6 – Booz-Allen Hamilton
"On day one I was told, 'Always, do the right thing,'" recalls Annette L. Redman, a project manager who joined Booz Allen Hamilton seven years ago. "Keeping this advice in mind, I have been rewarded for doing the right thing even when my action resulted in having to tell the client or my managers something that they didint necessarily wants to hear. I think it is our integrity that keeps customers coming back."
Integrity, it turns out, is one of ten business and individual core values that Booz Allen Hamilton consultants say they live by each day. Each person is evaluated on how they execute these values, which also include excellence, entrepreneurship, professionalism, respect, trust, client service, teamwork, diversity, and fairness.
Up-and-out is in effect here, but it is a bit gentler than at other firms, consultants say. That's not to say that expectations aren't high. At Booz Allen, the hours are long and the potential for burnout is high, but the ample flexible work arrangement opportunities make work/life balance more manageable. Consultants relish the $5,000 they get for tuition, $2,500 for training, six months of fully paid sick leave.
However, they give a thumbs-down to monthly paychecks and the vacation plan. Junior consultants tend to have lower starting salaries than their rivals, and won't see bonuses until they get to be a senior associate (level 4). Starting with this level, consultants complain, the promotion process seems more perplexing. But that's because an individual's competencies, business impact, and market conditions are taken into account, firm officials explain.
There are vast opportunities to move within the firm. The career mobility option, the firm's internal job placement program, has saved more than one soul from having to choose between a team mismatch and leaving the firm altogether.
The McLean, VA, campus is outfitted with abundant perks such as a gym and day care, but the never-ending traffic has tempted more than one consultant to relocate. Don't do it, warn consultants in the satellite offices. Support is hard to come by and so are the better assignments.
Still, don't worry if you dare to leave the firm for greener pastures and decide you want your job back. The firm has a "Comeback Kid" program to accommodate your reentry.
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