A profession in administration consulting is glamorous. Its perks embody plenty of touring, beneficiant compensation packages, interactions with top-level administration, publicity to studying alternatives, and the pleasure of engaged on complicated enterprise issues.

However the consulting profession path additionally has its challenges. Mika Kim, a former advisor at one of many Huge 4 consulting corporations, reviews working a median of 12 hours per day. Different anecdotal proof suggests burnout induced by lengthy working hours may very well be a core motive consultants stop the roles they as soon as labored laborious to get.

The purpose? Consulting isn’t for everybody. On this article, we’ll provide you with a complete overview of the consulting profession path. You’ll study what a consulting job entails and be capable to determine if a profession in consulting is best for you.

Desk of Contents

Consulting is the follow of bettering a company’s efficiency by offering skilled, research-based administration recommendation. Administration recommendation covers operations, technique, finance, advertising and marketing, and governance.

The bottom wage for entry-level consultants at top-tier consulting corporations is $83,500 a yr, in response to CaseInterview, a good administration consulting weblog. That’s a giant deal for recent graduates simply beginning within the discipline.

This usually makes consulting fans marvel, “What are the distinctive insights/abilities that justify the excessive compensation of consultants?”

First, right here’s an essential clarification: Consultants aren’t precisely liable for fixing consumer issues. They’re the bridge between purchasers and subject material consultants with the technical experience to unravel their purchasers’ issues.

Appears like a easy job, nevertheless it’s laborious. Right here’s what a typical challenge journey seems like:

• A advisor (let’s name her Claire) interviews her consumer (often a top-level supervisor) to determine issues impeding the group’s development. Claire’s objective? Determine alternatives for bettering the underside line.
• Claire does an in depth evaluation of the issues.
• Subsequent, Claire takes the issues to her consultancy’s community of subject material consultants (referred to as help networks) to find out greatest practices for fixing the issue.
• Lastly, Claire pitches the optimum resolution to her consumer, usually by way of a slide deck presentation.

Claire’s strategy exhibits {that a} advisor’s core abilities embody analytical and problem-solving skills, analysis and knowledge gathering, communication and presentation abilities, and interpersonal abilities to narrate with purchasers.

Let’s go over some real-life consulting challenge examples so that you perceive what consultants do to earn their paycheck.

Three widespread varieties of tasks in administration consulting are tech implementations, operations enchancment, and technique consulting.

1. Technique Consulting

“Technique tasks are often about development — how can we get our purchasers to broaden their companies, how can we get extra individuals utilizing their companies, and the way can we get into extra markets,” says Hisham Zhkan, a administration advisor who makes a speciality of healthcare consulting.

“Normally, the consumer will come to you with a very broad query or an issue, then you definately’ll must construct a method that is sensible,” he provides.

Instance

A big healthcare system and a big medical heart are each operated in the identical metropolis. These organizations acknowledge that their mixed presence within the metropolis ought to trigger improved healthcare supply for town’s individuals, they usually needed to appreciate that potential.

They approached Hisham’s consulting agency to see how they might work higher collectively to serve the sufferers in that metropolis. The consulting agency crew analyzed town’s sufferers, what they wanted, and the companies every of the hospitals supplied.

“Then we used that to construct out suggestions for a way the hospitals might mix their companies and likewise put money into extra companies that might be higher match for the inhabitants of that metropolis,” says Hisham.

2. Operations Enchancment

This includes uncovering insights and making suggestions to enhance operational effectivity and enhance profitability.

Instance

One hospital Hisham labored with was dropping cash as a result of insurance coverage firms had been denying them funds for the healthcare companies rendered to sufferers. Upon investigation, Hisham’s crew found the hospital’s billing system was disorganized.

Entrance-desk admin officers registered sufferers with the mistaken insurance coverage particulars. And other people on the billing aspect submitted inaccurate claims to billpayers.

“We outlined precisely what was mistaken for the consumer and instructed them how they might forestall the problems from taking place. That meant we needed to create a bunch of how-to guides and coaching manuals to assist the consumer prepare their workers to be extra environment friendly,” says Hisham.

3. Expertise Consulting and Implementations

This includes growing and implementing new expertise techniques to fulfill a consumer’s particular wants.

Instance

An enormous hospital system was inefficient at billing out companies to insurance coverage firms. “We spent months making an attempt to determine what the consumer wanted… then labored with the IT crew to customise the software program to the consumer’s wants,” says Hisham.

“After set up, we created coaching plans for workers members to make sure the group transitioned easily into the brand new system,” Hisham provides.

Whereas these examples are all from the identical trade, most consultants work throughout numerous industries, particularly these working within the MBB, Huge 4, or Tier 2 corporations. Meaning you’d study transferable enterprise abilities in a brief interval and achieve profession expertise you should use to land higher-paying jobs elsewhere.

Backside line: Consulting is a good skilled stepping stone, particularly in the event you’re recent out of faculty or uncertain what profession to pursue.

Victor Cheng, a former case interviewer at McKinsey, says, “Most administration consultants start their skilled lives by acquiring a bachelor’s diploma in a business-related or consulting-related self-discipline.”

Nonetheless, prime consultancies (together with MBB corporations) rent candidates with out enterprise backgrounds. What issues is having a profile that meets the general necessities.

2. MBA or Superior Diploma Recruiting

An MBA makes it simpler to get into consulting, nevertheless it’s additionally not a prerequisite.

Elite corporations actively recruit MBA graduates from prime enterprise faculties. So incomes an MBA (particularly from goal faculties like Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and Yale) considerably will increase your possibilities of touchdown a job.

Apart from MBAs, corporations rent candidates with superior levels reminiscent of a Ph.D, M.D., and J.D.

3. Skilled Rent Recruiting

Consulting corporations regularly rent professionals with area of interest experience or huge expertise. Nonetheless, that is essentially the most troublesome strategy to get in. When you search this entry path, you could have two choices.

The primary is to focus on smaller consulting corporations that’d immensely worth your abilities. These corporations want prime expertise however battle to seek out and preserve them as a result of the most effective candidates purpose for extra prestigious jobs.

Second, in the event you select to use to a outstanding consulting firm, making use of by way of the agency’s on-line portal isn’t the best technique. As a substitute, get a referral by networking with different consultants at your goal agency. You possibly can ship in your formal software when you’ve gotten a referral.

That is the entry-level for recent graduates. The common wage for analysts at top-tier corporations is $83,500.

2. Affiliate/Guide

Associates have related job features to analysts however handle bigger workstreams and have extra autonomy. Since they’re extra skilled, they’re usually liable for guiding and directing much less skilled analysts.

MBA hires be part of corporations on the affiliate stage. The common wage for MBA hires and skilled consultants at top-tier corporations is $149,000.

3. Supervisor/Venture Chief

The supervisor’s key job is to supervise tasks. Though they’re well-informed on the related knowledge factors, they spend no time analyzing knowledge. As a substitute, they outline a consumer’s issues and lead a crew of analysts and consultants who determine the most effective options.

“They often have a last say about what to current to the consumer and what options are going to be supplied,” says Hisham.

Managers/challenge leaders at top-tier corporations earn a median of $175,000, excluding efficiency bonuses and profit-sharing alternatives.

4. Principal/Director

Administrators strengthen and develop new consumer relationships. They might evaluation evaluation and supply enter on high-level tasks. In addition they present nurturing and motivation to much less skilled crew members. Administrators and principals earn upwards of $250,000.

5. Associate/Shareholder

Companions are people who’ve invested in a agency for a few years. They make sure the long-term well being of the corporate. Their key roles embody figuring out new enterprise alternatives, successful tasks, managing consumer relationships, and offering management.

Base salaries for companions or shareholders vary from $570,000–$1,000,000, excluding bonuses.

There’s stiff competitors for roles on the prime consulting corporations. Tens of hundreds of candidates apply to the MBB corporations yearly, however lower than 5% of candidates get in. The next ideas will assist enhance your possibilities of touchdown a job.

1. Keep a excessive GPA.

High consultancies anticipate tutorial excellence from their candidates. Having a excessive GPA turns into extra essential in the event you’re finding out at a non-target college. A low GPA doesn’t kill your possibilities, however having a excessive GPA definitely boosts it.

2. Collect related experiences and internships.

Ex-PwC advisor, Mahdi Kafi, is an instance of somebody who bought right into a prestigious consulting agency regardless of having tough grades and no expertise. Actually, he had no internships on his resume.

What Mahdi had was an inventory of related abilities like customer support, autonomy, consumer administration, analytical and presentation abilities, and the power to work in groups.

He developed these abilities by intentionally doing jobs that required them. The consequence? He bought interviews with the Huge 4 and different international corporations.

3. Write a stand-out resume and canopy letter.

Many candidates get screened out due to poor resumes. When creating your resume, guarantee it impresses recruiters by displaying your ability and related consulting work experiences.

When you’ve labored at a prime agency or attended an elite college, make it conspicuous in your resume — names are a giant deal in consulting. Proudly show a excessive GPA and any standardized check scores.

Lastly, attempt to match all of it on one web page. Remember to share who you might be and why you’d be a great match for the agency in your cowl letter.

4. Begin networking.

You’re extra more likely to land an interview if a agency member refers you. So faucet into your skilled and college alumni networks and join with consultants in your goal agency.

Don’t have any such connections? Begin constructing them by way of LinkedIn or ship chilly networking emails so you’ll be able to apply early to open roles.

5. Put together to crush your interviews.

Consulting corporations conduct two varieties of interviews: behavioral-fit and case interviews. Match interviews gauge whether or not your character matchs the job and the agency’s tradition.

Case interviews simulate your life on the job; they’re used to judge how you concentrate on an issue. Acing each interviews is essential to touchdown the job.

Consultants have enterprise abilities and a community that gives a sound basis for fulfillment as startup founders. For instance, Udemy Co-founder, Gagan Biyani, started his profession working for Accenture. He was additionally a former and early worker at Lyft.

2. Company Administration

Ex-consultants usually change into high-profile company managers at established organizations.

McKinsey alums are particular on this realm. In 2020, 359 McKinsey alums ran $1 billion plus firms internationally. It’s why McKinsey is dubbed the CEO manufacturing facility.

3. Nonprofits and NGOs

NGOs must successfully deploy their assets like funding and volunteer hours. That is the place consultants’ problem-solving, operational administration, and strategic planning abilities change into helpful.

Nonprofits and NGOs are an important exit possibility for ex-consultants who need to depart an impression on the world.

4. Funding Funds

This consists of alternatives in enterprise capital, personal fairness, and hedge funds. Potential roles may contain deal sourcing — figuring out funding alternatives, due diligence — evaluating funding alternatives, and portfolio administration.

Funding funds is likely to be essentially the most financially rewarding exit possibility since you’ll be able to have fairness within the enterprise. And in the event you don’t need to make investments your cash, you’ll be able to be part of as a strategist.

Launch Your Consulting Profession

Consulting is a extremely rewarding however demanding profession. It requires you to be on prime of your recreation each time. Only some individuals can maintain such excessive work depth whereas constructing relationships and having satisfying and significant lives.

The excellent news is that you simply don’t must work in consulting without end. As a beginner advisor, you’ll be able to purpose to climb the ladder or simply get transferable abilities and exit after just a few years.

You’ll study and develop from the expertise, whichever path you select.