Vault’s Verdict

If the past decade or so has been interesting for Strategy&—including launching a whole new brand inside of one of the best-known professional services firms in the world, plus the small matter of a global pandemic—the next few years look set to be, well, potentially just as interesting. Having achieved a degree of success with the Strategy& brand that many critics and industry naysayers felt was beyond the firm, we are now entering an age where the Big 4 are once again voluntarily divesting their advisory businesses, in order to be able to compete for more business.

Of course, there are no concrete indications that PwC/Strategy& are thinking along the same lines, but the concept is something that should at least be on the minds of anyone thinking about joining the firm—and is definitely something to take the temperature on throughout the interview process.

That aside, there are few reasons not to recommend at least getting to know Strategy& better as part of your job search: with PwC’s backing, the firm has access to some of the best-known names in the business world, a reach that can truly be described as global, and the kind of internal processes and training capabilities that only the Big 4 can provide.

Firm Culture

• “A lot of the things are very similar to our competitors, but one thing that makes the work at Strategy& unique is that if we have the drive to initiate something (a new initiative, team event, knowledge platform, etc.) we will almost always receive the support and backing for it - making our work feel impactful!”
• “Great firm with tremendously talented and motivated team members. Highly focused on collaboration and working together with clients. Great opportunities for team members to take ownership, even at junior levels.”
• “It is a great place to develop one's business and consulting skills, with great traction in the market in terms of volume of business. Great compensation under many aspects, base, bonus, and benefits.”
• “Strategy& ME offers a great opportunity to launch one's career and provides MBA sponsorships to virtually all consultants who spend 2+ years with the firm. It stands out with its collegial culture where everyone is invested in helping everyone else grow and improve, across cohorts and levels.”
• “Yes, our company is smaller compared to some competitors but exactly this is what drives the personal note in our office culture and interaction.”

Quality of Life

• “Best: Easy to take time off through bonus for vacation days program and leave programs; Work from anywhere policy. Worst: Long hours.”
• “Firm culture is incredibly good. Interaction with managers/ directors and partners is not hierarchical and very much on the same level. Colleagues have become close friends. Frequent firm events are taking place, many of those privately organized by colleagues.”
• “My firm is very flexible when it comes to working conditions: we can work from home and from different countries whenever needed, we can take time off when needed as well. The system the firm follows is very flexible which encourages people to work harder but more comfortably.”
• “The company really makes an effort to accommodate employee preferences on travelling and also gives you lots of additional days off on various occasions. Taking a vacation is especially easy in between projects but mostly often works fine when on an engagement, too.”
• “We champion a culture that allows to help everyone to find his/her best way of coping with stress, heavy workloads etc.”

Career Development

• “Best aspect is the freedom to connect with every practice, industry lead etc. to follow one‘s passion or explore new fields as new hire but the worst aspect is non-transparency of the project pipeline.”
• “Highly appreciate the open feedback culture and various opportunities to take international trainings.”
• “High learning opportunity thanks to interesting projects for innovative life sciences companies. Training internally well-organized but easily pushed aside due to project/BD priorities.”
• “Best aspect is the freedom to connect with every practice, industry lead, etc. to follow one‘s passion or explore new fields as new hire; but the worst aspect is the transparency of the project pipeline.”
• “Very fair and impartial assessment process; promotions not based on free positions (and 3-4 candidates fighting for one position) but everyone who fulfills the checks of the capability matrix ‘at next level’ will be promoted; no competition between peers, no forced ranking; everyone aims to improve the ‘personal handicap’ instead to showcase that he/she is superior to his/her colleagues. Therefore, we really have a team culture!”

Compensation

• “Very fair base salary with newly adjusted rates and bonus levels. In [my home country], not too many additional compensations aside from partly paid insurance.”
• “Fixed part of compensation can be increased further to reach top of the range and attract talent. Insurance coverage is good, however misses U.S. coverage.”
• “Salary progresses with level. Everyone on the same level has the same compensation; no negotiations possible; therefore, no envy between peers.”
• “The salary is incredibly high, bonus payments are very fair and the new parental program (e.g. working 80% at 100% salary) is just great.”

Outlook

• “Best: Strong growth prospects due to strengthening market recognition and position in Europe, very good employee morale and recognition for great firm culture in the market.
  Worst: Limitation of clients due to the accounting roles of PwC in some big European firms.”
• “Only true strategy to execution proposition among strategy firms and big four.”
• “Perfectly positioned to make clients transformations successful with the combination of PwC, the amount of smart people and the possibility to attract talents. challenge are conflicts with audit mandates.”
• “The best aspect of the firm is that it is winning a lot of work and continues to grow and develop its staff.
  The worst aspect of the business outlook is that it is not prepared sufficiently for how consulting will look in the future, and this might lead to loss of business to competitors that are more well-equipped with the most advanced tools and talent.”
• “We are very well known in the region with a solid reputation. A little undermanned in case, we have a good pipeline and little resources.”

Hiring Process

• “Callback process is very smooth! The ideal candidate would have shown strong leadership capabilities and is in general a high achiever.”
• “Graduates: 4 interviews on 1 day—first two positive candidate proceeds to next stage. (first two typically by managers / directors; second two interviews by directors / partners).”
• “Interview and callback process was really positive - one virtual interview (divided in two interviews 1) general interview, getting to know each other 2) Case studies), one in the home office, and one final call with the responsible partner. I got feedback really fast, always in around 1-2 weeks.”
• “One-day process in two phases: Morning first round with 2 interviews, (if positive feedback:) afternoon second round with two interviews, final answer still on the same day. Ideal candidate: authentic, intelligent, concise communication, energized, structured thinking, creativity and business acumen.”
• “The interview and callback process were really fast which I appreciated. I quickly learned that I had passed the interviews after taking them. Also, the interviewers were really good at giving feedback on my performance at the end of the interviews which helped me a lot to improve for the next interview. They sought for a candidate that was confident, logical and had good analytical skills.”

Interview Questions

• “How would you advise a group of government representatives from different northern European governments on deciding whether and how to set up a windfarm island?”
• “Impact of geopolitical events on economy.”
• “Post-MBA hiring case: how to value and select the best fit media rights for acquisition by a regional media player, how to promote workforce localization, typical profitability cases.”
• "Top pharma company has asset in Phase X in disease X - Next phase associated with $X in development cost. The client asks you whether to proceed with development: Modular question aiming to go deep into Pharma knowledge with experience hires. Graduates to be evaluated based on questions, structure and innovative thinking.”
• “Why do you want to work for this company? What do you find interesting about this position? Did you party a lot while studying?”

Diversity

• “All consultants at my firm have equal access to interesting/high-quality work and promotion opportunities - the current focus is more on women and ethnicity diversity.”
• “Continuous internal workshops and inclusion of juniors in promoting gender diversity and equity. Awareness creation of high male percentage in more senior positions and efforts to change this. Participation in LGBTQ+ events.”
• “Not enough women and different ethnicities in our teams. Very white male, especially on more senior levels. However, very prominent on senior leaders' agendas and everyone empowered to make a difference.”
• “There is an overall D&I initiative in the whole firm as well as smaller ones in the individual offices with the aim of education and raising awareness. … I do believe that all consultants have equal access to interesting work and promotion opportunities.”