Vault’s Verdict

If you’re looking at breaking into consulting from an unconventional background, Eagle Hill Consulting is worth a look. The firm actively searches for people who bring a different perspective to consulting, placing them in roles where they can apply the skills they already have while developing their consulting acumen.

Insiders point to the firm’s flexible scheduling and flexible remote work policies as signs of its commitment to providing work-life balance, and they say their evenings and weekends are largely protected. While this may come with slightly lower pay and less clear promotion policies than other firms, most Eagle Hill employees agree the trade-off is worth it.

In terms of business outlook, Eagle Hill is refreshingly stable. While it has a diversified book of business that includes commercial and nonprofit clients, its bread and butter is the federal government, which historically has been relatively insulated to economic cycles compared to other industries. This gives insiders high confidence in the firm’s ability to grow sustainably.

Firm Culture

“Pretty much everyone I've encountered at Eagle Hill has been warm and willing to lend a hand. There is no feeling of a toxic and competitive workplace that firms can sometimes have.”

“I genuinely feel cared for and can have a reasonable work-life balance and lots of flexibility. I am also able to work remotely full-time because of some personal needs.”

“We are particularly innovative regarding culture. You can do great work here without burning out.”

“Our company's tagline is ‘unconventional consulting,’ so we appreciate folks from various backgrounds as they provide varying perspectives.”

Quality of Life

“We are all almost exclusively remote with the option of going into the office, but no one really pressures us to be in-person.  It's very easy to take time off and we have a flex schedule system where you can 'earn back' PTO by working long hours during the same pay period as your PTO.”

“Eagle Hill says they prioritize employee well-being, and they practice it. I'm never expected to work outside of business hours or weekends, except when I travel for a client event that requires meeting with the client the Sunday before a workshop, which is rare. I'm encouraged to take PTO (especially after more intense work periods) and I'm not disturbed when I'm out of office, even when I say that I am reachable.”

“Both new mothers and fathers are given 12 weeks of paid parental leave, which is better than most other companies offer.”

“Eagle Hill recently changed their PTO policy and employees have been very vocally against the decision. Employees cannot use more than 10 consecutive days of PTO (even if they are between projects and have days) without HR approval. Employees also may no longer use PTO days in conjunction with maternity leave.”

Career Development

“Career development is a high priority across the firm at all levels. Consultants can move across sectors and into our solutions sector to meet their career goals. Career progression at Eagle Hill is much easier than larger firms that I have worked at. We are working on developing more opportunities to work internationally as well.”

“Being a midsized firm, there are career opportunities but the pathway to get there is not always the clearest or easiest to navigate.”

“To be promoted, you have to enter what’s called a ‘next-level role.’ Once in the next-level role, it’s clear to be promoted and the path is straightforward, but it’s extremely unclear how to obtain a next-level role. It simply seems to be ‘right place, right time.’”

“There are a range of trainings available in various skills and there are explicit competencies tied to each role that help you know exactly what you need to do to meet or exceed expectations and prepare for the next role.”

Compensation

“Considering the work schedule is more flexible than other firms, the compensation is relatively good.”

“You can expect an end-of-year bonus and cost-of-living salary increase every year. However, Eagle Hill only considers paid work experience when calculating your initial salary. Volunteer work, internships, and so on are not factored in regardless of how transferrable the competencies demonstrated in those rolls are.”

“I think Eagle Hill is probably not as competitive as other firms. Our compensation starts lower because Eagle Hill purposefully looks for people without consulting backgrounds and teaches them consulting skills. But then, when people upskill, the compensation is not commensurate to the skill level anymore, and the rate of raises and bonuses cannot keep up.”

“Health insurance is covered 100 percent and is good coverage. The firm offers frequent wellness seminars, resources if employees need support, and free subscriptions to the Calm app for mental health.”

Community Engagement/DEI

“Eagle Hill has made meaningful strides in fostering DEI, actively promoting a culture where people from all backgrounds feel welcome and supported. There are DEI initiatives, plus a council aimed at increasing representation across race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+ identities, and individuals with disabilities.”

“Internal surveys have shown that people feel that staffing decisions, promotions, and salary adjustments are equitable.”

“I don't think our DEI efforts are as substantiative as they could be. There are celebratory months, but I'm not convinced it's anything more than keeping up with the trend of celebrating diversity.”

“Eagle Hill takes a proactive approach to promoting employee health and wellness, offering a variety of initiatives designed to support both physical and mental well-being. There are also regular wellness check-ins and challenges to encourage active lifestyles.”

Business Outlook

“Eagle Hill is well positioned for growth, with a strong reputation and a diverse client base across multiple sectors. Additionally, the leadership has been forward-thinking, making strategic investments in high-growth areas such as digital transformation and sustainability consulting, which align with broader industry trends and client demands.”

“As the firm is moving into a mid-sized firm and entering into the competitive proposal space, there are growing pains but the firm is taking it seriously and looking to combat the challenges head on.”

“The firm has a strong presence in federal government work and is paying attention to emerging fields such as AI.”

“We have built solid relationships with existing clients, and they trust us. However, we rely too heavily on our federal practice and I'd like to see us expand more into commercial.”

Hiring Process

“We have a competency-based interview guide which has a set of questions interviewers follow in order to provide consistency and equality to the candidates.”

“The interview process begins with an initial phone or video screening that asks candidates about their background, experience, and motivation for joining the firm. From here, successful candidates advance to a series of interviews and case studies to evaluate their problem-solving abilities.”

“We are looking for candidates that fit into our culture and live our core values. We bring in candidates with diverse backgrounds and match them to roles we are looking to fill that will help them develop new skills. For more senior roles, we are looking for candidates with skillsets we need to strengthen our delivery.”

“One of my favorite things about Eagle Hill when I interviewed was that you hear from an actual person, as opposed to your application going into a black box. They are careful to be in excellent communication with candidates.”

Interview Questions

“Our interview questions and case exercises test not only your analytical and strategic thinking, but also your collaboration, adaptability, and leadership.”

“What would your last supervisor say your strength was. What is your supervisor’s weakness?”

“Can you share an example of a time when you had to quickly learn a new skill or adapt to a new challenge at work?”

“Please tell us a time in which you have to provide difficult feedback.”

Uppers

“The supportive culture encourages everyone to share their ideas, which brings a lot of diversity to our solutions.”

“The work-life balance, flexibility, and general autonomy. People want to see you succeed.”

“We work with smart, collaborative teams and leaders on large, strategic projects for our clients. We have fun as a company and genuinely like each other.”

“The flexible hours and work from home options.”

Downers

“Career progression can be tricky and requires a lot of perseverance.”

“Federal contracts are long and not always interesting work.”

“Compensation is a little low compared to competitors but that's a trade-off with the work-life balance I am OK with.”

“I wish our business development and financial management functions were centralized so I could focus on delivery and client relationships.”