hoping for a bit of general advice.im currently a Manager with a big 4. been manager for a couple of years and hoping to go for SM in 2015. Im working on a good account, have good contact with the account Director and Partner. however having been here for a couple of years, theres a fair amount of politics involved in getting promoted, and a bit of 'queue' meaning I cant be promoted until others have, and there is a bit of a quota for the year...even if I get SM, its another 3-4 years min to director and much harder less likely promo..weve moved to a market structure so im mainly government, but have experience of FS from my first career, in the good old days before the credit crunch. I work in operational strategy, org design, change, process improvement etc..so, im considering my options. primarily considering industry roles, id like to be based in London. have put my CV on a few sites, and made a few direct applications. not sure how else to approach this- any recruitment consultant that could be recommended?ive also had a couple of conversation about moving to other consultancies.. the reality in my view is that all the big four pretty much do the same thing, and second tier firms do too, albeit maybe not as well as consistently (just my impression having worked at a couple!) so, and bearing in mind im looking for SM- I don't see a huge motivation moving.. however, I received a call from a recruiter about Cognizant.. theyre looking at aggressive growth and willing to pay well.I made a mistake though in revealing my currently salary (74K). point ive tried to argue is, why would I go from tier 1 with SM on the horizon which should give me 85k at the very least, to a tier 2 if not for a much better package? I got the standard, itll probably be 15%... so my questions are1. would cognizant be a decent move from big four to try and speed up progress to director?2. based on a realistic salary increase to how much ? I had 90k base at least in mind3. they sell them selves on great bonuses.. what is the bonus structure for SM?? when is it paid, how realistic is it at this point? aggressive growth is easier in the earlier years, maintaining that growth is harder, and so likely bonuses will taper...appreciate some of the above will be pure opinion, but opinions welcomed :)thanks!

You don't sound/post like a SM candidate at Big4.Too many posts on Cognizant these days.

Get your SM promotion with your Big 4 and then move to Cognizant. At SM, I would suggest to ask for 95k+.Don't fall for big bonus promises... focus on base salary negotiation.my 2 cents worth. hope this helps.

and if I were you, I will stay well clear the likes of Cognizant, Infosys etc..,just my opinion....

I don't sound like an SM? :) I assumed id get at least one flippant comment. thanks ILO for the response

[quote]1. would cognizant be a decent move from big four to try and speed up progress to director?2. based on a realistic salary increase to how much ? I had 90k base at least in mind3. they sell them selves on great bonuses.. what is the bonus structure for SM?? when is it paid, how realistic is it at this point? aggressive growth is easier in the earlier years, maintaining that growth is harder, and so likely bonuses will taper...[/quote]1. Yes - if you can sell. Expect targets/objectives which will be just the other side of lunatic. That said, these firms operate much more like the wild west, so with some entrepreneurial gumption you can make very rapid progress. 2. Getting from 74 to 90 is a jump for someone who conveys a message that they are stuck in the SM queue and not sounding confident of making SM in 2015. Present a clear run at Director instead, talk about your networks, account experience etc as a cohesive plan which will get you to D level in x years, and to jump off this precise, well planned and almost inevitable success train you will need to jump ahead - to 90K.3.the aggressive growth is still there in that market - they sell a different proposition to Big 4, less about the guiding expert more about the one stop shop, and are able to move into almost anything they come across quickly. Takes Big 4 much longer to move into an emerging vertical.