Our LinkedIn polls reveal consultants often leave for better work-life balance, targeting P&L roles or startups.
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Every fortnight or so I run a poll on my LinkedIn. Given my area of expertise, the polls explore consulting careers (in and after consulting) - why people start, why they leave and what they leave for. Typically 600-1,200 people join in (a pretty decent sample size) and overall, these polls have been viewed by over 500,000 people with more than 15,000 participants.
Well, unlike many more linear careers, most consulting careers involve leaving consulting. So for a consultant, plotting a career is a bit of a minefield. And if you're trying to hire consulting-trained professionals, how best to attract them can be equally mind-boggling. So, I find the results of these polls particularly enlightening. Why?
In this article, I've collated 11 recent polls into 3 topics:
So, let's get into the data...
Summary: simply put, the majority of people who start a consulting career...
Consultants & former consultants - do you regret the time you spent / are spending in consulting?
Results: (link to data)
When you joined a consulting firm, was it as a "means to an end", or did you envisage a whole career in a consulting firm?
Results below (link to original data)
Do you regret leaving consulting?
Results below (link to original data)
What's the main reason you'd consider switching consulting firms / moving back to consulting?
Results below (link to original data)
Summary: simply put, the majority of people leave a consulting career (i.e, leave a permanent role in a consulting firm) in order to...
What's the main reason you left / would consider leaving consulting?
Results below (link to original data)
Leaving consulting - was work-life balance the main reason (or would it be, if you were to leave in the future)?
Results below (link to original data)
Consultants - how has your work-life balance changed through covid? I'm working..
Results below (link to original data)
Summary: simply put, consultants transition their careers out of consulting along the following lines...
Consultants - what company type do you find most appealing (as a post consulting home)?
Results below (link to original data)
Current & former consultants - what job type would you most like your career to lead to (or for more senior folk, which has it lead to)?
Results below (link to original data)
Freelancing - Are you more of less likely than 12 months ago to consider doing some freelance work?
Results below (link to original data)
Would it be helpful to know which post-consulting careers have the best pay, working hours & job satisfaction?
Results below (link to original data)
If you're trying to assess your options for a post-consulting career, here are some popular resources:
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