Hi PA-ers and ex-PAers,Some of you think the firm is just fine and some of you think that its the pits, but can I tell you what I've learned from reading these numerous posts on your company?1. Don't invite PA to tender for work.2. Dont hire anyone who works at PA3. Don't hire anyone who used to work at PA and was recently made redundantCongratulations - you've created so much doubt that the safest course of action is to run a mile from you ALL.

If you ever were an intelligent buyer of consulting I don't think you would touch PA as a delivery organistion or PA Allumni (sic) with a bargepole. Unless you are interested in process mapping expertise for local authorities

And what I've learnt from your post:Don't take any notice of people who can't spell. It's alumni you cretin.

Has the thought crossed your mind that it might be PA's competition resorting to dirty tricks to provoke exactly that response from you and your consultancy buying amigos?

thats some conspiracy theory...

Exactly. And if PA is making such cuts based on no work, do their competitors really need to put the boot it?

My apologies to Mr Tickle Thank you for the spelling lesson – better to be corrected than continue with a mistake.As English is not my mother tongue I know I do make these mistakes often. You consultants seem happier ripping each other apart than debating content. I will leave you alone.

Regular buyer of consultancy - unfortunately most of the posts don't care about the content. If you decide to post again remember these important things:1. Don't let the non-PA nature of the thread stop you from dragging PA into it.2. Repeat the same dreary stuff time after time (process mapping is a good example).3. If anyone challenges your sad and bitter view make sure you immediately come back with another post stating that it must be management rather than accept there are people in PA who like what they do.

You tell him Helpful Insider.I've been process mapping for three years solidly on public sector jobs, and I love it! I can't imagine doing anything more fulfilling

@ Regular Buyer...Sorry - but Alumni is not actually an English word, so that excuse has just failed...

MAH! You are a doughball!Ever consider that not averyone speaks a language using the latin alphabet? OK so alumni is probably the same in english, french, german, etc as it has latin base.Think its spelled/said that way in russian? chinese? korean? arabic? serbo-croat? gaelic? welsh?The OP pointed out that by washing their dirty laundry in public, PA alumni are doing themselves as much damage as the firm they now hate. They devalue the alumni brand -soething many other MC firms are at great pains to develop and utilise.Agree or disagree on the content - or are you a pathetic pretend MC who knows only about presentation and cannot debate content?

"...are you a pathetic pretend MC who knows only about presentation and cannot debate content?"Isn't this sort of content free debate the whole Top Down Thinking / Minto approach that PA so dearly cherishes

BOP Man,If you hate PA and process mapping so much, why do you hang around?If the reason is that is difficult to change firms in this market, then I suggest an attitude adjustment. No one (in consultancy) wants to employ people who have such a downbeat and negative attitude. It will come across in an interview. Try focusing on the positives, rather than the fact that your career (which you are in control of) has not gone in the direction you want and you blame your current employer for this.My comments are addressed to all the whingers, not just BOP Man.Good luck with the job hunt.SS

All good points SS, but if you ever worked for the partners in BOP, you would know what it is like to have your spirit squashed.Some of the stuff is really breathtaking. For instance, we spent 4 or 5 years building a finance transformation group, before finally giving up this year when all but 2 or 3 finance qualified staff at PC level left, led by one part time MC going on a career break. How is this a credible offering?Add to that no partner promotions for the past 5 years, and its easy to understand why BOP, and PA, is going nowhere.It really is a joke.

I work in a “leader in Management Consultancy recruitment” and therefore am probably pretty well placed to see/hear about the basket case firms: surely if PA were that bad we would be struggling to cope with the deluge of people trying to get out? We are not. End of.

Really - which "leader"? I don't work for PA but I have my CV out with four recruiters, and they all tell me that they are awash with PA CVs. Things seem to be getting worse there, while the market recovers.Nobody wants to hire a generalist public sector consultant. What use is a process mapper?

When I went back into the market after 3 years at PA I had no problems. Ended up with an interview and and an offer from every company I applied to, all at levels above that which I'd been operating at within PA. I also never produced a process map in all the time I was there.I would take most of what is written on this forum about PA with a pinch of salt!