L.E.K Consulting is a consulting firm who focus on: Strategy, Finance, Marketing & Sales, Operations, Organisation and Transaction Services. The firm has 17 offices globally.
Half of LEK's consultants are promoted to Manager level and half of all Managers are promoted to Partner.The assessment process at LEK Consulting is:
The first round of interview is two 45-minute interviews with separate interviewers. Both interviews include case study questions. Other questions are a mix of analytical brain teaser questions and company/culture fit questions. The analytical questions will vary from basic mental arithmetic, to more complex case studies with maths.
Previous candidates have been asked:
You may also be asked brain teaser questions/analytical such as:
Previous candidates have also been asked the following case study questions:
For all case study questions your interviewer will be looking for you to describe the structure of the costs and revenues involved. They are looking to see how you work things out and if you go about things in a sensible manner. The accuracy of your figures is less important, although it is possible that after the initial cast study discussion your interviewer may give you specific numbers and expect you to do some basic, but more accurate calculations.
Company Fit
At least one interview will be with a third year associate, who will be interviewing you to check if you are someone they could work with.
Company fit is important at LEK. If your interviewers do not think you will fit in to the company for some reason, they will not take your application any further, no matter how good you are on paper.
Cases generally last between four and 16 weeks, although some can last longer. Associates work on two cases at any one time from their second year of employment onwards.
Your first year at LEK involves a lot of basic work and administrative tasks. However, intelligent and well-performing graduates are quickly given more interesting work to do.
LEK run a personal development programme for all graduate trainees. Trainees are taught about modelling and valuation amongst other things.
Trainees seem to advance at pretty much the same speed, unless you are outstandingly good or bad. Generally graduates leave after two to three years. Many move to LEK's clients and work for them.
The hours are long at LEK. As a graduate you will be contracted to 50 hours a week, but most tend to hit somewhere around 60. There can be extended periods of over 70 a week, though working at the weekends is quite rare in the first few years.
LEK's London office is based in Victoria. The firm moved here quite recently and the office is well-designed. Based in Victoria, the office is well connected in terms of transport, although it is not the most thriving area in terms of cafes and bars.
LEK do look after their staff and spend a lot of money on social activities, although these do not happen too frequently. The office is not fantastically social; people are here to work and they work hard.
LEK do not send many employees to work with clients. For this reason, there is a lot less travelling involved working at LEK than with other consultancy firms.
Employees salaries are reconsidered twice a year. Pay rises are usually 10 - 15% depending on an individual's performance.
There is also a company profit share in January each year. The profit share varies year by year depending on the performance of the company and is not guaranteed.