Why Choose Management Consulting as a Career?
Many candidates pursue management consulting because it’s a financially thriving career. However, if you want to last long in McKinsey, Bain or any competitive firm, you must have other important intentions. Relying on financial motivation doesn’t make you motivated enough to finish your mind-boggling tasks. You should also be motivated by other things, such as those mentioned below.
Intellectual Challenges
The responsibilities assigned to you require critical thinking, analysis, resourceful, leadership and commitment. You won’t have a supervisor that will keep an eye on you the whole time. You will be given sufficient autonomy to do things on your own. You will be discussing ideas with your team mates. This kind of intellectual stimulation is attractive for many applicants. It keeps the mind on the go and free from rust and cobwebs.
Exposure
By becoming a management consultant, you get exposed to different sectors, clients and challenges. Because the agreements are based on projects, you don’t get to stick with one company only. You hop from one office to another to observe the best practices across industries and to know the common problems plaguing organizations. Another bonus point is the possibility of traveling to different cities or countries as part of your job. Yes, this career can be your ticket to see the world.
Learning
As a management consultant, you must keep up with everything that’s presented to you. If you belong to a huge firm that caters to different clients, you might be assigned to a variety of projects. When this happens, the learning process certainly demands time and effort in comprehending the business case. However, in the end, you also reap the fruit of your labor – extensive and in depth understanding of management, marketing and entrepreneurship – and this intangible perk will never be taken away from you.
Skills Enhancement
The management consulting firm will hire you because they see your potential. After signing the employment contract, you will be trained to embody their values and expertise. You will learn how to present your ideas effectively, to analyze a complicated problem well or to interact with different personalities smoothly. Moreover, by simply being surrounded with consultants that have been there for years, you will be able to catch winning practices and habits for your improvement.
Increased Value in the Market
Should you decide to move on to another industry later, a lot of companies will be after you. You have been trained for employee interaction, so you can be a supervisor. You have been trained to be level headed in approaching a situation, so you may go for higher position. If you also want to put up your own business, more likely you will be successful since you are already aware of market behaviors, industry trends and best practices. It’s now just a matter of applying your technical know-how to your own brainchild.
In summary, a management consultant also enjoys a number of intangible perks that can never be equated to their yearly earnings. If you want to experience them, start preparing for your career in this industry. Know how to impress a recruiter with your job application, test results and interview performance.