Hey-Ho,Has anyone heard of Kaiser Associates (sounds like something from usual suspects) but they are 'supposedly' an international strategy firm.Wonder if anyone works for them/knows about them can give me a little inside feel as to the associate consultant role.Ta much!

Market research and cold-calling. Upmarket market research and international cold-calling admittedly, but nonetheless you can't paint a turd.

Relatively accurate. They do management consulting but are tier3 if such a thing exists. If your ambition is to climb the ladder, you would be better to get industry experience over bad quality consulting experience. It could be that you could do some interesting work there. It all depends on your level and what is realistic for you

hi there,from my experiences I wouldn't recommend Kaiser. they came across as being hardcore market research where you would be calling companies a lot to find out info.you're better off finding somewhere you can get client facing experience and not just back office research which is sold as strategy work. im not convinced anyways. best of luck

Ooh Damaging! But fair as i've done some reasearch...it does sound pants!Think i'll stick to JP Morgan for now hehe.

wstar you're gonna take JPM glasgow?

Yeah i think I will,After all i'll get technical experience and learning financial products/services and how they interact with trading which should put me in good place for a BA or Financial consultant role...i think!

Good luck with it. Why did you not choose BT or was it Deloitte?Corporate Whore - http://corporatewhore.netfast.org

It wasn't Deloitte - I would have probably chosen Deloitte over IT role in JPM.It was BT professional services, although i think it's a fun scheme and gears you towards professional services i Just don't think it has that heavyweight consulting credential. tough choice (even though im still not 100%..)

So what were the benefits of JPM over BT?It seems to me that they are "vastly" different in role.Corporate Whore - http://corporatewhore.netfast.org

Well...JP Morgan - It's a technology role, and you'll get to understand financial products and development such as Derivites/Futures etc. It's technical for at least 12-18 months so you better know your IT stuff which i do, i will probably pick up an ISEB testing qualification and JAVA certified. hopefully thise exposure will lead me to FS consultant/analyst role.Where as BT...4x6 month placement scheme across Project management and management consultancy, they work on Finance projects/Public (very varied) but geared towards Telco/Comms/networking & maybe business process engineering although i doubt it (no strategy)It is still good though.

Yes, Kaiser Associates is NOT a Tier 1 firm, but it offers many advantages to other firms. What many people refer as "cold calling" is something called "outside-in" approach which means getting insights that are not publicly available for companies to make decisions.Junior consultants therefore do a lot of research but it is always as a means to an end (i.e. insights and helping the client with an issue such as "should we expand to country "x"? how? what is the best strategy etc).I have an MBA from a top US school, worked in Booz Allen before and spent 3 years in Kaiser as a Senior Manager. I had TONS of exposure to clients (presidents of divisions or Business Units) and my teams participated in all meetings (sometimes remotely and others in situ).The other great thing about Kaiser is that if you are good you can advance really quickly. We have many people who have become VPs in just 5 years (which is extremely quick!).Bottom-line, although Kaiser is NOT your Tier 1 consulting company, it offers lots of opportunities and exposure to consultants. But you do have to bear in mind that the first years will involve a lot of research and some people are simply not cut for it...Hope that helps!

Following a telephone interview a couple of weeks ago, I have a face-to-face interview at Kaiser on Friday, so shall report back with my thoughts...

Good luck, let us know how it went!

Am currently with Kaiser and I can confirm what ex-Kaiser said is true. Kaiser blends research and strategy to provide recommendations that are fact-based, rather than purely relying on industry/subject-matter expertise and/or number crunching. Our focus is primarily on the client's external environment (suppliers, customers, competitors) rather than their operations (although latter is taken into account in order to make recommendations realistic and relevant). I'd be happy to answer specific questions anyone has.

As promised, here's my report of my interview today...I found everyone I met to be approachable, down to earth, and simply very nice.The office, contrary to what has been written on here previously, was also totally fine (although I think they recently moved, so those remarks may have been about an old office).We got taken out for a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant near Covent Garden.The three interviews were all interesting and stimulating, although I totally botched one, and thus don't think I'll be offered a place.There was also a written element, including a resume and a brief essay question.Based on my brief experience today I'd recommend the company to anyone.

LOL this is well-said and funny !

http://www.kaiserassociates.com/ - Kaiser Associates is a kind of a firm that tries to clearly punch above its weight class. Its former glory is stuck in the past. It opens office here and there without much thinking, to then close them a few months or years after. Kaiser Associates does not have a clear strategy, that is why it is not growing...!! It cant climb up in the value chain as its brand is poor and it is attacked below by all the cheap home-grown / India suppliers. The firm appears to be strategy-focused but it is clearly not, it is very much market research++ , or market intelligence at best. There is indeed a lot of cold calls and phone interviews a la Frost and Sullivan (which I think compares the best with KA). Kaiserassociates also outsources a lot of work to cheap and uncontrollable outfits. This makes your work a real nightmare. You are on the phone doing someone's job or fixing their crap. Recommended for those who cant get into Tier 1 / Tier 2 firms, yet your CV won't shine and you cant expect employers to value your time there. That is the honest truth.

You're responding to a 5 year old thread numbnuts.