Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is ranked 40 by UK humanties students, climbing from position 58 last year

At BCG, individuals can “grow further”. Flexible career paths are encouraged and employees have a lot of choice around the path that will best support their personal development.

By Michelle Boyde

Interview with Stephen Huntley, UK University Recruiting Director at BCG

“International opportunities are an element of our new branding campaign, Grow Further, which promotes personal growth.”

Does BCG focus on its employer brand?
Yes, certainly, and recently we completed a large research project which was undertaken over the last three years to identify how we are positioned with students. This has led us to create a new marketing campaign titled “Grow Further”. This strives to present a common brand image and a completely seamless recruitment process, locally in London and also at the other offices.
How does BCG stand out as a top employer?
We offer many structured programmes, but at the same time, we focus on encouraging employees to chart their own course. The Associate Abroad and Ambassador Programs both support international opportunities. The secondment programme offers the opportunity to work at a client, or a social impact partner such as Save the Children for up to a year. We have 68 offices worldwide which offer lots of locations and possibilities. We believe we offer our employees more international opportunities that any of our direct competitors. Our new branding campaign, Grow Further, promotes personal growth.
How has BCG’s employer brand been affected by the recession?
BCG continues to grow despite the recession and we have continued to take on new projects. The only difference is that the nature of the work has changed slightly. There are less growth projects and more transformational work. We are still very busy and have not changed as an employer.
How do students perceive BCG?
Your career is like a blank sheet of paper for you to fill. We are a creative employer and I hope we are associated with strategy and thought leadership. For students to have a perception of BCG, they generally have to know something about us already. I think we are most closely associated with “cash cows” and the growth-share matrix often known as the “BCG Matrix”.
What initiatives does BCG have planned this autumn?
We plan to be out on campus as much as last year. We plan to hire approximately the same number of candidates as last year, to support our continued growth. Given the impact of the recession on the broader recruiting market this year, we expect to see a larger number of applications from candidates who already have some level of experience. For this reason the mix of fresh graduates and experienced hires may change somewhat.
What are BCG’s employer branding plans for the near-future?
We want to use more research to understand what sectors we are under-penetrating, for example, engineers and scientists at Cambridge. At BCG we can offer engineers a broader career platform than at a typical engineering employer. Engineering students who are interested in entering business management will find we have a larger variety of projects and a more interesting career waiting for them.
About Stephen Huntley
Stephen Huntley has worked for BCG for six and a half years. He acts in his position as a principal consultant 80 per cent of the time and the other 20 per cent as the UK university recruiting director.
Education: Joint-honours Master of Engineering and Management from the University of Birmingham, UK and the University of Hanover, Germany.
Most striking thing on my CV: I lived outside the UK for 14 years.
About BCG
The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”) is a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients in all sectors to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges and transform their businesses.
Something you would not expect: BCG does not have a subject bias. We consider applications from students from all study backgrounds; and all backgrounds are equally likely to succeed.