Q&A With Booz Allen Hamilton Employees

almost 100%

Pretty often as long as you're not on a classified project.

Depends on the project

I applied for 10 or 12 positions at the company and only received the typical rejections. Then a current employee put me into the referral database and I immediately got two interviews.

Agree on the corporate speed dating lmao. Was so quick for me. Got the job, but literally spent 10 mins with 2 of them cuz they were running behind and 20 with the other, whom I think was the more important one.

Getting promoted from Consultant to Lead Associate is straight forward. Getting promoted to Senior Associate and above is very political and based on business case, headcount and performance of the business overall. That said.. Its a black box.

Promotions above the Senior Consultant/Lead Technologist/Lead Engineer level are very political. Truth be told going from Lead Technologist to Senior Lead Technologist is an 8% to 10% pay raise and a 100% workload increase so you may want to decide if a new job is the best promotion after 5-6 years.

Business casual

It depends on the client site.

Dress for your day. Business casual.

Good, but I was only offered antiquated electronics to use at home

depends on the client site

I’ve been with Booz for eight years. Booz has been pretty liberal with remote work requests, but it’s typically driven by the clients needs and/or contract stipulations.

Background check.

Promotions seem to be directly tied to how much the client likes you and whether it appears you will be able to generate new business in the future.

Annual assessment.

Improve raises and benefits

Hoteling virtually destroyed the sense of community the firm once had. I don’t think we can go back now, but that initiative alone has driven up the turnover rate. Generally, staff connection to their career managers is weak with some staff having almost no regular communications. The relaxation of the firm dress code has helped to relax the atmosphere.

More opportunities to move up without having to mange proposals.

How do you solve technical problems

Depends on the level and role. Typical questions include viability for local travel (DC/VA/MD), clear-able, leadership/management experience, client handling, etc.

What are some the hardest challenges you have faced in your career and did you address them.

401k, Health/Vision/Dental, tuition reimbursement

Good medical, great dental, life insurance 3x salary, Parental leave, PTO that accrues monthly and free water and coffee. Seriously, they are pretty good.

Medical, 401k, stocks, training and family leave.

Competitive and insecure because of the requirement to find billable work

Today it is pretty laid back. EVP’s often wear jeans and you can just drop in and catch up or run an idea by them. This is very different from just 5 years ago. If you have an idea you can pitch it and find other to help you develop it. If your client project is ending they now bend over backwards to help you find new work and develop your skills.

Casual professional

That you can think of working at Booz Allen as your own business and you are encouraged and equipped to grow it.

That I would not be able to find the opportunity to use the skills I was hired to bring. Instead, I learned other skills.

Way too much internal competition for billable assignments. Clickish

It varies team to team.

3-5% per year to adjust for inflation

Annually.

not super long, go to their job fairs

It should be pretty quick - they may be competing with other companies for you and don’t want to lose you

Very subjective. Employee referrals have a huge influence. The work I was assigned has nothing to do with the skills I thought I was being hired to supply.

The interviewing process at BAH is a little more involved than interviews I have had in the past. It was intimidating at first, but I think its beneficial. They asked the typical questions. Nothing too difficult, wanted to get to know me, where I wanted my career to go, ambitions, past experiences, etc. I had a total of 3 interviews, 1 with the PM of the contract, 2 with engineers supporting the contract. I also had a phone interview with a recruiter, to answer basic questions. It was a lengthy process, but I am glad to be a part of BAH!

Average to easy

it can be a challenge

Find a current employee to sponsor you in the employee referral system. Have a degree in computer science or cyber security

Show ability to solve problems

Yes. I know multiple people who work remotely.

Yes, but they are difficult to find as most clients want someone that can attend meetings when needed if they don't work at the client site. Some short term projects often allow for remote delivery as well, but that's not very stable.

Great. I earn 14 hours per month and have time banked for medical or weather-related events.

PTO. Ask for it in advance and get concurrence with your project lead(s) that your work is covered. In some instances you can go in the hole and make up the time.

Generally, well respected. This has been driven by increased engagement/communication with staff at all levels on how the business is doing and the path forward.

They like him.

Federal and Defense continue to be strong. Health and to a degree commercial have dropped due to market changes. This is cyclical and will rebound.

Cyber and systems development are doing well.

Pretty relaxed and energetic. Lots of new blood that fuels innovation.

Friendly

Very insecure due to the difficulty finding billable work unless you have mentors.

Computer scientists, coders, cyber security, veterans