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Published: 13 February 2020

What is important to consider when you want to start working in Consulting and what is a typical day of a Consultant at Bain and Company – replies Maxime Crépin (Bo 210)

AFAM: Please tell us more about what your consulting role is about?

Maxime: My role is to help business leaders achieve their goals, and address a wide range of issues, from pure strategy to more operational topics. I've spent most of time helping large tech clients' sales organizations go through mergers or help them design their Go-To-Market strategy. I've also worked on a dozen of private equity due diligences.

AFAM: How did you get where you are now?

Maxime: After Arts et Métiers, I went to UC Berkeley for a Masters' degree. I then joined Bain as an Associate Consultant in 2014. After my promotion to Senior Associate Consultant in 2017, I decided to accept Bain's offer to sponsor me for business school and applied to INSEAD. At the end of 2017, I interned for a start-up in Santa Monica, Surf Air, where I worked as a revenue and strategy manager, working closely with the director of strategy and the CEO. I got my MBA from INSEAD In 2018 and went back to Bain in the San Francisco office.

AFAM:  What does your typical day look like?

Maxime: I'm typically on the client site from Tuesday to Thursday. I always start my day by checking my inbox - given our clients tend to be large global organizations, emails can come in at any time of the day and night. I'll usually have a few hours of meetings a day - some of them will be internal (getting input from our own leadership team to make sure we're headed in the right direction), some of them with clients. At a more junior level, a lot of these client meetings revolve around gathering and understanding data, and as I'm getting more senior they start becoming more about what the right answer is (e.g., what org should a type of sales rep roll into). The rest of the day will be split into data analysis (especially true at a more junior level), using Excel but also increasingly tools such as Alteryx or Tableau, which are better suited for large datasets, data gathering (expert network calls, secondary research…) and slide making. 4. What do you like in your consulting role?   I love working with extremely sharp people, and learning a lot everyday by working along with them. I also love seeing the impact we have - when we start a new project, the situation often looks messy but by asking the right questions and guiding our clients go in the right way, we're able to achieve awesome performance together. In addition, becoming clients' trusted advisor feels very rewarding. This is also very much a "work hard, play hard" kind of culture, which fits me perfectly.

AFAM:  What do you like in your consulting role?

Maxime: I love working with extremely sharp people, and learning a lot everyday by working along with them. I also love seeing the impact we have - when we start a new project, the situation often looks messy but by asking the right questions and guiding our clients go in the right way, we're able to achieve awesome performance together. In addition, becoming clients' trusted advisor feels very rewarding. This is also very much a "work hard, play hard" kind of culture, which fits me perfectly.

AFAM: What are the challenges of your consulting job?

Maxime: The lifestyle can sometimes be a little intense, given the nature of professional services: we need to be available for our clients, and this often means that we need to address their most pressing questions late in the evening or on weekends. Some people also get tired of traveling, but Bain is a great place for that given most of our staffing is done locally. 6. What skills and qualities do engineers need to be successful consultants?   Engineers are very well suited for consulting - problem solving is one of the key pillars of consulting and this is an area engineers excel in. The areas where engineers tend to lack the most are client and presentation skills, as well as the ability to work in an environment where there is no single, perfect option.

AFAM: What skills and qualities do engineers need to be successful consultants?

Maxime: Engineers are very well suited for consulting - problem solving is one of the key pillars of consulting and this is an area engineers excel in. The areas where engineers tend to lack the most are client and presentation skills, as well as the ability to work in an environment where there is no single, perfect option.

AFAM: What advice would you give to an engineering student who wants to work in consulting? Start as a junior in a large management consulting company, find an internship in a boutique firm, become an expert in a certain field before breaking into consulting........?

Maxime: I would start directly working in management consulting, given most of the job is best learnt on the job itself, and I would spend a lot of time evaluating the nuances between the firms. For instance, the Bain staffing model is very different from the one McKinsey offers, and this is something important to consider. And if consulting doesn’t work straight out of engineering school, I would work in a different field for 2-5 years and then do an MBA to make the switch to consulting.

 Consulting firms according to caseinterview.com

Discover other interviews of "Why Consulting?" series:

François Théry (Li 96), Accenture

About internship opportunities at Bain and Company in the US:

How to Apply: Please apply via your campus career center in the US and the Bain and Company Careers website.

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Published: 31 January 2020

Here we are, in the new year, with a new series of interviews "Why Consulting?" (please check out our last series "Food for Thought").

Before asking the question "Why Consulting?" to our interviewees, gadz'arts working in a consulting sector in the United States, we asked it ourselves. Why Consulting and not another series of interviews?

The answer is simple. A lot of Arts et Metiers graduate engineering students who contacted AFAM looking for internships in the US, are interested in Consulting. And when we ask them "Why?", a lot of them are lost, not knowing what to say, probably thinking that saying "I will earn a lot of money" is not a good answer, or at least not the only one.

What is the right answer (if there is one)? We will be trying to understand it with the help of our alumni, professionals, experts, Consulting enthusiasts.

François Thery (Li 96), Technology Consulting Senior Manager at Accenture, SF Bay Area, CA, is one of them.

AFAM: Hello, François, and thank you for replying to our questions. Please tell us more about what your consulting role is about?  

François: My role is complex transformation delivery expert, leading implementation of large scale solution such as ERP (Enterprise resource planning - business process management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many back office functions related to technology, services and human resources) and Saas (software is a service - is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet).

My primary industry focus area is high tech companies, with experience in Configure Price Quote and Supply Chain Transformation initiatives.

AFAM: How did you get where you are now?  

François: I started my professional career in Glass Manufacturing and Operations Management, first on the East coast for 12 years and afterwards on the West Coast. I was involved into managing large projects either in process improvement (lean manufacturing, six sigma) or customer specific programs, which helped me transition easily to Accenture and complex transformation delivery.

I joined Accenture five years ago as I was looking for a career change and was fortunate to join this great company.

AFAM: What does your typical day look like?  

François: What I like as a Technology consultant is that there is no typical day. The principal activity is to work with our client on addressing their needs, coupled with managing a delivery team. There are plenty of opportunities at Accenture to contribute in various projects, such as coaching new joiner, performing volunteer work in local communities, or leading technology working groups. This diversity fits well with my aspiration both personally and professionally.

AFAM: What kind of volunteer work are you talking about?

François: It can be helping out at a local shelter, work with the San Francisco City to improve their dispatching system, or suggest solutions to accelerate the response time of the wildfire! 

AFAM: What do you like in your consulting role?  

François: As mentioned previously, I like the opportunity to work with various teams and companies.

One area that I really like is being able to bring value and a sense of purpose to our client. We strive to make an impact to the daily life of our client by developing meaningful and cutting-edge solutions. Witnessing the results and impact of our work, and the difference that we make is really a rewarding experience as a human being.

AFAM: What are the challenges of the consulting job?  

François: One of the areas that keep consultants on their toes is the need to remain relevant in the work we do. The technology solutions are evolving at a pace we never saw before. It requires us to stay vigilant, always learn and challenge our beliefs and understandings.

AFAM: What skills and qualities do engineers need to be successful consultants?  

François: Engineers usually bring with them rigor and methods to the consulting world. While these are great skills, it is not enough to be successful. The biggest skill gap I personally see is being able to communicate simply and efficiently with a client or a team. This is something that must be learnt, practiced and mastered.

Being able to make a point or explain a problem and solution will be the differentiator between getting a deal or not, having a team following you or not.

AFAM: What advice would you give to a student who wants to work in consulting? Start as a junior in a large management consulting company, find an internship in a boutique firm, become an expert in a certain field before breaking into consulting........?

François: I would recommend anyone to join a Consulting firm early in a career. Joining after spending several years in a non-consulting environment is not easy and requires a high level of adaption.

I would also recommend to be patient, curious and learn as much as possible. What makes a successful consultant is the exposure to various experiences.

As far as which type of consulting firm to join, it is a personal choice. Accenture has a great development program for consultants out of school. It is designed to learn the consulting role, get experience in projects and adapt to the company culture and core values. The specialization will come later on based on affinity and interest.

Some information about internship opportunities at Accenture in the US:

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States and with Accenture. 

How to Apply: Please apply via your campus career center and the Accenture Careers website.

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Published: 31 January 2020

Our community in Atlanta is growing so fast that kings and queens are being elected to manage the changing gadz'art population.

Just joking...we still live in a democracy. The truth is that, 15 gadz'arts gathered on January 16th to enjoy each other's company and to celebrate Epiphany. It is for the first time that a social event in Atlanta gathered so many gadz'arts at once.

The gathering took place in Café Vendôme café in Atlanta, owned by Hamid Rouchdi, a French engineer, graduated from Telecom Lille, Atlanta-based entrepreneur and consultant today.

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Published: 03 January 2020

2019 is gone. Let's  look back at some significant events for our school, alumni and students and some important moments of 2019 for American Friends of Arts et Metiers.

We can't wait to see what the new decade will bring to our community!

January 2019

Laurent Champaney wishes a Happy New 2019 and talks about new projects for the school

Notes about UC Berkeley and Georgia Institute of Technology are published in our blog (signed by Louis Renaux (Cl 216) and Alexis Cassier (Me 215). These two engineering schools are the most popular destinations for our students as every year a lot of gadzarts are going to Berkeley and Atlanta within the framework of Parcours US or GT exchange programs.

February 2019

First gadz gathering is organized in Atlanta by our Atlanta representative and AFAM board member Nicolas Horde (Ai 215). Our communities on East, West Coast and in the Center are very dynamic and there are a lot of different events organized thanks to our groups' presidents JB Commans, Eric Tran, Mattia Pelissou and other groups' members.

March 2019

Arts et Metiers is displaying its new identity at Global Industry Exhibition.

Arts et Metiers students Clément, Jean and Maxime are selected for World Skills competition taking place in Russia in August 2019

Partnership with Data ScienceTech Institute is signed to tackle the Digitalization Challenge

French Fab Manifesto by BPIFrance and Arts et Métiers (by Alexandre Rigal and Nicolas Duforcq) appears in the press

Two gadzarts-interns are receiving AFAM grants (another gadzart will receive a grant in June 2019)

April 2019

AFAM celebrates spring with Arts et Metiers alumnas Anne-Perrine, Basma, Fanny, Mathilde and Soazig who are featured in our spring editions.

May 2019

50 students from Texas A&M University came to Aix-en-Provence campus

Arts et Metiers and Dassault Systems signed Memorandum of Understanding

June 2019

Art et Metiers is the first school becoming French Fab ambassador

Grandes UAI take place on Aix-en-Provence campus

July 2019

Gadzarts team participated in AAGEF Regatta in NYC

The first intern from Texas A&M University Lucas Freitas is welcomed in Aix-en-Provence's MSMP laboratory

Arts et Metiers and EDF sign a partnership agreement

Arts et Metiers students take part in French Fab Tour

August 2019

AFAM prepares its Shasta Special Edition of the newsletter with a collection of "When I was a J1 intern" stories and Shasta Mentor of the Year election results

September 2019

Arts et Metiers unveils its new visual identity

Arts et Metiers has its Think Tank

October 2019

A very sad event occurred this month - passing of Louis Magne (An 130) at age 106. This Grand Gadz'arts helped the school and young students throughout his long life.

Arts et Metiers Shanghai Congress is organized

Third Arts et Metiers/TEES workshop takes place in College Station

AFAM launches a new series of interviews "Food for Thought" including five interviews

November 2019

40th edition of Arts et Metiers' Forum takes place in Paris

AFAM's community manager travels in France (Paris, Bordeaux and Aix-en-Provence campuses) to meet students and school faculty and staff - read "On the Road Notes"

AFAM's first event "The Mobility Revolution" co-organized with French Founders takes place in Palo Alto

December 2019

Baptemes of new Gadzarts are occurring on six Arts et Metiers campuses. Bapteme on Bordeaux campus will take place on February 2020.