C1 Consulting reviews

Terrible internal communication; the projects and retaining clients take much higher priority over employee growth and development; projects tend to focus more on primary market research and secondary data analysis with little strategy work; poor communication both top-down and bottom-up; a LOT of favoritism and very little actual decisive action from upper management. One thing no one talks about also is the culture; there's definitely a culture of silence here where you're encouraged to voice ideas if it agrees with the social leaders. Not a great environment for any sort of innovation to take place.

The first poster was a little harsh in the review, but I had experiences with each one of those issues. It's true new hires receive (or used to) no training. The idea was that smart people are hired so that they can navigate themselves and learn on the job. Sadly, I've seen people fired and other quit because of this line of thinking. Even top 5 consulting firms have training programs for MIT graduates. It's foolish not to have one at C1. The work ours are grueling, especially when traveling. You're expected to be in the office the same day you return from travel. Even when employees do interviews, you can see the work schedule taking its toll. When I interviewed, current employees spent little time actually explaining the cases to me and seemed rather miffed if I didn't understand a concept being asked. Clear favoritism from many angles. Analysts are certainly not in the inner circle with the MD. Even among consultants, there are clear favorites, which means either a) suck up to her more, or b)don't be a man. It wasn't surprising to see one person told that they wouldn't be allowed to take time off, but a different person be given the green light. It all boils down to the MD's view of you and your work, which is made all the more arbitrary considering the lack of her presence in the office. Take the job if you have nothing else, but chances are you won't be there that long. I would say at least 70% have not been there more than a year, with only one person who has been there over two years. Do yourself a favor, work at someplace established with clear guidelines and where you can at least get benefits common in the industry (paid cell phones, gym membership, etc.)