Has anyone made the move recently from a large consultancy to a small one (max 300 staff)? Do you have any thoughts to share?I'm an M5 at ACN and considering such a move. I have concerns about the limitations of the role, promotion prospects, type of work etc. I'm keen to hear about actual experiences, good or bad.Thanks.

Do it do it do it....

Do it do it do it....

Do it do it do it....

@Shoe Polisher: er, thanks? Why should I do it? Have you got any personal experience you can relate?Thanks.

He has experience of shoe polishing at Timpson

Don't do it!I did the same thing a few years ago - I moved from a large consulting firm to a much smaller firm. Used to managing large teams on interesting and complex projects for significant organisations, I managed myself...and 2 or 3 if I was very lucky on very small projects with no real development potential. My peer group were old and bitter...they were going nowhere fast and they knew it...as the new girl in town they resented my enthusiasm and energy and I resented their apathy and laziness.There was no drive to move the business forward and it was incredibly frustrating.They didn't even have flip charts in the meeting rooms - no one had any ideas worth writing down.After 2 years of boredom, I got out...back to a large consulting firm, and breathed an enormous sigh of relief. Life at a large consulting firm can be stressful and competitive. It can be tiring and sometimes it can seem thankless.BUT you learn every day, you work with bright people, clients are interesting, the work is challenging, and there is hope.Stay where you are or move to an industry role. Small firm consulting is not where it's at.On the plus side, I only worked 9-5pm and so the work life balance was very good.

great advice trinny. i guess this is more the case with small firms when you are very senior. junior to middle ranking consultants may actually benefit (read specialist skills) from working in a small organisations...

I can totally get Trinnys POV.On the other hand, if you go to a smaller practice that is on the way up, the energy can be inspiring. Careful to avoid the has-beens, never-was' and never-will-bes and you might find this an enriching experience in every sense.I quite like consulting divisions bolted on the side of industry monsters, especially with the right walls and ceilings.....

I did it just more than a year ago, mainly to focus on healthcare strategy (something I couldn't do at ACN). Very happy with better work/life balance and focused specialisation.... BUT I miss the large pool of clever people to share ideas with, big brand name to get my foot into most C-suite's diaries, access to thought leadership, SVAs and POV material to share with clients (without having to develop it myself everytime). Highly recommend the move but be sure you are clear why you are doing it and that the organisation you are moving to can truly offer that and justify what you are losing

Guess the grass is always greener on the other side :-)Having spent 7 years in a mid sized Consultancy, I decided to give it a go with ACN now. As a few posters have mentioned - there is excellent work/life balance and very rarely the crazy long hours. Some projects are wonderful and there are eager youngsters to try bright new ideas. However, from my experience that's where most of the advantage ends.Being a small consulting outfit, work can become monotonous after a while given lack of options to branch out but that can be the same anywhere. Sometimes, if there are no projects with your skills, you will have to take up whatever is on offer - no much of a choice to choose what project you get on to.And yes, most projects dont tend to be the big bang exciting ones with challenges - its all sedantary but then again, you can get some good ones every now and then. This directly contributes to the balanced life of 9 to 5 work as the company knows what its doing and its planned quite well.Most of what Trinny has said is very true - there is usually a lack of business direction and future growth and you will feel it even more as there is no eagerness to bag every big project available.Finally, listen to what ex-ACN Manager has said - if you are clear what the org has to offer and there is visibility ofthe kind of work you are getting into, then it's worth the switch. And of course, potential for top notch bonuses, high pay rises is not as common as in bigger consultancies but thats very subjective to the firm you are joiningFor me it was specifically a lack of direction that my career was taking, the same monotonous projects and roles I played that made me opt for a bigger Consulting firmAll the bestAces

One thing to consider, a smaller firm could have a more stronger and homogeneous company culture. So make sure that the company of your choice has values and an atmosphere that suits you. If there are things you don't like, e.g. certain ways of working or an asshole partner/director, there is less optios to avoid them like in a large company.

I moved from a small (but rapidly growing) niche consultancy to a big firm. There are pros and cons to both, and while big firms are all fundamentally similar, there's a huge amount of difference between the various small consultancies out there. So the following is based on my own personal experience - your mileage may vary.Pros of big firm: better money and benefits; involvement in large, interesting projects; good environment to develop new skills and expertise.Cons of big firm: mountains of bureacracy; decision-making is very hierarchical; "small fish in big pond" situation; less variety of work; less flexibility around career development and promotion.Pros of small firm: Wide variety of projects; opportunities for rapid promotion and career development; opportunities to manage projects earlier in your career; ease of access to/dialogue with senior management.Cons of small firm: Pay was not great; senior management had limited strategic vision; support structures such as HR were very poor. One thing I have to say is that I don't think that the "brand" of the big consultancy that I now work for means that we get bigger clients or better access to senior decision-makers - the only difference is that we get bigger projects that my old firm was simply too small to handle.On balance, I don't regret moving but I'd happily move back to a senior position at a dynamic, growing smaller consultancy if it offered the right opportunities.

+1 with RB on the Pros with small firms. Infact in my firm, if you're from a small firm when you're taking on you'd be at a level below your current level..sure your salary would be nice..which is why most people don't complain much i.e. in effect the demotion. (this is not the case all the time but well over 80% of the time maybe more particularly the higher up you were in the small firm)Best of both worlds is to be in a small firm that gets taken over by a big firm.. oh yeah (assuming you don't get laid off or reassigned due to job duplication etc...)