Guidehouse

Guidehouse was born out of PwC in 2018 and has since morphed into a well-respected risk management, technology, and general management consulting firm. The firm made a major 2019 acquisition of Navigant Consulting, more than doubling in size and solidifying itself as a legitimate player in the market.

Interested in a career with Guidehouse or just want to learn more about the firm? You’re in the right place. This article will cover firm history, careers, culture, interviews, salary expectations, and more.

 

Key Statistics

Guidehouse Website: https://guidehouse.com/
Guidehouse Headquarters: McLean, VA
Guidehouse Employees: 8,000+
Guidehouse Locations: 50+
Guidehouse Chief Executive: Scott McIntyre (CEO)
Guidehouse Revenue: $1.3B

Guidehouse History

Guidehouse is a newborn in the consulting world. The firm was effectively founded in 2018 when PwC, the professional services conglomerate, sold off its public sector consulting arm to private equity firm Veritas Capital.

A year later, Guidehouse acquired Navigant Consulting to bolster the commercial side of its business. At the time, both firms were bringing in around $700M in annual revenues. Once the transaction was complete, Guidehouse was a 8,000-person, $1.3B consulting firm.

Guidehouse serves a mix of public and commercial clients, with an emphasis on industries that are highly regulated (ex: healthcare, defense, national security, etc.).

Guidehouse Careers

Interested in a career at Guidehouse? Read on to learn about the various career paths to consider when planning your future in consulting. In this section, we’ll cover practice areas, industries, office locations, exit opportunities, and more.

Guidehouse Practice Areas

• • • Cybersecurity
    • Finance Optimization
    • Financial Crime Solutions
    • Managed Services
    • Operational Effectiveness
    • Portfolio Management
    • Risk, Regulatory, and Compliance
    • Strategic Development
    • Sustainability
    • Technology Solutions

The risk management and financial fraud practices are the most prominent practice areas at Guidehouse, especially compared to other operations and management consulting firms.

Guidehouse Industries

Including both the commercial and public sector, the team at Guidehouse covers a variety of industries. Relative to other consulting firms, Guidehouse has a narrower focus on private sector clients and is overweighted in its services for the public sector. You can learn more about each of these sub-industries through the links below. Keep this in mind as you determine whether you’d enjoy life at the firm and the exit opportunities that may be available to you.

Commercial

• • • Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure
    • Financial Services
    • Health

Public Sector

• • • Defense
    • Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure
    • Financial Services
    • National Security
    • Public Health
    • State and Local Government

Guidehouse Office Locations

As a global firm, Guidehouse has office locations concentrated in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In the Americas, there are dozens of offices located in the United States and one office in Canada (Toronto). For those interested in working in Asia, there are offices located in both India and South Korea.

The European offices are spread across the continent with two locations in Germany, a single office in Lithuania and The Netherlands, as well as an office in London. Finally, the Middle East division of the firm includes one office in Abu Dhabi and another in Dubai.

Career Path

The career path at Guidehouse is similar to most firms, although some of positions have different names (ex: “Managing Consultant” is an uncommon title in the industry):

• • • Consultant

Consultant is generally the first position for students and early career professionals, which helps those new to the industry or firm develop core consulting skills like client management and data analysis.

• • • Senior Consultant

Senior Consultants have more client interaction and more responsibility overall. They will often conduct analysis, manage junior staff, manage projects, and present to management.

• • • Managing Consultant

Managing Consultants are primarily focused on the process of project management, overseeing a project from start to finish.

• • • Associate Director

Associate Directors not only manage and take responsibility for projects, but also oversee a team of consultants. At this level, Associate Directors will also start bringing in new clients and contributing to the revenue-generation side of the business.

• • • Director

Directors have developed their industry expertise and leadership in such a way that they are able to manage relationships with clients, oversee projects, and generate new business. Directors also take on a role of leading and developing practice areas.

• • • Partner

Partners are skilled industry professionals with extensive experience, not only working with clients but forecasting industry trends and employing business strategies to drive growth for clients.

Entry Points for Aspiring Consultants

At Guidehouse, there are three specific entry points for aspiring consultants.

The first is Campus/Early Career. For individuals who have recently graduated college or some form of post-graduate training, Guidehouse is an excellent place to begin a professional consulting career. The firm hires from a wide range of backgrounds and qualifications – undergraduate, MBA, Master’s, etc.

The second entry point is for Experienced Professionals. For more experienced professionals, Guidehouse offers a variety of leadership positions and professional development opportunities. Career paths from the beginning of your career onwards are meant to encourage growth and greater responsibility over time. Experienced hires at Guidehouse are recruited when the firm needs more talent, and can apply at any time.

The final entry point at Guidehouse is for Military and Veterans. Guidehouse welcomes individuals with a background in the military or armed forces and partners with multiple organizations focused on finding the right career opportunities for veterans and active duty reserve members. Organizations like TAPS and Dog Tags, Inc. offer important resources to those with a military background in partnership with the firm.

Guidehouse Internships

Guidehouse offers summer internships that run for 10 weeks. The internship program at Guidehouse is designed to give participants a fast-paced look behind the curtains of the consulting industry generally, and Guidehouse specifically. You’ll get to understand the type of work the firm engages in, experience the culture, rub shoulders with Guidehouse consultants and staff, and gather intel to decide if consulting is something you desire to pursue as a career.

Learn more and apply, but work with our expert team to make sure your resume and cover letter stand out before you do!

Exit Opportunities

Like with most consulting roles, you’re likely already thinking about your exit before day 1. After you conclude your journey at Guidehouse, what type of exit opportunities are available?

Generally speaking, you’ll be able to leverage your experience into other consulting roles at Guidehouse competitors like Booz Allen Hamilton, Oliver Wyman, or FTI Consulting.

And, because of the skills you’ll develop at Guidehouse, the experience could open up leadership roles in corporate strategy and management, the public sector, NGOs, and even banking if you spin your resume the right way.

Notable Alumni

Guidehouse is a young firm, so the list of notable alumni is fairly short at this point. However, we identified a few Guidehouse alums that went on to fairly notable roles in consulting and elsewhere.

• • • Abigail Grant – Senior Consultant at Cognizant
    • Alex Eller – Senior Energy Analyst & Project Manager at Pivot Energy
    • Alicia Powell – Manager at BDO, USA, LLP
    • Amy Harvey – Consultant at Four Eyes Insight Ltd

Target Schools

The firm recruits at a wide range of schools across the U.S. Like most consulting firms, the most represented colleges and universities amongst Guidehouse employees are highly selective, top-ranking schools. Not a current student? Don’t forget the experienced hire pathway to breaking into Guidehouse!

Diversity Programs

Guidehouse offers an inclusion and diversity (I&D) program for students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. These programs focus on garnering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace through a focus on recruiting students from marginalized communities and/or underrepresented backgrounds. Diversity programs at Guidehouse recruit through inclusion-focused networks, which are linked to here and listed below.

• • • Pan-Asian Inclusion Network
    • Black Inclusion Network
    • LatinX Inclusion Network
    • OPEN Inclusion Network
    • Women’s Inclusion Network
    • Young Professionals Network
    • Veteran Affinity Network

Guidehouse Consulting Culture

Guidehouse culture has a similar feel to PwC’s culture, owing to the firm’s recent breaking off from PwC. Add in the Navigant acquisition, and you have a bit of a culture clash internally. The dominant culture will largely depend on the office you choose. A consultant in Washington, DC might have a radically different experience than someone in the London office. However, Guidehouse is young, evolving, and finding its own identity, which means the firm culture is constantly evolving. If you want to put your stamp on an office or practice area, this may be exciting to you. If you want to join an established culture, Guidehouse may not be the best fit for you.

At Guidehouse, you can expect to work long hours. Management does its best to create a positive work-life balance, but anyone in this line of work knows that the work is often hard and the days often long. At Guidehouse, you’ll have plenty of opportunities for advancement if you put in the work and show a desire to grow. Employees remark that firm benefits are lacking compared to other companies – but this is not a deal-breaker for most.

Overall, Guidehouse team members generally trust upper management. Almost 80% report that the firm is a great place to work. The firm has an even male-female gender split, which is unique for often male-dominated management consulting firms.

In addition, the firm has many initiatives in place to give back to local communities through volunteer efforts – Guidehouse logs over 7,000 pro bono and volunteer hours and donates over $1 million to various organizations each year.

Guidehouse Highlights

Guidehouse has been featured on multiple lists over the past few years due to its culture and commitment to equality, including:

• • • Being ranked on Management Consulted’s prestigious list of Top 25 Consulting Firms
    • Being recognized by Vault as one of the Top 50 Consulting Firms in the United States in 2019.
    • Being ranked by Forbes Magazine as one of the best mid-sized employers in America.
    • In 2021, The Human Right Campaign (HRC) ranked Guidehouse as one of the best places to work for LGBTQ+ equality.
    • DiversityInc. included Guidehouse as one of its 2021 Top 50 Noteworthy Companies for Diversity.
    • In 2021, Guidehouse was certified as an overall “Great Place to Work”.

Guidehouse Interviews

Now that you have some background on Guidehouse, it’s time to prepare for the interview process. Apply online or through your university’s career network. After your resume is accepted, you’ll be moved on to the first of two rounds of interviews. The exact number of interviews you’ll go through in each round varies widely depending on the role and office. Similarly, the types of interview questions you’ll be asked will vary. If you are interviewing for a sales or technical role, be prepared for questions around your future responsibilities in the job. For all interviews, prepare a variety of stories in response to general cultural fit interview questions you’ll be asked, such as:

• • Can you share an example of a challenging project you worked on?
  • What interests you about Guidehouse?
  • Can you give an example of conflict you had to deal with?
  • Do you have any questions about the company?

Round 1 of interviews will take place virtually or on-campus. If you pass, Round 2 will be in-person at a Guidehouse office. The second round is more difficult and is typically comprised of multiple interviews with more senior folks inside the firm. Luckily, Guidehouse generally doesn’t utilize case study interviews in its interview process (although they are not unheard of), but we absolutely recommend confirming that with the recruiter or hiring manager before starting interviews. There’s nothing worse than showing up to an interview unprepared!

Guidehouse Salary

What salary can you expect at Guidehouse? The Guidehouse salary is in-line with comparable boutiques, but far below MBB’s pay range. For an entry-level Consultant at the Undergrad/Master’s level, you’ll start off with a base salary package of ~$75K (plus bonuses). Employees with advanced degrees (MBA/PhD) will see that figure roughly double. Get more salary info in our free salaries report!

Conclusion

Overall, Guidehouse is an excellent firm for those interested in pursuing a career in technology, risk management, or general management consulting. With locations all around the world, there are multiple options to choose from for students and professionals with a diverse cultural and/or educational background.

In addition, Guidehouse offers multiple resources and opportunities for career growth and development that will be valuable during and after your time of employment. Before submitting your application to Guidehouse, make sure your resume reflects your transferable skills and the impact you achieved in your prior academic and work experiences. Not sure if your resume is good enough to break into Guidehouse? Work with us on an edit today.

 

Additional Resources:

• How To Get Into Consulting: 5 Steps To Take
• Top 25 Consulting Firms
• Consulting Firm Directory
• Case Interview: Complete Prep Guide