If the life sciences sector is your jam and healthcare commercial strategy work gets you out of bed in the morning, you need to seriously consider joining IQVIA, formerly known as IMS Consulting Group. Long known as a subsidiary of IMS Health – a major player in the healthcare information services game, IMS Consulting Group was founded in 2011 as a way for IMS Health to consolidate its already sizable consulting services under one roof.
After the 2016 merger with Quintiles, the firm is quickly expanding in emerging markets around the globe. IQVIA offers truly global project work, while staying focused in only 3 main practice areas. Over the past 8 years, IMS established itself as a player to be noticed in the healthcare consulting niche, and IQVIA Consulting Services is picking up the torch.
We began paying attention to IMS a couple of years ago, and now it’s time to see what sets IQVIA Consulting Services apart, and if the firm could be the right fit for you.
Firm Profile Overview (click to jump to section):
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES KEY STATS
- IQVIA Consulting Services Website: https://www.iqvia.com/solutions/research-and-development/consulting
- IQVIA Consulting Services Headquarters: Durham, NC
- IQVIA Consulting Services Consultants: 74,000+ consultants
- IQVIA Consulting Services Locations: 100+ countries
- IQVIA Consulting Services Chief Executive: Ari Bousbib
- IQVIA Consulting Services Revenue: $200 million
- IQVIA Consulting Services Engagement Cost: $300k
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES + IMS CONSULTING GROUP HISTORY
In 1954, Bill Frohlich, and David Dubow teamed up to form IMS, a market research company aimed at enabling organizations to make informed, strategic decisions about the marketplace. In 15 short years, IMS was held as the gold standard in pharmaceutical market research in Europe and Asia.
The next year, in 1970, IMS Health expanded to Latin America. Between 1973-1979, IMS acquired multiple companies to expands its competencies. IMS experienced a major breakthrough in 1979 when the company introduced the Multinational Integrated Data Analysis (MIDAS) system. 1988 brought a major change when D&B acquired IMS Health for nearly $1.7B. By 1998, IMS Health was an independent, NYSE-listed public company. IMS Consulting Group was born in 2011, and IQVIA came into being in 2017 after IMS merged with Quintiles.
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES ORGANIZATION
IQVIA Consulting Services’ day-to-day operations are run by Ari Bousbib, Managing Partner. The firm is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES PRACTICE AREAS
The practice areas at IQVIA reflect the operational nature of the highly specialized consulting projects at the firm:
- Pricing and Market Access
- Brand and Commercial Strategy
- Strategy and Portfolio Analysis
IQVIA does require you to choose a practice area to specialize in, so if you value diversity of work or get bored easily, this is a major drawback to consider before applying at the firm. IQVIA is a highly specialized firm, focusing only on these 3 specific practice areas within the life sciences and healthcare sectors. Still, these are two of the sexiest and most exciting industries to consult for, with a wide variety of companies falling within the parameters of life sciences and healthcare. In 2014, the firm (then known as IMS) counted over 150 unique clients, the merger has meant that the new IQVIA offers projects which are truly global in scale. When networking at IQVIA, make sure you connect with someone in the particular working group you are interested in being a part of, as this will help you the most in landing in your preferred practice area.
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES INDUSTRIES
IQVIA specializes in working with clients in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors. Again, while these segments are arguably some of the largest in the business, the limitation may admittedly get a little boring after a while and is a common reason young consultants decide to move on from the firm.
Still, the depth of expertise IQVIA Consulting Services brings to the table in the industries it works in allows it to beat out firms like McKinsey and Deloitte for sector-specific projects.
LOCATIONS
IQVIA has local offices in over 40 locations on 5 continents. However, the firm’s largest presence is in the United States, United Kingdom, and China. For those of you ineligible to work in the United States, IQVIA is one of the easier firms to break in to due to its amount of offices spread out all over the world. Or inversely, if you are a U.S. citizen looking to live and work abroad, IQVIA offers a plethora of opportunities for you as well. One thing to keep this in mind as you are applying for positions is the fact that you will be staffed on projects with consultants from other global offices, and so will be racking up the air miles in short order at IQVIA.
One of the biggest personal decisions you'll make on the jobHow consultants should maximize their air travel
CAREER PATH
Because of the singular practice area focus at IQVIA Consulting Services, you can expect to be involved in many similar kinds of projects and become an expert in your issue area.
Expect it to take about 1-2 years each to move from Analyst to Associate Consultant to Consultant to Senior Consultant. You can count on around 3-4 years to get to the Engagement Manager level, and another 4-5 to get to Principal. Still, if you launch your career at 25 you’re looking at Principal before you’re 40 – well played! Undergrads and MBAs enter at the Analyst level, while Ph.D./Postdocs/Experienced hires enter at the Associate Consultant level.
EXIT OPPORTUNITIES
Exit opportunities to more general consulting are not plentiful from IQVIA Consulting Services. Because of the specific nature of your work, you will not be an attractive candidate to purely strategy practices. However, if you want to keep the healthcare focus and move to a larger firm, you’ll find plentiful opportunities. One drawback you may find, however, is that IQVIA is not well known to large brand-name firms.
On the flip side, it is quite easy to make the jump into almost any industry from IQVIA Consulting Services, and especially into Fortune 500 biotech and pharma firms. With your contacts and experience, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the industry, brand and commercial strategy, strategy and portfolio analysis, and more, every company in the industry will find you an asset.
Many ex-IQVIA Consulting Services and IMS Consulting Group consultants exit into parent company IQVIA. You have a wide range of opportunities to pick from in such a large company, and the jump is easier when you are already an internal employee.
INTERNSHIPS
As with full-time positions, you will specialize in one practice area during your internship. Be prepared for this going in, and realize that if you don’t like the practice area you choose, chances are you won’t get a return offer for another practice area. Why? The firm is small and internally loyal – poaching talent from one group to haul it over to another is frowned upon.
Intern pay and training at IQVIA Consulting Services are lower than strategy consulting firms, but on par with other specialty boutique firms. Prior interns have found it a good foot in the door for landing permanent positions. As with most boutique firms, IQVIA Consulting Services makes an investment in hiring and training interns – if you’re good, they would love for you to stick around!
CULTURE
The general consensus is this: if you are into life sciences, working for IQVIA Consulting Services is a great choice. Why? Because of the firm’s position in the market, you are provided with the unique opportunity to engage with real-life problems and use both the data available to you and your expertise to deliver cutting-edge solutions to major clients in the pharma/biotech/life sciences sector. You will be exposed to broad and deep international healthcare experience, as you will be working with industry-leading clients – current employees love the fact that they are never bored, as the work is constantly interesting and challenging.
Not only do you get to work on interesting projects, you get to work with interesting people. IQVIA Consulting Services has gained a rep for attracting great, fun and dynamic (and some say good looking) people who create a collegial, collaborative, and fun-loving environment – perfect for working (and playing) hard.
In addition, IQVIA Consulting Services has no barriers to career progression – you get to determine how quickly you progress and the level of responsibility you take on. If you are an independent, self-driven careerist, then this is the place for you!
Travel is a big part of the equation at IQVIA Consulting Services, and you will be traveling just as much as consultants at the MBB level. Just be prepared for this going in. While office culture is very friendly and collaborative, you will have to be very intentional about building meaningful connections with your fellow team members.
However, below industry-standard compensation is a big complaint of many current and former consultants at IQVIA Consulting Services (as it was at the old IMS Consulting Group). In addition, IQVIA Consulting Services is a lesser known name in the consulting sphere, which hurts your chances of transitioning into the MBB firms if that is where you hope to land someday. Some employees have also mentioned that pharmaceutical clients have poor industry knowledge and that this makes working with the client more challenging on a day-to-day basis.
Finally, at IQVIA Consulting Services, the firm bills by the hour and not by the project, so the work/life balance can be quite out of whack during busy times (but this is true for any firm). At firms that bill by the project, you at least have the ability to learn how to work smarter and improve your work/life balance over time. However, at firms like IQVIA Consulting Services, you’ll have to put your time in at the office no matter what. We don’t endorse one way over the other, but this is something to be aware of.
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES CORE VALUES
Ethical business conduct and corporate social responsibility is a major focus of IQVIA as a whole, and this emphasis on ethics spills over to IQVIA Consulting Services as well, guiding the tenets of the firm’s core values:
- Wellness and Safety
- Product Innovation
- Environmental Responsibility
- Ethical Business Practices
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES AWARDS
IQVIA named:
- Best Contract Research Organization Full-Service Provider, 2018 Scrip Awards
- FORTUNE’s 2018 List of “World’s Most Admired Companies”
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES INTERVIEWS AND RECRUITING
The typical hiring process from application to offer will vary largely depending upon the position that you are applying for, but you can expect the timeline to take anywhere from 2-12 weeks. Be prepared for 1-2 rounds of interviews, the first of which may consist of connecting with a recruiter for a phone screen. This is where you make your elevator pitch to give a good overall picture of who you are – and make sure you specify an interest in a particular practice area.
There are three main ways you can land an interview at IQVIA Consulting Services: through on-campus recruiting, an online application, or through employee referral. We were surprised to find that the highest number of applicants go through the online system, followed closely by on-campus applicants.
Your first round interview will generally be held over the phone; expect it to last around 45 minutes. 30 of those minutes will consist of behavioral questions – your fit with the company. Be ready to answer questions such as “Why IQVIA Consulting Services?“, “Why healthcare?“, and “Walk me through your resume“. In the remaining 15 minutes, you will be given a case to solve – almost exclusively focused on the life sciences, pharma, or healthcare industries.
Interview final rounds are always held on location and take anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. Your final round will be comprised of 3 interviews: 2 case interviews and 1 fit interview. One of the cases will be a standard verbal case where you ad hoc as your interviewer presents the case to you. The other case is much trickier: you are provided with pages of information and data to start off, and then allocated 45 minutes to prepare a specific answer to the question they are asking. Once the 45 minutes is up, you’ll be tasked with presenting your findings to your interviewer.
At the very end, there are usually more behavioral questions, including those such as “Why Consulting?” and “Where do you see your career in 5 years?“, so make sure you prepare your answers with a personal twist.
Networking your way into a position at IQVIA Consulting Services is not hard to do if you’ve got the right education and experience. First of all, the firm hosts info sessions and career fairs at dozens of schools across the US. Access their events calendar to find out when and where you can network with someone from the firm and make sure you have your consulting-ready resume ready to leave with them.
Secondly, set up your LinkedIn profile and search for IQVIA Consulting Services employees in your network. For tips on planning your approach and delivering your elevator pitch, watch Networking for Consulting (includes email and phone scripts!).
Our takeaway? IQVIA Consulting Services is a great fit if you desire to work in an enviable work culture, are interested in undertaking large amounts of responsibility in a short amount of time (having real client impact), and love being in the pharmaceutical industry. If you are looking beyond pharma and want to make oodles of cash, this is not the place for you.
IQVIA Consulting Services Salaries
Are you an undergrad, MBA or intern who’s interested in working at IQVIA Consulting Services, but don’t know how much you’ll make? Check out our latest Management Consulting Salaries post to find out!
Target Schools
IQVIA Consulting Services seems to be a little secretive when divulging their target schools. The only information they let on is this: US applicants, apply from your school’s career website. So, word to the wise, if you think your school is ‘on the super top secret list’, go ahead and apply via your school’s website. All you other unlucky people out of the loop, apply online.
Diversity Programs
Although diversity is a major focus of IQVIA Consulting Services, there are no specific diversity groups within the firm.
IQVIA CONSULTING SERVICES LINKS
MC Links