The firm’s entrepreneurial spirit and continual learning environment provides consultants an opportunity for skill development and career growth
Our goal is to offer an entrepreneurial learning environment that supports our consultants’ career growth and development. Because each consultant’s background, skills, interests, and experiences are unique, we have a flexible career pathway that provides individualized support and opportunities to grow. Explore how the firm supports your career development, roles at the firm, and opportunities after Dean below.
Roles
We offer a flexible career path with opportunities for learning and advancement
Dean & Company employs a simple, flexible and non-hierarchical structure that allows for career growth driven by performance.
Analyst
Analysts are the key engines driving client output and make an immediate impact upon joining the firm. Analysts gather critical data, build detailed models, and assist in story development and idea generation while also gaining experience interacting with junior and senior clients. Recent graduates of college/universities join Dean & Company at the analyst level and are given the opportunity to develop rapidly through on the job training and a formalized continuing education program.
Successful Dean & Company Analysts can be promoted directly to Associate without returning to school for an advanced degree.
Associate
Associates are involved in all aspects of solution delivery, from problem structuring and analytical execution to translation of the output into bottom-line insights and delivery of the solution to the client. Associates also begin to manage teams and to develop client relationships. Associates join the firm from various backgrounds, with a number coming from doctoral and MBA programs, while others come from various industry jobs.
Successful Associates are eligible to be promoted to Project Leader and eventually can move on to Principal and Vice-President.
Project Leader
Project leaders are managers-in-training and are beginning to take on the full breadth of client and team management responsibilities. Project Leaders are responsible for the day-to-day modules within a client engagement and are responsible for the full breadth of client problem-solving and delivery.
Principal
Principals are the day-to-day leaders for both the client and the case team. They are responsible for solving the client problem, delivering an actionable solution to senior clients, and beginning to develop the client relationship beyond the current engagement. Principals work with multiple engagement teams and are responsible for ensuring consultant development. In addition, Principals begin to develop areas of industry or functional expertise and also play an important role in firm development (training, recruiting etc).
Vice-President
Vice Presidents build new client relationships, manage existing relationships with the top management at current clients, drive thought leadership within the firm and play a fundamental role in all aspects of firm management.
Career Development
We invest in consultants’ career growth and skills development
We actively work to maximize the full capabilities of each consultant. We offer a challenging yet fun environment and opportunity for learning. Key features include:
Training
While most of our training is gained on the job by working with experienced consultants, our Analysts and Associates come to us from a wide variety of backgrounds. In order to give everyone a head start, new employees participate in 3 days of entry training upon joining the firm. Training includes: business modeling and research, business presentation, professional development, computer tools, and a mock case. Then, over the course of the next 6 months to 1 year, after new employees have some on the job experience, we offer a series of partial day training sessions on more advanced topics including: advanced data analysis, marketing, valuation, presentation skills, accounting & finance skills, and computer programming.
Team-based Learning
Our small team-based problem-solving model provides constant opportunities to learn from and to teach your colleagues. You’ll work closely with senior members of the firm early in your career. The typical project module team consistes of several people, and you will all work together to formulate ideas, challenge each others thinking, and work with the client to implement the solution. We consistently aim to challenge consultants by placing them in “stretch” situations that represent new challenges – while providing them support to succeed.
Feedback and Mentorship
We believe that actionable feedback, both formal and informal, is critical to accelerating career growth. We have a formal review process that provides feedback during and at the end of client engagements. In addition, we encourage frequent two-way feedback on an ongoing basis.
Each consultant is assigned a career advisor, an experienced consultant who helps guide career development. The career advisor monitors feedback from client engagements and helps the consultant with development needs and staffing decisions. In addition, the advisor meets with the consultant regularly to discuss career progress as part of our career review process.
Career Progression
Career progression at Dean & Company is largely performance based: we start by recruiting the most talented and professional people and then ask them to meet a wide array of challenges faced by our clients.
Promotion is based on performance and skills, allowing each individual to develop at his or her own pace. We put a great deal of time and thought into our rigorous career review system, focusing on a consultant’s growth potential and skill development. The career review process relies on actionable feedback as well as regular informal feedback. This feedback focuses on identifying specific practices that an individual can apply to improve his or her effectiveness and on establishing priorities for development goals.
Semi-annually, we conduct thorough reviews of each consultant’s performance and development. These reviews provide an opportunity to take a wider perspective on an individual’s career progression and provide more holistic feedback, while also presenting the chance for promotion and increased compensation. Dean & Company does not subscribe to an “up or out” policy, nor is there an established time frame for promotions.