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A small firm, but fast-growing Located in the Washington, DC area, Dean & Company is a management consulting firm that works with national and international corporate clients (generally among the Fortune 100). Although the firm has expaned its hiring targets beyond 20 people per year, Dean still fits snugly in the "small firm" category. At last count, its total number of consultants hovered below 100. Dean & Company was founded in 1993 by Dean Wilde and Dean Silverman. The firm's current chairman, Wilde, was previously an Executive Vice President of consulting firm Strategic Planning Associates (SPA) and later Mercer Management Consulting (Mercer was formed by the merger of SPA and TBS in 1990), where he ran its worldwide Telecom and technology practice and was a member of its governing policy committee. The Dean speedometer Dean purports to use a "simple, flexible and non-hierarchical structure." A management committee consisting of the firm's five senior partners controls major policy and strategy questions, while the managers control day-to-day case work. The remaining management and administrative functions are widely delegated among the analysts, associates, and other professionals. Dean claims to have a "speedometer" - rather than an "odometer" - approach to promoting its consultants. In other words, career progression depends more on demonstrated progress than on seniority. To this end, Dean employs a rigorous career review process and keeps a careful check on the output of its workers. Recent successes Dean provides support to CEOs and senior management in select companies in the following areas: telecommunications and information technology, banking and financial services, consumer products and retail, textiles and apparel, pharmaceuticals and health care, durable goods manufacturing, distribution businesses, and special situations and turnarounds. Among others, the firm targets the communications, financial services, and computing and software industries. Recent engagements have included the restructuring of distribution in a financial services firm and strategy development for a print publisher about to enter the electronic media field.
To learn more about job opportunities at the firm, email a human resources representative at recruiting@deanco.com or contact Recruiting Coordinator; Dean & Company; Fairfax Square, Tysons Corner; 8065 Leesburg Pike, Suite 500; Vienna, VA 22182. Due to Dean's small size, the firm generally hires fewer than twenty new employees each year (including both associates and analysts). The company recruits candidates from top business schools, both on-campus and on an ad hoc basis. During the fall, Dean makes on-campus presentations at a small group of schools, while soliciting interest on a broader scale through advertising. Interviews are typically conducted over the course of the fall and winter, generally on-campus and consistent with the guidelines of various placement offices. During the on-campus round, the applicant will meet with three or four people from the firm, including at least one partner, insiders say. The format for all interviews revolves around a case "problem" which is outlined by the interviewers. Dean stresses that these cases are not tests, but rather opportunities to demonstrate logical thinking, clear communication, and creative insight. Of course, a correct answer to a case study won't hurt one's chances of being hired. After the on-campus round, successful candidates are invited to the office for a "familiarization visit." Such a visit generally occurs in the spring and includes one-on-one discussions, presentations on firm strategy and recent assignments, and group social gatherings. For the 1999-2000 recruiting season, the firm plans to visit the following business schools: Chicago Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Wharton Business School. That same season the firm will visit the following undergraduate institutions: Carnegie Mellon University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, University of Virginia, and Yale University. Note: the firm's recruiting list and schedule change each season. Hoping to diversify its pool of associates, Dean has recently ventured outside of business school perimeters and looked at individuals who hold graduate degrees in other fields. The firm is also on the prowl for individuals who are already in the workplace - either in other consulting firms or in industry-specific companies. For a select number of outstanding business school candidates, Dean has designed a summer program. Summer associates participate as full case team members, working on actual casework and attending the company's social activities.
Swift promotions There's one thing good about Dean?s intense review process - promotion comes quickly at Dean & Company. One insider notes, "I started as an analyst and was promoted to associate only six months later. Case reviews come every three months, formal career reviews every six months, and promotional reviews every six months too." A difficult company to enter Although climbing the ranks is a relatively rapid process at Dean, another consultant warns that entrance into the company is the hardest part. "We are a small company, so of course we encourage internal promotion. Nevertheless, getting into this place can be tough. We tend to pick people with technical degrees. Our approach to consulting is extremely quantitative; there is lots of digging into numbers and data assessment." People who come to the firm straight out of undergraduate school tend to have economic and engineering degrees. How rough are the interviews? "The first round is always the most telltale," reports another insider. "There's a quick and brutal weeding-out process. After that, candidates stand a pretty good chance." Those who bemoan their low standardized test scores should beware of Dean. "The company looks at your SAT scores, no matter how old you are. Typically, however, our analysts are only 22 or 23." Smart and fun co-workers At the same time, consultants report that the Dean employees are among "the smartest people I've ever worked with. Among the analyst pool, people are fun and laid back. It's a young culture." The relationships across corporate levels are also solid. "My relationship with the managers is quite informal," says one insider. "Again, I think it's because of our small size." Little perks are numerous. "We get free bagels in the morning. There are tons of social events organized by the firm such as pool/billiard outings and Friday happy hours," says one consultant. Golfing at Dean Another insider raves about the firm's annual in-office golf tournament. "It's like a miniature golf tournament in the office, complete with a totally elaborate floor design. The analysts - and there are a number of engineers among them - design the whole thing. From a structural and creative standpoint, it gets more impressive every year." Insiders do have a few quibbles about Dean's recruitment record. Reports one concerned insider: "The company does a lot better hiring at the analyst level. The analysts learn by doing and work up the ranks. The associates, on the other hand, have to speed up the learning process before they can become managers." Are there other downsides to Dean? "We have the typical small firm problems," sighs another insider. "There is a limited number of cases and not a huge breadth of options."
Recruiting Coordinator 8065 Leesburg Pike, Suite 5001 Vienna VA 22182
McKinsey & Company;Boston Consulting Group;Mercer Management Consulting More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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