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Why APT?
Working at APT has all the advantages of working in a traditional consulting firm, but a slightly different work model that appeals to me. Working as a business consultant (BC) at APT has given me constant exposure to new business problems on a daily basis and the opportunity to work with other talented and driven individuals to solve them. That’s why I wanted to be a consultant in the first place. But I was drawn to APT in particular because of the analytical approach we take to consulting. My academic background placed consistent emphasis on applying mathematics and scientific rigor to solve problems, and this is certainly what we do at APT. When I was first considering consulting, I worried that at the end of the day my professional recommendations would unavoidably involve some amount of speculation, that I would be providing more of an “educated guess” than “the answer.” But that certainly isn’t the case at APT. Everything conclusion we make comes directly from real data—I never feel like I am guessing.
Besides the general data-driven approach, there are a lot of particulars about APT that I really enjoy. Perhaps the top of that list for me is that we do not have to travel regularly. In my first six months at APT, I spent a total of four days at client sites. I still enjoyed plenty of interaction—rarely is there a day where I don’t have a client question to answer or an analysis result to present—but this is all done remotely. I also enjoy working on many projects at once. From my first day I was assigned to four clients, each in their own industry (from restaurants to retailers) and each with their own unique initiatives and analytical challenges. This also gives me the opportunity to work directly with multiple senior APT members. Across my four client teams there are three APT VPs who I interact with on a weekly, if not daily, basis. And it’s been real, high-impact work from day one. Within the first two weeks after I started, analysis I was responsible for was being presented to the CMO of a Fortune 500 restaurant.
As a final thought, although I didn’t know this before I joined, the people I work with are really fantastic. Although APT has very good work hours, any consulting project is bound to have an occasional late night. And yet I’ve never really minded these. I’ve always had my team stay late with me (even the VP), and it’s been actually quite congenial and fun. The people here are definitely one of the biggest parts of what makes APT great.
Daily Responsibilities
The Business Consultant role at APT can be split into three main types of work: importing and maintaining data, analyzing and presenting that data, and providing client support. For most BCs, analysis is the primary focus. Looking at data and answering a question like “does our store remodel generate enough incremental sales to justify the investment?” then packaging that answer into a client presentation might take up most of my time for a few days (once we have data, we can turn around these kinds of answers very quickly). Of course, during those few days, I will probably get a call or two from my other clients, with questions on their own analyses. These questions can be technical (“How can I see a confidence interval around that sales figure?”) or methodological (“How can I account for seasonal variance in our Florida stores if I want to measure the impact of an ad campaign there?”). These two tasks—performing analyses and helping clients perform their own—probably account for 90% of the work for an average BC.
But a great thing about APT is the freedom to define your role. I personally quite enjoy working with databases, and correctly handling and processing data is perhaps the most critical part of getting to an answer at APT. Every business consultant builds some familiarity with our data structures and spends some time importing client data and refitting it for use within the APT infrastructure, but how much definitely varies based on preference and background. I’ve been happy to take on data responsibilities whenever I can, and I likely spend about a third of my time working on databases, but there are plenty of BCs who prefer to focus more on analysis and client support.
Outside of Work
After work on weekdays, I enjoy getting some exercise (often with other APTers!), occasionally catching up with friends over dinner, and spending lots of time with my roommates battling over a strategy game or touring the wonders of the internet. On the weekends I love to explore San Francisco, get in some tennis/basketball/golf/hiking, take random classes (art, languages, cooking etc.), and go out to enjoy the nightlife and meet other like-minded young professionals.