L.E.K. Consulting [2024 Profile]
L.E.K. Consulting [2024 Profile]
L.E.K. Consulting is a global strategy consulting firm that works closely with business leaders in equipping their businesses to seize competitive advantage and amplify their growth. The firm leverages its deep and vast industry expertise to help business leaders across different industries make better business decisions, and improve their business performance.
Since its founding, L.E.K. Consulting has made notable contributions and hit major milestones in guiding leaders and executives across all industries. From private equity investors to global corporations, the firm has committed to providing top-tier consulting services to its diverse clientele.
History and Background
L.E.K. Consulting was founded in 1983 by James Lawrence, Iain Evans, and Richard Koch, all of whom were Bain partners from London. L.E.K. would then merge with Alcar Consulting group in 1992. Alcar was founded in 1979 and was a pioneer in applying value-based management (V.B.M.) principles to maximize results impact for clients.
L.E.K. Consulting: Key Stats and Contacts
- Corporate Headquarters: Boston, MA
- Number of employees: 1700+ across the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
- Number of office locations: Over 20 global offices
- Revenue: U.S. $800 Million (as of 2021)
- Company URL: https://www.lek.com/
- Social media Links:
Work/Focus Areas at L.E.K. Consulting
L.E.K. Consulting identifies its focus areas as “key capabilities”
- Strategy
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Marketing and sales
- Organization and performance improvement
Industries
L.E.K. Consulting serves a wide range of industries and sectors of the economy, including:
- Business Services
- Consumer Products
- Education
- Energy & Environment
- Financial Services
- Healthcare Services
- Industrials
- Life Sciences & Pharma
- Media & Entertainment
- MedTech
- Private Equity
- Retail
- Technology
- Travel & Transport
How to Interview with L.E.K. Consulting
L.E.K. Consulting offers exciting opportunities for you to pursue your goals and grow in your career. Whether you have just graduated, are an M.B.A. candidate, or are a professional with some years of experience, a career at L.E.K. Consulting provides you the opportunity to make some real impact from day one.
Read on for more about joining L.E.K. This section will cover the interview process at L.E.K. Consulting, what to expect and how best to prepare for the interview.
The Interview Process
L.E.K. Consulting receives applications through its online application system. You can readily view all openings on the site and check for updates.
In 2020, the firm amended its application process to include a digital assessment that candidates must take. The assessment involved a series of intuitive games focusing on pattern recognition, simple math, and the like. The firm reviews all applications and invites selected candidates for interviewing.
Round #1: This round comprises 2-3 interviews. Each interview is typically 30 minutes long, and you can expect both behavioral/fit questions as well as a case interview. One case interview is quantitative, and the other is qualitative/strategic.
Round #2: The final round comprises 2 interviews, each lasting 30-40 minutes. Each interview consists of some behavioral/fit questions and a case interview. After the two, you will be required to complete a 60-minute written case interview.
This two-round interview process is the standard for all L.E.K. Consulting hires. There isn’t too much of a variation, whether it’s on-campus recruitment or recruiting for M.B.A. candidates and mid-career applicants. The number of interviews per round and other specifics varies, albeit so slightly, on the position for which you are applying and the region.
Recruitment consultants will typically conduct the initial interviews. You will then interview with people at the associate and consultant levels. For the final round, you will have 2-3 interviews with senior managers and partners.
What to Expect
Whether you are coming in as an associate, associate consultant, or consultant, the ultimate goal of the interview process at L.E.K. Consulting is to know you, your strengths and weaknesses, as well as your interest in management consulting and motivation to pursue a career with the firm. The case studies focus on your analytical skills and how you respond to issues that are relevant to L.E.K. Consulting work.
On the whole, here is a highlight of the three interview types/formats to expect when you interview with L.E.K. Consulting.
Behavioral/Fit Interview
- Why consulting?
- Why are you interested in L.E.K. Consulting?
- Describe an experience or accomplishment for which you are most proud
- Describe a time when you had to step up and be a leader. What did you do?
- Given an opportunity, what would you do over, and what would you do differently?
These are only a few of the common behavioral/fit questions to expect. These questions aim to test your communication skills and gain insights into your personal qualities. Behavioral questions seek to identify how good a fit you are for the culture at L.E.K. Consulting. These are experience questions, and the recruiter will be looking to see how your past experiences and behavior tie into your potential for performance at the firm.
Case Interviews
The case interview takes up much of the time allotted to each interview. For a 30-minute interview, you can expect around 20 minutes of that time to be for the case and the rest for the behavioral/fit questions as well as the introductions and wrap-up.
Case interviews administered by L.E.K. Consulting are designed to assess your quantitative skills, strategic thinking, and business logic. The cases are candidate-led, meaning that you will be expected to drive or take lead of the case based on the information shared with you.
For your case interview, you will be presented with a business problem and be expected to solve it live. The interviewer will assess how you think and analyze information and how well you can structure your communication when sharing recommendations.
How to Prepare
To ace the L.E.K. Consulting case interview, here are some sure-fire tips.
- Listen attentively, take notes and ask the right questions to ensure you understand the case, that is, its context, scope, and the goal of the case study.
- Gather your thoughts and write down your preliminary ideas to help you develop a coherent problem-solving approach.
- Take the interviewer through your problem-solving journey by talking through your approach. Lay out your approach step by step and seek the interviewer’s approval as you move from one to the next. Lay down a structure for your case study and maintain it throughout the interview.
- Track your time. The best way to avoid wasting time is by checking with the interviewer on the level of granularity your analysis should meet.
- Exude confidence with your body language and as you present your recommendations. Smile and respond calmly.
L.E.K. Consulting also provides some advanced case interview preparation tips that will give you an edge. Among these include attending case interview preparation workshops and reading major publications. L.E.K. also has case studies and other relevant content on its website that you can review. Lastly, if you have people in your network currently working in strategy consulting, you should practice with them before your interview.
For the L.E.K. Consulting behavioral questions, ensure you enrich your narrative. Give examples and specific details to support your responses. Highlight the impact of your contributions to the project or organization without exaggeration.
Target Schools
Here is a list of L.E.K Consulting target schools.
- University of Chicago
- Harvard
- Columbia
- NYU
- M.I.T
- Stanford
- USC
- UC Berkeley
- Northwestern
- Wharton/Upenn
- UCLA
Careers at L.E.K. Consulting
A career in consulting at L.E.K. promises to be exciting, with plenty of opportunities for growth and advancement.
Office Locations
L.E.K. Consulting has established its presence in some key business centers across the globe and has over 20 offices spread out across the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe.
United States
- Boston, MA-L.E.K headquarters
- Chicago, IL
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York, NY
- San Francisco, CA
Europe
- London, United Kingdom
- Milan, Italy
- Munich, Germany
- Paris, France
- Wroclaw, Poland
Asia Pacific
- Beijing, China
- Chennai, India
- Melbourne, Australia
- Mumbai, India
- New Delhi, India
- Seoul, South Korea
- Shanghai, China
- Singapore, Singapore
- Tokyo, Japan
South America
- São Paulo, Brazil
Salary Ranges
Total compensation at L.E.K. Consulting is comparable to some of the top strategy consulting firms. According to Payscale.com, the take-home for a consulting associate is estimated at $56k – $86k, whereas the management consultant salary range is $54K – $114K.
At L.E.K. Consulting, there is a sure upward mobility to salary and compensation progression. You can expect your compensation package to increase at a reasonable rate.
Internships at L.E.K. Consulting
L.E.K. Consulting offers exciting internship opportunities to top-performing undergraduates interested in carving out a path in consulting. The role of the summer associate is clearly defined, and you will be working as part of a team with work streams similar to the full-time associates at L.E.K. Consulting. Internships run for 8-10 weeks, during which you will be exposed to real casework experience.
2nd-year M.B.A.s can apply for the summer consultant program. The internship also lasts about 8-10 weeks, but unlike the summer associates, summer consultants usually spend the entirety of their internship dedicated to a single assignment.
You can apply to any of the firm’s global offices as a prospective summer associate. On the other hand, summer consultants can only apply to the U.S. and London offices. The firm does sponsor visors for international candidates.
Career Track at L.E.K. Consulting
As an undergraduate, you can expect to join the firm at the Associate level. You stand to progress to the level of consultant after two years. As an M.B.A., you will join as a Consultant, with the chance to progress in the firm, first as a Manager and then as a Principal, followed by consideration for a Partner.
The promotion timelines at L.E.K. Consulting are clear, and the career program is very transparent. Associates and consultants get regular sit-ins to identify capabilities and core strengths, in addition to numerous mentorship opportunities.
Exit Opportunities
The skills and experience you will gain at L.E.K. Consulting will no doubt equip you to land softly elsewhere, whatever path you choose. Some alumni have landed top positions as senior managers in other firms. In fact, some have even started their own firms.
Culture at L.E.K. Consulting
Among the firm’s core values are diligence and honesty. L.E.K. encourages every team member to be driven, collaborative, and to always be ready to take ownership of their roles.
L.E.K. Consulting succinctly describes its culture as “collaborative and non-hierarchical.” The firm places a big emphasis on teamwork, where everyone’s input is welcome. Every team member is encouraged to openly discuss issues as they may arise.
The firm’s low-travel model helps create a sustainable work-life balance. You can spend all the time you’d otherwise spend traveling with family and friends. Because the staff spends most of their time in the office, L.E.K. Consulting has invested heavily in maintaining a vibrant social culture in the office.
Once a week, every week is an Out-by-Six day where team members at all levels of the firm must be out the door by 6 PM. The firm, through social committees, also organizes after-work social plans that allow team members to interact outside the confines of the office.
L.E.K. Consulting allows for flexible working schedules. As a matter of fact, tenured staff can take a sabbatical, that is, some extended time off.
The firm is also heavily invested in improving its equality, diversity, and inclusion efforts. Diversity and inclusion initiatives are met with great support by the management. L.E.K. has metrics to measure the progress of its firm-wide initiatives for inclusion and diversity.
Among the notable initiatives is L.E.K. Women’s Network, which seeks to develop its female workforce into future leaders. The firm also recognizes and expands the benefits of values to its employees in the LGBT community, making it one of only a select few consulting firms to do so.
L.E.K. Consulting Top Rankings
Over the years, L.E.K. Consulting has received several awards and recognition among the highly-ranked consulting firms. Some of the most notable of these rankings as are tabulated below.
#13 Most Prestigious Consulting Firms across North America | https://firsthand.co/best-companies-to-work-for/consulting/best-consulting-firms-prestige |
# 10 Best Consulting Firm to work for In Retail Consulting | |
#9 Best Consulting Firms to work for | https://firsthand.co/best-companies-to-work-for/consulting/vault-consulting-rankings-top-50 |
#8 Best Consulting Firm to work for in Strategy Consulting | |
#5 Best Consulting Firm to work for in Health Care Consulting |
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