm

1. Application Management Services for Enterprise Applications Helps companies optimize their ERP investments by providing a flexible set of services focused on delivering ongoing management and enhancement of the applications in their existing ERP portfolios. 2. Business Intelligence Services Helps companies understand their customers by capitalizing on the massive amounts of information accumulated from disparate systems—transforming them into a nimble, customer-focused, information-driven e-business. 3. Buy and Supply Solutions Provides solutions in supply chain, e-procurement, product lifecycle management, and enterprise asset management, which center around the “value chain” concept. This entails the ongoing, dynamic interactions between the participants of the entire supply chain—encompassing new product development, orders, purchase and transformation of materials, and final shipment to the customer. 4. Customer Relationship Management Services (CRM) Helps companies retain loyal customers through consulting, implementation, and integration for packaged solutions including CRM operations assessment; operational process, design, and technology linkage; product evaluation and selection; infrastructure development; and integration with ERP and legacy applications; business intelligence services; Web-selling consulting and package implementation; and interactive branding and design. 5. Dynamic Workplaces Helps companies decrease costs, boost efficiencies, and fundamentally alter the way people work via systems integration, content management, dynamic workplace strategy, and rapid workplace implementation (including employee selfservice tools like intelligent directory, distance learning, and enterprise-wide brainstorming technology).

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6. Enterprise Application Services/ERP Addresses fundamental issues associated with planning, selecting, implementing, and extending ERP solutions. 7. Portals, Knowledge, and Content Management Services Helps companies access and leverage huge e-business information streams to fuel innovation, responsiveness, and efficiency. IBM provides workplace, knowledge, and content management services for consultative and implementation services around four major areas: dynamic workplaces, portals, content management, and knowledge management. 8. Procurement Services Supports client’s strategic sourcing, business process transformation, e-procurement technology strategy, and a menu of custom acquisition and supplier management services to drive efficiencies, achieve savings, and enable faster “time-to-value” in the marketplace. Includes e-procurement strategy consulting, strategic sourcing, and package implementation for software providers such as Ariba, CommerceOne, and Rightworks. 9. Product Lifecycle Management Services (PLM) Provides applications and services that let companies design, build, and maintain products while reducing cost, increasing quality, and shortening development cycles. Includes end-to-end CATIA, ENOVIA, and SMARTEAM application consulting and implementation capabilities, product development business process consulting, and relationships with MatrixOne and SAP. 10. Security and Privacy Services Helps clients address IT and e-business security and privacy requirements to run a secure trusted environment for the collection and use of customer and employee personal information. 11. Strategy and Change Consulting This wholly purchased consultancy aligns business goals and direction with technology decisions, helping companies solve internal strategic, organizational, operational, and IT issues within their companies.

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12. Supply Chain Management Services (SCM) Uses industry and supply chain business area expertise to deliver a financial return through operational improvements. 13. Wireless E-Business Solutions Develops customized integrated wireless solutions that include the devices, software, servers, and services for company’s unique needs.

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On the Job “Ask enough questions, do enough research, … and suddenly you think you’re a genius. It’s great for your ego. Tiring as hell, but extremely satisfying.”

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J O B

Research Associate Research associates (RAs) are not computer geeks. They are not technical people. And while they must have an analytical bent, they usually aren’t business majors, as BCS concentrates its recruiting at schools that don’t offer undergraduate business programs. Ideally, RAs are well-rounded individuals with lots of extracurricular interests, usually with liberal-arts backgrounds ranging from economics to English. They have sharp minds, powerful curiosities, an ability to write well, and a strong sense of responsibility. All will come in handy, because there may be occasions where the on-the-job responsibilities of RAs often don’t differ fundamentally from those of consultants. Yes, you do a lot of grunt work—after all, the first part of the title is “research.” But you will quickly gain exposure to clients on a daily basis, endlessly contributing ideas and energy to the team. In simple terms, RAs spend most of their time looking up things, interviewing people, and making reports. IBM prides itself on being a meritocracy, and exhibiting thoroughness, sharp analysis, and professionalism is a good way to make your way up the ranks. If you do well on your research assignments, the scope of your work increases. Higher-ups will be happy to pile on more important responsibilities if you show you can handle it. Here are some typical duties: > Seeking out data through client interviews, research, and observation > Conducting operational and financial analysis of data > Presenting findings to team members; persuading managers to adopt your recommendations > Researching and preparing sales proposals > Systems analysts: designing and testing program modules

A Day in the Life of a Research Associate

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9:30

10:00

Arrive at client site after two-hour drive. Day One. Was falling asleep at the wheel. But the second I go through the front door, I feel all tingly. New place, new project. It’s show time! Check e-mail and voice mail. Head to project room to meet the team of six—a couple other RAs, consultants, a manager. Know some of them already from the office, and others from a conference call. Funny how they never look like what you thought. We organize, decide who’s

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going to do what, reassess, agree on a timetable. I’m on my toes—act like I’m paying attention. Heck, what am I saying? I am paying attention, writing everything down like a frantic court stenographer. I’m afraid not to. Lots of info to process here. Like heading into the great unknown. Still talking. Meeting’s running long, so we order lunch. Weird, working at IBM, makin’ the big bucks, and it’s McDonald’s again. But the receptionist tells us later there’s a great Indian restaurant just around the corner. No more Big Macs after this. Check voice mail—”significant other” wants to know how long this project will take, how long I’ll be away. Never asks, “How was the work?” anymore. Just “How long?” Our guys meet with the client point man and a coterie of his righthand men and women. Outline the plan in detail. We have some sticking points that need to be hashed out. Takes longer than expected, but we’re finally on the same page. We move to a bigger room that has a whiteboard. They call in the troops. A couple dozen of the rank and file roll in. I fiddle with my hair, check my collar, tuck in my shirt, and try to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. “Good first impression, good first impression,” I repeat in my mind. Hey, I’m still a rookie, and I look young for my age. I want to come out of the blocks like a racehorse, and need them to respect me upfront. They introduce us IBMers to all of the client’s need-to-know personnel, who in turn introduce themselves. I note whom I need to talk to, and when it’s done, I rush over before the room empties to grab the right bodies and set up interviews. Others go for coffee—not me. I’m on a natural high. I leave the room shooting the breeze with my first interview subject. After all, it’s a lot harder to interrupt her later, when she’s busy on the phone with her housekeeper. Plus, I want the word to get out quickly—to my bosses and to client personnel—that I’m all action, here strictly for business, squeezing every bit of productivity out of the clock. It’s happy hour for the client’s workers, but not for me. The locals make for the exits, but I’m just getting rolling. Check e-mail, voice mail, the Internet. Research, research, research. No time to lose. A “state of the industry” report is due tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Talk to the team about dinner. Hey, what about Indian? I volunteer to make the food run. Ulterior motive: I need to actually see daylight at least once every 24 hours. Wipe the curry off my chin and plunge into PowerPoint. How in the world did they do this in the old days? My battery’s going dead. Call “significant other.” Check e-mail. Grab a shake at Mickey D’s and head home to the Holiday Inn.

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Consultant Consultants are expected to use everything in their MBA bag of tricks—people skills, management skills, and quantitative skills—to come up with client solutions and keep them smiling while doing it. They often have primary responsibility for a small project team or a small part of a larger team. Specific responsibilities include: > Guiding and motivating the team, encouraging contributions, and determining the appropriate analysis and course of direction > Leading brainstorming sessions > Keeping the program on track > Interpreting the results of the team’s analysis > Preparing and delivering presentations to IBM and client management > IT practitioners: managing IT systems development through design, programming, testing, and implementation A Day in the Life of a Consultant 5:00

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Eyes open. Immediately check e-mail and voice mail. It’s an automatic response to the alarm—like Pavlov’s dog. In this business, never know when you’ll have a change of plan. Ride to airport. Wolf down a bagel and a grapefruit in the cab. This is why I wait till later to put on my tie. Catch 7:18 flight to the client’s headquarters. Arrive at the client’s. Week Two. Trade pleasantries with what’s-hisname and what’s-her-name. My weakness: names. They’re paying IBM all this money, and I don’t remember … Sam and Sheila. That’s it. Those two and 20 others. Wave a “how was the weekend?” at the incoming (other members of the IBM team). Check e-mail and voice mail. Meet with the client. Hit him with some amazing insights I came up with over the weekend. He nods. Not sure if he thinks they’re valid. Check messages and e-mails. Dig into a client presentation left over from Saturday. (Yes, I did some work at home on Saturday. What else is new?) Lunch. Client asks me out to Mexican food. On the way back, we stop at the plant to see if the idea I mentioned earlier will work. Bingo. It looks like it might fly. Client likes that I’m always thinking about how to improve his business. So what if I’m slow on names?

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3:30 4:45

Team meeting. Everyone provides updates. I present my idea and findings. Nods of approval. Yep, way more efficient that way. Boy Wonder does it again. Check e-mail. Bang out PowerPoint presentation for the next meeting. Hour-long presentation with client brass. They like where we’re going, but get antsy. Note to self: late meetings not a good idea. Call my manager to report what just transpired with the client. He’ll be in next week. Spend next hour writing up issues raised in the previous phone call. Boss wants to see a detailed e-mail by morning. Check e-mail and call it a day. Strange. Strange to be out this early. I think I’ll catch a movie. Naw, forget it. Need food first. Forgot to eat again.

O N

2:30

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The Workplace “Instead of the conformity you tend to associate with the pre-1990s IBM, the new IBM culture actively celebrates the individual.”

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W O R K P L A C E T H E

Lifestyle and Hours Consulting is consulting is consulting, whether it’s at a big shop like IBM or a smaller one like PRTM. Living out of a suitcase. Extremely long days. Of course, since it’s IBM, the stakes seem higher. Big money contracts. Relentless challenge, lots of pressure. Most of all, big expectations. “You might be totally clueless at first, but people see IBM on your business card and expect you to be a genius,” says one insider. “Oddly enough, ask enough questions, do enough research, stick your nose into every nook and cranny, and suddenly you think you are. It’s great for your ego. Tiring as hell, but extremely satisfying. You make use of everything you’ve got.” Generally, projects can last up to six months in duration, with technical projects often longer. Teams of four to 12 consultants per project—often including some client personnel—are typical, although that can multiply fast on big jobs. IBM consultants are usually home on Thursday nights and in the office Friday. On the other hand, one insider says, some people don’t even have offices anymore. “Remote working is very big at IBM,” he says. “A cable modem and an IBM notebook are all you need.”

Culture As you might have surmised, IBM has loosened up quite a bit in the last decade. “Nobody wears a suit here,” one insider says. “If the clients don’t—and most don’t anymore—we don’t. Thank god.” They must be doing something right. Computerworld ranked IBM number 12 in its “100 Best Places to Work in IT” eighth annual survey (June 4, 2001); and number four in its “Top Ten Places to Work in IT for Hot Projects” (June 25, 2001).

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One veteran insider sums up those results in this way: “IBM has the feel of a small company, with all the resources and benefits of a big one. Instead of the conformity you tend to associate with the pre-1990s IBM, the new IBM culture actively celebrates the individual. Promotions are based solely on achievement.” Community involvement is also stressed. IBM encourages volunteerism and donations on a vast scale. The company contributed more than $127 million in 2001 to charitable programs worldwide, and employees contributed another

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W O R K P L A C E

Workplace Diversity

T H E

$51.2 million on their own. The largesse went to more than 7,500 educational institutions and non-profit organizations. As of March 2002, IBMers volunteered more than four million hours of time and expertise to a broad range of local causes.

To increase its focus on local or unique diversity issues back in the 1990s, IBM established diversity councils and eight executive-led task forces representing women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Gays/Lesbians, the disabled, and men. The programs had immediate payoff, according to Ted Childs, vice president for global workforce diversity at IBM. The number of African American executives doubled in a three-year period from 62 to 115. Over the past five years, the number of female executives at IBM worldwide has more than tripled from 185 to 596, with more than half of those working mothers. That’s one reason IBM has been named in the top ten of Working Mother magazine’s “Best Places to Work for Mothers” for ten of the last 14 years—longer than any other company—and in the top 100 all 16 years. IBM was recognized by Catalyst (a for-women’s-advancement non-profit), for its leadership in advancing the careers of women throughout the workforce. And, finally, the head of IBM Business Consulting Services is a woman, Gina Rommety, which bodes well for future increases in diversity at BCS.

Compensation IBM personnel are notoriously tight-lipped about salary information, reflexively trained to dismiss outsider’s inquiries with “we pay very, very well.” Well, you can probably take that to the bank. IBM’s policy is to attract and retain the best people by making sure that the value of its total compensation package compares favorably with that of competitors. Given that the slumping economy has sent salary packages and signing bonuses for new consulting hires plummeting throughout the industry, new research associates’ salaries, once nearing $65,000, are now in the $50,000s, while starting salaries for MBAs range from $90,000 to $120,000. Bonuses, officially called “variable pay opportunities,” are healthy—10 to 15 percent of annual earnings—with more for extraordinary performance. Merit-based raises, keeping with IBM’s entrepreneurial model that rewards results, can jump your salary up very rapidly.

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W O R K P L A C E T H E

Travel Update all your frequent-flier programs before coming on board. Unless you’ve been living in a cave for a couple of decades, you’re certainly aware that “travel” and “consulting” are joined at the hip. The case of the person who travels so much that he no longer keeps an apartment is, of course, rare—but telling. Being on the road half the time or more is not unusual. You go to where the client is, period, and where he is isn’t always pretty or glamorous. Weekend travel is rare (although weekend work isn’t).

Vacations, Benefits, and Perks IBM was among the first corporations to provide group life insurance (1934), survivor benefits (1935), and paid vacations (1936). And the beat goes on in the 2000s. Showered with a cornucopia of benefits, it’s the rare IBM employee who does not rave about company benefits. While annual vacation time mandated by the Board of Directors—two weeks yearly, three weeks after five years—is not generous by consulting industry standards, four “personal choice days” and 12 holidays (six national) effectively close the gap. The standard pregnancy leave is six weeks. Medical, dental, and vision coverage—a wide choice of plans for self and family—begins on the first day of employment and can include life insurance, travel insurance, and longterm care and disability.

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Particularly loved by IBMers are numerous educational opportunites, including no-charge financial planning classes, 100 percent tuition refund for preapproved classes, and educational leaves of absence. Investment opportunities include the TDSP 401(k) (tax-deferred savings plan) in which IBM matches contributions by 50 percent for up to 6 percent of your income (employees can contribute up to 15 percent of their income to the plan). Employees are fully vested in (entitled to) these company-matched funds immediately. There’s also an IBM stock purchase plan (15 percent discount, up to 10 percent of your income), an IBM Personal Pension Account (monthly pay credits equal to 5 percent of pay after one year of service, vested after five years), and a Life Planning Account, which provides up to $250 of taxable financial assistance each year for financial planning services, health education, and fitness expenses.

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W O R K P L A C E

Training

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Finally, at age 40, IBM annually credits a personal tax-free Future Health Account of $2,500 to help employees pay for the cost of post-career IBM health coverage. The fund can be used to pay for IBM health care coverage upon leaving IBM at, or after, age 55 with at least 15 years of service.

Like other consulting firms, IBM BCS puts its new hires through “consulting boot camp.” Both undergrads and MBAs go on short, intensive training programs—two weeks for MBAs, four weeks for undergrads. The latter, of course, focuses more on business fundamentals. Training magazine ranked IBM fourth in its April 2002 annual “Top 100 List” at training and developing their employees. Rankings were determined by financial investment in employee development; type and scope of training and development programs for employees; quality of programs and how closely development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives.

Career Path The career ladder looks like this: research associate (undergraduate hire), consultant (MBA hire), then, after two to three years, senior consultant. “From this point, don’t hold your breath. It’s a pretty big jump to the next levels— principal, managing principal, and vice president,” says an insider. “Of course, if you’re exceptional, sky’s the limit.” Only exceptional RAs get the opportunity to move up to consultant without going back to business school. There are frequent opportunities for foreign postings in BCS’s vast overseas consulting network. Those who tire of the consulting lifestyle need not leave the company, as they might at another consulting firm. BCS and parent IBM Global Services are so huge that challenging jobs requiring normal hours and little or no travel are available. “I got sick of the consulting life and wanted to start a family, but couldn’t imagine leaving IBM,” says a consultant-turned recruiter.

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Insider Scoop: What Employees Really Like

T H E

Rebels with a Cause. You know how your mother always told you to floss and wear clean underwear? How it would make you feel good and nicer to be around? Everyone at IBM is like that—or so it seems. The blood transfusion of go-go entrepreneurialism that was pumped in during the company’s renaissance in the 1990s may have permanently souped up the creativity and the decision-making processes, but it didn’t change the fundamental DNA. Yes, speak your mind, dare to advocate the radical course, but mind mom’s manners. “Who says you can’t be smart, responsible, trustworthy—and exciting, too?” says one insider. “I don’t think I would have fit into IBM ten years ago because the rebel in me would have felt too inhibited. Now, it’s the best of both worlds: nice, smart people and on-the-edge ideas.” One-Stop Shop. The term is hackneyed and cliché. But “one-stop shop” rings truer at IBM BCS than any other consultancy, and that breeds confidence. With unparalleled research and the resources at their fingertips, many IBM consultants feel they have an advantage right out of the blocks. “Don’t get me wrong—consulting would be hard, challenging work no matter what company you went to work for,” says an insider. “But all the firepower we have here gives me sort of an undefinable—maybe psychological—edge. We have enough knowledge about strategy, operations, and technology to handle whatever needs arise. Clients know it, so overcoming resistance to change is easier.” Speak Your Mind. Performance counts at IBM, so don’t be too awed by titles. “If you’ve got a good idea, or disagree with your boss, let him know—it can only clarify matters and/or make for improvements. Remember: This is an innovation culture, and you’ll ultimately be judged on your memorable contributions.” Just be nice about it.

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W O R K P L A C E

Out of the Fishbowl. Even if you like the prestige of working at IBM, don’t forget that you are merely a mercenary to the client—a hired gun. You won’t be pampered and coddled. You might be thrown into a dank, dark office with five people to share two phone lines. You might get a dirty look if the client sees you checking baseball scores at 3:30 in the afternoon. You might not get your very own parking sticker at the client site. “It’s a lot different from working a normal job,’” says one insider, “but that’s the point of consulting.”

T H E

Insider Scoop: Watch Outs!

Long-Distance Lifestyle. Also, don’t romanticize the consulting life. It’s exciting going to a new town, meeting new people. “But after three days, Palookaville is Palookaville,” says one insider. “If—or rather when—you spend most of your time at the client site, your lifestyle becomes disjointed—especially if the job is out of town.” If you have a hard time when you miss events with friends and family, or don’t like long-distance pillow talk, start checking out some other profession. Spice of Life. Variety is the … well, you know. A consultant’s projects, working conditions, and quality of partners and managers may be radically different from one week to the next. Remember that dank office with two phone lines from last week? This week you might get an entire floor with sweeping ocean views—or a desk next to the men’s restroom. Remember the laughs you shared with that hotshot, go-getter group on XYZ project? Savor them. For the next four months, you might be stuck with a bunch of somber bumblers who haven’t smiled since “Cheers” went off the air. Also, get used to lack of privacy, working lunches, working dinners, and late hours together. And don’t complain about some team members’ bad habits, which will make a high-pressure situation even worse.

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Getting Hired

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H I R E D G E T T I N G

The Recruiting Process IBM BCS recruits at roughly 115 undergraduate schools and a smaller number of affiliated business schools. Most MBA hiring, says one recruiter, appears to come from a dozen programs: Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Wharton (University of Pennsylvania), University of Chicago, Emory, Kellogg (Northwestern), Dartmouth, Stern (NYU), University of Virginia, Sloan (MIT), and Columbia. To get an interview, either contact your campus recruiter directly or introduce yourself at information sessions, career fairs, or other pre-interview events held at school or locally. If your undergraduate school isn’t on the IBM BCS itinerary, try to get an interview by tracking down the recruiter at your preferred locale or check to see if you can connect with any alums of your university working at IBM BCS. The selection process typically takes two or three rounds, with several interviews per round. Initial interviews are informational, with the latter caseoriented. Special Information for Undergraduates A strong GPA, though important, is considered less so than poise, business savvy, relevant skills, and internship experience. Recruiters like well-rounded, self-motivated types with communication and leadership skills. All majors— ranging from economics and business to liberal arts—have a shot at research associate positions.

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Special Information for MBAs IBM likes to hire MBAs who’ve shown involvement—not just someone who had a job, but was actively involved in learning many facets of the company. And not just a student, but someone who got involved in student organizations. “You weren’t just taking up space, putting in the time, and running out the door,” says one insider. IBM interviewers like people who do their homework on the company. Expect a mix of behavioral and case questions that’ll push on your analytical strengths and work accomplishments.

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H I R E D

> Do your homework—don’t come unprepared. Show that you’ve done a lot of research about IBM Business Consulting Services, IBM Global Services, and IBM in general. Attend the information sessions and the career fairs held on campus. Talk to alums working at IBM. Search the Internet. Do whatever it takes.

G E T T I N G

Interviewing Tips

> Don’t waste IBM’s time and yours by using the interview to ask questions about the company—unless they are fairly specific questions that show you know your stuff. In fact, come into the interview with a list of questions, and ask them one-two-three. > Intelligent, yes. Arrogant, no. Over and over, IBM people mention two desirable qualities: nice and smart. > Take the initiative and start talking. Don’t wait for recruiters to prompt you with questions. Tell them why you are a good match with the company and the job. Talk about your experiences, what they taught you, and how they helped you develop your management skills and world view. > Loose cannons need not apply. True, the man in the blue suit image is long gone; IBM has loosened up quite a bit in the last decade. The 2001 annual report talks of IBM being “fast” and “entrepreneurial.” But … remember that this is an immense organization that by its nature has a huge chain of command and channels. > Expect to be asked, “What type of consulting do you want to do?” Provide a definite area of interest—such as “the entertainment industry”—but mention two or three others, too. > Be ready with success stories—examples from work, school, and life that demonstrate initiative, character, flexibility, and leadership. Dredge your memory; be ready to provide fresh, flattering anecdotes that show your potential as a consultant. > In the second interview, be prepared to act like a consultant. As the partners walk you through a case, calmly ask questions. There’s no right answer. But you’ll impress by focusing the discussion on the implementation of your recommendations as they apply to various models.

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H I R E D G E T T I N G

Grilling Your Interviewer Definitely prepare a few questions of your own about IBM BCS. In the meantime, here are a few to get you started. > How will the recent changes (merger with PwC, the new name) affect IBM consulting’s culture and business, for better or worse? > How much IT knowledge will I have to develop? > For research associate recruits: Will the company support my decision to pursue an MBA? What percentage of associates leaves to get one, and how many return after getting one? > What’s your turnover rate? When people leave, why and where do they go? > I’ve heard that there are many opportunities to work abroad at IBM. How long would I have to work here to be considered for an overseas post?

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Copyright 2002 WetFeet, Inc.™

For Your Reference

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R E F E R E N C E Y O U R F O R

Recommended Reading “Consulting’s Romantic Comedy” During the early to mid ’90s, big accounting firms were valued as architects while IT services suffered from the “plumber” syndrome. Hence, IBM believes that PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting will fill more of a “generalist” void and allow Big Blue to work its way up the client’s value chain. Source: Inside Consulting, Tom Rodenhauser, 7/31/02.

“Cheap as Chips —IBM buys PwC Consulting” The announcement by IBM that it plans to acquire the consulting arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, highlights the effects of the economic slowdown and recent corporate accounting scandals on the value of consulting firms. It could also trigger further consolidation in the IT services and consulting market, according to this article. Source: Accountancy Age, 8/20/02.

“IBM Corp reasserted its position at the top of the IT services market by buying PwC Consulting for $3.5bn yesterday” IBM’s takeover of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting at a bargain price of $3.5 billion widens the gap between Big Blue and Hewlett-Packard, which expanded its own services business through its takeover of Compaq Computer Corp. earlier this year. It also seems likely to force a series of realignments between vendors and services firms—PwC has strategic relationships with a number of IBM’s competitors including HP and Sun Microsystems Inc. Source: ComputerWire, Joe Fay, 7/31/2002.

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Insiders say required reading at IBM Business Consulting Services is The Wall Street Journal. As well as the Harvard Business Review, and Consultants News, published by Kennedy Information (www.kennedyinfo.com/mc/cn.html).

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R E F E R E N C E

Key People

Y O U R

Numbers for IBM Business Consulting Services are not available as they are not reported separately from figures for IBM.

F O R

The Numbers

Samuel P. Palmisano, President and CEO Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Chairman of the Board John M. Thompson, Vice Chairman of the Board

Recruiting Contacts IBM National Recruiting Organization (NRO) Dave Farrel, Director, Staffing Channels and Programs Bernise Winston, Staffing Manager Gigi Williams, Administrative Assistant, ext. 1144 4800 Falls of Neuce Rd. Raleigh, NC 27609 919-850-5800

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Copyright 2002 WetFeet, Inc.™

Who We Are WetFeet is the trusted destination for job seekers to research companies and industries, and manage their careers. The WetFeet Insider Guides provide you with inside information for a successful job search. At WetFeet, we do the work for you and present our results in an informative, credible, and entertaining way. Think of us as your own private research company whose primary mission is to assist you in making more informed career decisions. WetFeet was founded in 1994 by Stanford MBAs Gary Alpert and Steve Pollock. While exploring our next career moves, we needed products like WetFeet Insider Guides to help us through the research and interviewing game. But they didn’t exist. So we started writing. Today, WetFeet serves more than a million job candidates each month by helping them nail their interviews, avoid ill-fated career decisions, and add thousands of dollars to their compensation packages. The quality of our work and knowledge of the job-seeking world have also allowed us to develop an extensive corporate and university membership. In addition, WetFeet’s services include two award-winning websites (WetFeet.com and InternshipPrograms.com), Web-based recruiting technologies, consulting services, and our exclusive research studies, such as the annual WetFeet Student Recruitment Survey. Our team members, who come from diverse backgrounds, share a passion about the job-search process and a commitment to delivering the highest quality products and customer service. WetFeet is headquartered in San Francisco. You can visit us any time at www.wetfeet.com, by calling 1-800-926-4JOB (or 415-284-7900 from outside the U.S.), or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you, whether you have a job success story, information about a company, new product ideas, or a suggestion for improvement. Thank you for your support!

About Our Name

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One of the most frequent questions we receive is, “So, what’s the story behind your name?” The short story is that the inspiration for our name comes from a popular business school case study about L.L. Bean, the successful mail-order company. Leon Leonwood Bean got his start because he quite simply, and very literally, had a case of wet feet. Every time he went hunting in the Maine woods, his shoes leaked, and he returned with soaked feet. So, one day, he decided to make a better hunting shoe. And he did. And he told his friends, and they lined up to buy their own pairs of Bean boots. And L.L. Bean, the company, was born . . . all because a man who had wet feet decided to make boots. The lesson we took from the Bean case? Lots of people get wet feet, but entrepreneurs make boots. And that’s exactly what we’re doing at WetFeet.