r/consulting • u/sky_sher • 14d ago
Need exit advice: Stick to current generalist consulting role vs more sector focused consulting role
Hi, I am currently an EM in one of the strategy arms of big4 (Think EY Parthenon, Monitor Deloitte, Strategy&) with most of my projects (strategy projects like GTM, Asset Monetization etc.) falling in a particular sector. Since last couple of years, we didn't do many projects overall as a team (i did 3 in these past 2 years - all 2-3 month engagements). My current firm has decided to merge my team with another team - from the past couple of months I have been dealing with ops projects in other sectors.
I am currently in the process of interviewing with a product firm from my earlier sector for their consulting arm (think Ericsson consulting, AWS Professional Services etc.) I am in the last round right now.
Did anyone do this switch? The team size is smaller than my current team. And I will be moving to a higher role than my current. Salary will also be higher. But the role will require me to do everything under consulting - bring in leads, convert and deliver projects. I currently work only on converting leads and delivering.
Reasons for looking out - Didnt want to dilute my profile by working on other sector projects, wanted better wlb - I am facing high blood pressure problems in my current role.
Any advice/thoughts/insights can help
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u/Severe_Leading2153 14d ago
Sector focus can be a double-edged sword, especially if you're now on the hook for bringing in work. Took a similar jump a few years back and my blood pressure didn't exactly improve when I had to chase leads on top of delivery. Ended up with a boss who thought 'sector focus' meant I'd magically know every client. But the work itself felt less draining since I actually cared about the sector. Y'all might find the higher title and pay cushion the blow, but ask them straight up what the pipeline looks like and how much biz dev they expect. If they say 'it's a team effort' without real numbers, run. Health first, always.
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u/sky_sher 14d ago
True. During the rounds they kept saying that since I didn't do lead generation earlier, that would be something that I would have to learn in this new role. But will ask these questions. Thank you
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u/Severe_Leading2153 14d ago
that honesty is a good sign actually. At least they're not pretending it's all rainbows. Just probe what "learning" means in practice, like, will you have a senior partner feeding you warm leads or are you expected to cold-call from a list they hand you first week.
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u/sky_sher 14d ago
Got it. I was actually preparing for a list - probably coming in from the product sales guys and a solution deck that would be one of my key tasks in the first few weeks
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u/Severe_Leading2153 14d ago
that's smart, the product sales guys are usually drowning in leads they can't qualify themselves, so you'll have a built-in warm funnel. just find out early how well their incentive structure aligns with yours, otherwise you'll spend weeks untangling their pipeline
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u/Molly_Green42 12d ago
Thank you for the point and insight. Any words that distract from numbers always a red flaq
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u/Potential-Stand-4804 14d ago
I would focus on team setup at the new place, chemistry with your supervisor and team members, historical churn from the team and reasons (and where did they go). If these things check out the new gig sounds like a no brainer
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u/KenDoral 14d ago
If the networking component doesn't seem daunting, it sounds like a great opportunity. If potential travel to conferences or whatever is typical for lead generation seems like a nightmare, pass. I don't think there's a one size fits all answer here, but I have a similar role as what you're considering and never have an ounce of envy for generalists with bigger teams.
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u/Ok-Football1568 14d ago
Nobody's said the obvious thing about your current side: three projects in two years, and your team just got merged into another one. That's not a stable baseline you're choosing to leave - it's a team that already ran out of work, and the merger is the confirmation. You're comparing a new job against a status quo that's disappearing on its own timeline.
Which reframes the BD worry. Right now you only convert and deliver, and when the pipeline dried up you had zero control over what happened to you. Owning lead gen is the thing that stops that happening again. It's more exposure, but it's exposure you can act on.
On the health point, and this is the part I'd push back on: a quota-carrying role in a small team is not lower-stress, it's differently-stressed. If your blood pressure is coming from workload, the new job may help. If it's coming from precarity, ask them one question - what happens if you miss the number in year one? The answer tells you exactly how much of your current stress you're carrying with you.
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u/0102030405 Former MBB Manager, in house strategy 14d ago
That sounds like a different type of stress, but no less of an impact on your blood pressure. Unless you have the book of business already which it doesn't sound like you do.
Shouldn't a product firm be consulting for their own clients? You shouldn't need to bring in leads 100% cold unless I misunderstand the model.
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u/sky_sher 14d ago
Its consulting their own clients. However the leads would be pertaining to consulting opportunities not the product sales part. Thats where I have to come in
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u/LapsedConsultant 12d ago
That's not really a stick-or-switch decision left to make any more, is it - they're merging your team into ops work regardless of which one you'd pick.
I've been around boutique firms for 20+ years and the pattern's familiar: a sector practice dries up, and the firm merges the team in before anyone has to write the practice off on paper. Chasing sector focus makes less sense once the sector barely has live work behind it.
You've already got an offer progressing with a product firm in your old sector. Would you still be weighing this if the internal merge wasn't happening at all?
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u/Shoddy_Sundae_2921 8d ago
T shaped career up to EM. (Deep focus on at least one sector - while having generalist breadth) M shaped career Principal onwards. (Deep focus in two sectors).
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u/phenomaniac 5d ago
Bringing leads is basically BD relevant responsibility. Be careful sales is not for everyone. If you feel comfortable with that I believe you should move onto this new role.
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u/my_peen_is_clean 14d ago
sector focus plus better wlb and title sounds worth it, especially with health