Analysis Group Interviews and Culture

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firm profile

Today, as we continue our firm profile series, we’re looking at Analysis Group. Founded in 1981, Analysis Group is one of the largest economic consulting firms in North America. Stacked full of big-brained folks, most of the firm’s 1,000-strong staff hold advanced degrees in law, economics, finance, accounting or business. Analysis Group clients include the likes of government agencies, law firms, and Fortune 500 companies around the world.

It’s not just the impressive credentials that sets employees apart; Analysis Group has a strong reputation as a great place to work and has scooped up a hatful of awards, including Glassdoor’s 2015 Employees’ Choice Award for small and medium businesses. Not a small, or even a medium, deal.

Interested in learning more about Analysis Group and if it is a good fit for you? We have all the information you need – dig in now!

Firm Profile Overview (click to jump to section):

KEY STATS

  • Website: www.analysisgroup.com
  • Headquarters: Boston, MA
  • Employees: 1,000+ Consultants
  • Locations: 14 Offices
  • Chief Executive: Martha S. Samuelson
  • Revenue: $250M
  • Engagement Cost: $450K (estimated)

ANALYSIS GROUP HISTORY

Analysis Group was formed by Bruce Stangle and Michael Koehn in 1981 in Belmont, MA. Both former Arthur D. Little consultants and PhDs, Analysis Group’s initial focus was on mergers and acquisitions before moving into other areas such as intellectual property and antitrust. The firm’s ethos, as evidenced by their bent toward advanced degrees, is a blend of academia and business litigation through economic research. The firm takes on both large legal disputes and pro bono engagements with non-profits.

Initially working out of nine offices in the U.S. and one in Montreal, in the last decade Analysis Group has begun to stretch its wings internationally, having opened a Beijing office in 2012, as well as 3 offices in Europe (Brussels, London, Paris).

ANALYSIS GROUP CAREERS

As Analysis Group has grown over the past few years, the firm has become well known for creating a collaborative environment. Everyone is in it together and everyone wants to help each other succeed.

Compared to MBB, you’re unlikely to get as much access to C-level execs, but you are going to work with a large number of experts across a number of fields. To use its legal work as an example, Analysis Group has worked with the 25 largest law firms in the country, giving you access to some of the greatest legal minds around.

On a day-to-day basis, you may be helping a law firm critique an opponent’s expert analysis and developing financial models, or you may be working with government and corporate clients, helping them value companies, analyzing markets for mergers and acquisitions.

Analysis Group seems to be uniquely positioned in the consulting world. In some ways, it feels like a boutique firm, whereas in others it feels like a pure strategy firm.

Practice Areas

Industries

Analysis Group is mostly known for its economic consulting and work with law firms and governments. However, it also offers economic, financial, and strategy consulting services to corporations and government agencies.

Analysis Group Locations

Asia

  • Beijing, China

Canada

  • Montreal, Quebec

Europe

  • Brussels, Belgium
  • London, UK
  • Paris, France

United States

  • Boston, MA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Dallas, TX
  • Denver, CO
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Menlo Park, CA
  • New York, NY
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Washington, DC

As the firm’s headquarters, Analysis Group Boston is the firm’s flagship office and the most competitive one to break into.

Analysis Group Career Path

Analysis Group is pretty prescriptive in terms of the careers that are open to its employees, depending on your level of education. If you are an undergraduate or a graduate, you will start out as an Analyst. At other firms, an MBA or Advanced Degree is a surefire way of getting hired into a more senior role, but relevant experience will also open that door to you. At Analysis Group, however, you simply will not get above the analyst pay grade without an MBA or a PhD.

If you do have the requisite education, you will be hired as an Associate. From there, assuming all goes well, you will then become a Manager, then Vice President, followed by Principal and Managing Principal.

Analysis Group Internship

An Analysis Group internship can take the form of either a Summer Analyst (undergrad) or Summer Associate (MBA). As with most internships, the goal for the firm is lock down full-time talent early, which is why ~80% of the firm’s internship slots go to students at its target schools. Because of the dearth of internship slots as compared to full-time, the Analysis Group internship process is more competitive.

Exit Opportunities

Opportunities abound for Analysis Group alum. Even though Analysis Group is a boutique firm, the work it does is across a broad enough spectrum of industries and practice areas that you will not be pigeonholed in the same way you would be coming from other boutique firms.

Compared to MBB, whose alumni often go on to become CEOs at brand name companies, Analysis Group’s alum portfolio is not as impressive – but should be no means be disregarded. Having Analysis Group on your resume conveys intelligence and a driven, high-performing nature.

One thing that cannot be ignored: given the high number of staff members with PhDs and Law Degrees, one common exit opportunity is to go back into academia or law. In addition to this, having so many staff members with degrees that are uncommon among the mainstream field of management consultants gives former Analysis Group staff the chance to exit into fields that are unavailable to most management consultants.

It’s often said that one year in consulting is worth three years in the industry, and working at Analysis Group is a valuable experience to have, no matter what you want to do after.

Notable Alumni

  • Eric Bukovinsky – Associate, IT & Cleantech  – Yaletown Venture Partners
  • Clark Kibler – Director of Product Management – MPARTICLE
  • Jiaona Zhang – Product Manager – Pocket Gems
  • Andrew Song – Founder – Ovoz and TapThat
  • Josiah Seale – Co-Founder and CEO – Adhearan
  • Vikas Bhagat – Client Solutions Manager – Medallia
  • Nancy Wogrin Confrey – Founder – Health Beacons, Inc.
  • Kumi Harischandra – Social Media Manager – CMB Digital
  • Reed Hatch – Senior Associate – EVI Capital, LLC
  • Jonathan Casper – Manager, Corporate Strategy – Capital One

ANALYSIS GROUP CULTURE

Analysis Group’s firm culture is one of its strongest selling points. Analysis Groupers can’t seem to stop themselves from waxing lyrical about how great it is to work there, how great the management staff is etc. etc. etc. – always a good hallmark of any culture.

Just like that friend of yours who’s saturating social media with pictures of their new kitten, Analysis Groupers gushing praises can start to sound a bit monotonous after a while. Let’s not forget, however, that having staff who are as happy as Analysis Groupers seem to be really does speak volumes about what it must be like to work there.

Among the many things Analysis Group consultants can’t seem to get enough of is the work-life balance at the firm (although you should not be surprised if you’re working 16+ hours days as you approach important deadlines), the fact that you don’t have to travel as an Analysis Group consultant and the investments that middle and senior management make in junior colleagues.

In terms of career development, again, the report is very positive. There are lots of informal training opportunities, classes and support if you’re applying for grad school.

The whole grad school issue does raise an important consideration for those of you without advanced degrees. Without an MBA or a PhD, you won’t get very far up the ladder, which, no matter how talented you are, is going to have a huge bearing on your compensation. The good news? Analysis Group pays if you want to go back – yet another reason to rave about how great it is to work there.

Analysis Group Salary

For a full look at Analysis Group salary at either the Analyst or Associate level, check out our salaries report.

Core Values

  • Access – Maintaining close ties to top-level individuals in government, academia, and industry, with the goal of providing clients, access to the best people possible.
  • Collaboration – Fostering good relationships within teams, between teams, and with clients.
  • Responsiveness – As a result of all the work they do with experts, Analysis Group can quickly identify whom to work with and can scale their cases up or down as the situation requires.
  • Pragmatism – A simple focus on workable and relevant solutions.

Awards

While most of the awards Analysis Group wins are internal (large cheering section of employees), the firm is recognized externally as well:

(2015) “Best Place to Work” Employees’ Choice Award, small to medium businesses – Glassdoor

(2015) #23 in The Top 50 Consulting Firms – Vault

(2014) Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts – Commonwealth Institute

ANALYSIS GROUP INTERVIEWS

About half of Analysis Group’s recruitment comes from its presence on various campuses, with another large portion coming from online applications. The firm generally conducts interviews over two rounds. The first interview is either on campus or over the phone and the second is in-office.

While it is always a smart move to be sharp when it comes to cases, at Analysis Group, they don’t do case interviews. What?! That’s right – they are one of the only firms without a focus on cases. It’s a great news for those of you with dazzling personalities who break into hives at the sight of mental math.

As such, you need to make sure you can talk about your resume and your experience backward, forwards and at length. Analysis Group places a much higher value on the fit element of the interview when compared with other firms, so be prepared with 15+ specific stories.

Target Schools

Analysis Group recruits at a very small number of schools, and the schools are usually tied to the presence of a hot, fast-growing regional office.

  • MIT
  • Harvard
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • McGill
  • University of Virginia
  • Georgetown
  • George Washington University
  • UCLA

Diversity Programs

Analysis Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and has two affinity groups: Pride and Black@AG.

in addition, the firm has had a female CEO, Martha Samuelson, for almost 20 years. But does that move the needle when it comes to DEI? The jury is still out – women employees at Analysis Group don’t rate the company very highly when it comes to diversity.

Conclusion

Analysis Group is a reputable firm in the world of economic consulting. If you’re eyeing a career at AG, tailor your resume to the firm’s requirements to stand out as a candidate. Work with MC on case interview prep if you need a helping hand in the process!

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Filed Under: Consulting Case Interview