Management Consulting Key Success Factors

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Smiling successful young businessman

Recruiters of management consulting firms hire applicants who they think will become successful in the field of management consulting. However, though the process they follow is effective, real success of consultants can only be determined at the workplace.

Potential Success Determined during Recruitment Process

Since consultancy is a heavy responsibility, recruiters ensure that they hire the most qualified candidate for their vacancy. They usually receive thousands of job applications per year, and it is their duty to determine who among the aspirants can do the job well by thorough screening.

Preliminary Screening

Recruiters primarily assess the knowledge, skills and ability of candidates through cover letter and resume screening. Knowledge includes evaluation of general educational background, GPA and grades on major subjects, and for experienced hires, their technical know-how and the tangible results they achieved. When they assess skills and abilities, they go through extra-curricular activities and achievements enumerated on the job application.

Tests and Interviews

Some management consulting firms, such as McKinsey and Bain, weed out applicants through testing. Some administer verbal and numerical reasoning tests but others include personality tests, too.

In the consulting field, there are two types of interviews: behavioral (or fit) interviews and case interviews. In the former, interviewers ask situational questions to gauge the applicant’s interpersonal, communication and stress management capability. At times, this is done through phone interviews. Case interviews aim to find out if the applicant is capable of doing the main roles and responsibilities of a consultant. They are given vague problems to resolve within a limited period of time.

Indicators of a Management Consultant’s Success

While recruitment process is helpful in determining who will do well in the industry, firms only know the real score as soon as the newly hired starts working. In all cases, consultants are considered successful if they value integrity.

Quality of Recommendations

Consultants take the role of an expert. So much decision making hinges on the recommendations they give to the company. They cannot afford to make mistakes, so their advice must be factual, proven and customized to client’s needs. They know it is unprofessional to give packaged plans or solutions to companies who are undergoing similar problems. They must develop customized, executable and sustainable plans and recommendations.

Commitment

Management consultants always place the interest of their client before them. This is the reason why they spend long work hours to meet deadlines, conduct research studies, brainstorm ideas and prepare presentations. They strive to deliver what’s expected from them by doing all possible means. If clients are satisfied with their output, they have a good reputation. They start making a name for themselves and for their firms. More companies will keep availing their services.

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Importance of GMAT Score in Management Consulting

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math

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is often used by business schools as part of their criteria in admitting students into their MBA program. However, what does it have to do with your management consulting career? Read more and know the purpose of this standardized test.

Recruiters look at your GMAT score not because they want to know if you can proceed with your MBA degree at a particular school. They consider it because the results tell something about your management consulting competencies. The GMAT score will be one of several criteria that recruiters look at before inviting you for an interview. Once you land the consulting interview, your score doesn’t matter. Let’s look at four main parts of GMAT tests.

Quantitative Section

The quantitative section gauges your quantitative reasoning and interpretation skills. Questions are related to arithmetic, basic algebra and common geometry concepts. Some items require you to resolve numerical problems while others ask you to examine quantitative figures logically.

A good score in this section means you are capable of dealing with numbers every day – common factor recruiters look for in management consulting candidates. If you, fortunately, land your dream job, you’ll be dealing with financial reports, working on the quantitative aspect of your research, assigning product prices and computing costs and revenues. If you are terrible with numbers, you will be in trouble as a consultant!

Verbal Section

The three types of questions in this section are reading comprehension, critical reasoning and sentence correction. In the first type, you will be asked to understand written text, interpret ideas and answer inferential questions. The second type measures your reasoning skills by evaluating contentions and formulating a plan of action. The last type expects you to select which among the choices is the best way of expressing an idea.

If you score high in this section, it can be interpreted by recruiters as possession of outstanding verbal reasoning skills. This is important in management consulting since you’ll deal with researches and written reports that must be evaluated with critical thinking. Your incapacity to do so will lead to recommendations without factual basis. With this, you will lose your credibility. On the part of the client, this will result to poor decisions and irrelevant costs.

Integrated Reasoning Section

The integrated reasoning section includes items on graphical and table analysis. You will be presented with data that come in different formats and from numerous sources. You need to integrate the available information to be able to resolve a complex problem.

A good score in this section is impressive because it implies you can put together facts meaningfully. When you resolve a business case, several factors are to be considered. For instance, if you assess a market situation, you must look into the characteristics of customers, capability of suppliers, ongoing competition and the performance of current market. You can only come up with a recommendation after analyzing the costs and benefits of each factor.

Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA)

In this section, you are asked to understand and critique the argument presented to you. MBA.com states that it is not a requirement for you to have specific knowledge of the essay topic. What matters more is you’re able to write analytically within a limited period of time. You need not express your personal opinions about the subject. You will be evaluated based on your ability to organize ideas, provide supporting facts to your main points and use English correctly.

As a management consultant, you are expected to make comprehensive presentations for clients. However, they won’t just drink the kool-aid. For them to be convinced, your solutions or recommendations must have a solid basis. You can bring up the results of a survey, findings of your market study or summarized report from your interviews with employees. Hence, a good score in AWA section will also put you at an advantage.

Do not just take GMAT for granted. Perform well in this test for it tells something about your capability to do management consulting roles and responsibilities.

Management Consulting Elevator Pitch

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elevator

A management consulting elevator pitch is a brief summary about your selling points. It can be used when networking with representatives from consulting firms during school events. It can also serve as an answer to the one million dollar question, “Why should we hire you?” Read on and learn how to make one.

Know Your Listener

Your elevator pitch is not about what you want to say but what your audience wants to hear. Hence, your background about the listener will help you in the construction. If you’re talking to the management consulting recruiter of firms like Bain, BCG or McKinsey & Company, he/she is interested in what sets you apart from other applicants. If you’re talking to a CEO, he/she is curious on how consulting aspirants like you can contribute to their business. If you’re talking to an alumnus, he/she would love to know how you intend to pursue your career plans. Always remember that different folks want different stories.

Take Note of the S-I-R Framework

According to Richard Fout’s, How to Craft the Perfect Elevator Pitch slideshow, you can adopt the Situation – Impact – Resolution structure. Situation is where you cite the dilemma, pressing need or weak point. Impact is where you describe the effects of the situation. Resolution is the answer to the problem. If you’re in an elevator with a company CEO who’s about to launch a new product, you can briefly state their possible loss if they won’t hire management consultants who can do market segmentation and analyze market trends.

Remember the 9 C’s

Chris O’Leary in his PDF guide, Elevator Pitch Essentials, said that effective speeches have nine characteristics. Once you’ve formulated a management consulting elevator pitch, try to evaluate if meets these criteria:

  • Concise
  • Clear
  • Compelling
  • Credible
  • Conceptual
  • Concrete
  • Consistent
  • Customized
  • Conversational

This short checklist will help you maximize the time given to you, and help you tailor your story for the right person.

Always Be Ready

If you attend a networking event at school, or you are called for a management consulting interview, you have a lot of time to prepare for your elevator pitch. However, life is full of surprises. You meet key people at an unexpected time and in unexpected places. If you happen to have one of these surprising chances and you’re not aware of the latest trends and news in the consulting industry and business sector, how can you formulate an impressive elevator pitch? Make it a habit to stay updated, attend consulting sessions and network with professionals.

Communicate Clearly

Deliver your elevator pitch clearly and confidently. If you have prepared for it beforehand, practice it until you gain the desired mastery level. It wouldn’t be impressive if you stutter in front of a person who might be your key to a consulting position. Look at yourself in the mirror and be aware of your body language while you state it. Make sure that your tone stirs interest and encourages the listener to ask questions.

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Download Free Management Consulting E-book

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how-to-land-a-job

Having a bird’s eye view of the recruitment process of consulting firms is helpful for aspirants like you. Breaking into this industry can be tough, so knowing the challenges you’ll encounter helps you stand out. Since we recognize this need, we wrote the free e-book, How to Land a Job in Management Consulting, to help you get started.

The E-Book Has Answers

Below you will find the answers to the important questions:

  1. What do management consulting firms look for in applicants? Are there specific skills that grab their attention?
  2. What is the general recruitment process followed by most firms?
  3. What are the types of questions asked during case interviews? What are some examples of each type?
  4. How do we prepare for interviews? What areas should I focus on to nail down the questions?
  5. How should I project myself professionally during interviews?

The E-book Has Explanations

The e-book is a good reference for the following:

  1. Practice areas where top tier consulting firms, like McKinsey, Bain and Booz operate
  2. Management consulting factors that will set you apart from other candidates
  3. Tips and guidelines in preparing a winning cover letter and effective resume
  4. Typical written tests administered by management consulting firms
  5. How case interviews help recruiters decide who among the applicants deserve the job
  6. Types of questions you must master to excel during case interviews
  7. How to apply case frameworks to key analysis areas
  8. Ways of improving your mental math to analyze and resolve the business case faster and smarter
  9. Ten steps to follow when solving the business dilemma presented by the interviewer
  10. How to communicate yourself verbally and physically during interviews

Bonus Content

There’s one more thing!

Due to many requests of our readers, we included a script to give you an idea on how a case interview goes. The case is all about an airline company that is considering a flight service between Paris and London. The interviewer is asked to price the ticket between two cities. After reading the script, you will get a good grasp of how to utilize logical thinking in coming up with an acceptable answer.

If you think our free e-book will significantly contribute to your career preparation, kindly visit our guide page and download it there.

Other E-books to Consider

If you want a more elaborate explanation on some crucial topics, here are other e-books you might want to consider:

  • Consulting Interview Frameworks – Structuring your answer during case interviews is a skill you need to develop, and you will never have this if you don’t master the frameworks. Frameworks provide you a step-by-step guide to resolve the business problem. This starts from identifying the factors you need to consider until deriving at a well-reasoned recommendation.
  • Consulting Cover Letters and Resumes – Underestimating the power of your job application is one huge mistake in management consulting. Since it’s the document that represents you to the recruiters, you must write it well to grab their attention. Remember that they receive hundreds of resumes per month and most of them are from qualified applicants. If your job application is poorly written, chances are you won’t be even called for an interview.

For other useful articles about management consulting, please check our blog posts regularly.

Management Consulting Skills

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Skills

Skills form part of management consulting competencies. Without them, it would be impossible to perform a job with excellence. Below is a list of 15 skills you need to develop to land a job in top tier management consulting firms like Booz, BCG, McKinsey and Monitor.

1. Critical Thinking

Most of the time, your duties will include breaking down of complex problems in an organized way. You will use management consulting frameworks and other tools for thorough analysis of business cases.

2. Problem-Solving

The management expects you to come up with recommendations to resolve a problem or a threat. If you lack this skill, you won’t be able to justify the main reason why consultants are hired.

3. Written Communication

Your clients will require regular written reports to monitor the progress of your project. You must have the ability to produce documents with concise and comprehensible information.

4. Verbal Communication

You must be able to speak clearly and confidently with clients during meetings and presentations, with employees during data gathering and with the other people involved in the project. Being tactful will prevent issues of miscommunication and confusion.

5. Numerical Reasoning

Numbers are inevitable in a management consulting position. You will go through financial reports, market studies and other documents with mathematical figures. Because of this, you must improve your numerical reasoning skills even before you submit your application.

6. Interpersonal Relations

The ability to establish rapport and build relationships with the people you meet in your consulting job will put you at an advantage. If you exhibit emotional intelligence consistently, you won’t only attract cooperation but also valuable friendship.

7. Collaboration

Completing a management consulting project is not a one-man show. Teaming up with other consultants leads to more efficient progress. Everyone can complement with each other’s competencies and such will yield better results.

8. Creativity

You won’t be required to paint, but you need creativity to be able to think outside the box. A management consultant needs this skill because resolutions don’t always have to be conventional in nature.

9. Decision Making

Based on your analysis, you will make everyday decisions that will lead you to your goal. You must know how to brainstorm possible options and draw possible consequences. You will also encounter unavoidable conflicts that can be effectively handled with this skill.

10. Research

All recommendations must have credible bases. Hence, management consultants always conduct research on market trends, best industry practices, competitor’s status and other topics relevant to the business problem.

11. Organization

According to management consulting job descriptions, a consultant usually works for more than 50 hours per week. Because of this busy schedule, you must be skilled in managing your time, distinguishing high priority tasks and planning of activities.

12. Stress Management

Having heavy and much workload can lead to stress and over fatigue. Thus, you must learn how to manage it for your health and happiness. Though your plate is always full, always find a way to achieve the balance of work and play.

13. Adaptability

Part of your responsibilities will be to travel to different cities and places. Thus, you will not enjoy your job if you’re not open to new cultures, offices, food, climate, etc. You must be ready to face any changes in the working environment.

14. Computer Proficiency

This is a basic requirement of most jobs nowadays. In management consulting, your computer is an important tool in making reports, making calculations and presenting recommendations to top management.

15. Persuasion

If you’ll be employed in hybrid consulting companies, you must learn the skill of introducing other products of your company to your clients.

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Does an MBA Help You Get into Management Consulting?

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mba

Management consulting remains one of the most popular career paths for people at business school. But is an MBA essential if you want to move into this industry? Read more in this article.

INSEAD, which is very strong in this sector, reports that 39% of its full-time MBAs went into consulting after graduating in 2011.

MBA programs endow you with a practical, working understanding (rather than complete mastery) of the gamut of business functions: finance, marketing, operations, organisational behaviour. It’s the big-picture mindset that a management consultant needs and an MBA is a rubber stamp that you have the requisite toolkit.

Nicky Winch, head of recruiting for CapGemini UK says: “The MBA helps to demonstrate an intellectual and analytical capability and along with relevant experience, can help make a candidate stand out against others.”

MBA programs also provide you with practical experience. Most require their students to complete at least one, if not several consulting projects for corporate, start-up and non-profit clients.

Here are a few examples from BusinessBecause.com of people who have successfully used an MBA to break into management consulting.

Tom Park studied law at McGill and public policy at Harvard. Between 2004 and 2007 he worked in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the OSCE Mission in Pristina, Kosovo and the UN Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia. Previously he was an associate at McCarthy Tetrault, Canada’s largest law firm. A two-year MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth enabled him to land an internship, and then a permanent role at McKinsey in Montreal. He is currently based in Dakar, Senegal working on a global health project.

Italian Fabio Gastaldi holds an MSc in Electronics and Computer Engineering. He worked for Ericsson as a Solutions Integrator for four years, before joining the MBA program at Spain’s IE Business School in order to revive his stalling career. Fabio says he got a job at Bain & Co. through the network he gained on the IE MBA, which helped him identify roles suitable for his combined Engineering and MBA qualifications, a sought-after combination in the industry.  “It was an Italian I met during the MBA that linked me up with Bain’s HR manager in Italy. I got invited to the interview then that’s it”, he says.

INSEAD grad Ioan Carpus had a varied career before he embarked on an MBA. He qualified as a lawyer in Romania, and then worked as a web developer and in an e-learning business. At INSEAD he worked with Professor W. Chan Kim in the famous professor’s Blue Ocean study group.

If you haven’t heard of it, blue ocean strategy is a business theory coined by two star INSEAD professors, aimed at making competition irrelevant. Since graduating in 2007, Ioan has set up his own strategy consulting firm focused on blue ocean methods, in partnership with several other INSEAD grads – a career move he would have struggled to make before his MBA.

If you want to get into management consulting, business school can certainly help you make the switch. You’ll meet recruiters on campus, the growing numbers of MBA Clubs dedicated to consulting provide great networking opportunities, and you can fill out your resume wit projects to prove that you have the right leadership skills.

However, business school comes with a price tag – around US$45k in tuition for a decent full-time, one-year program in Europe, double that in the US! And opportunities won’t be handed to you on a plate – you’ll have to work for them!

Of course an MBA is not the only way to break into consulting, and plenty of people get in and move up the ranks without one. Industry experience is sometimes enough to move into a boutique consulting firm or the relevant practise area of a large firm. The best way to figure out if you can make the switch without an MBA is to apply directly to firms and see how you do! Speak to as many partners and hiring managers as possible at your target firms beforehand, to figure out what your chances are and how to present yourself

Maria Ahmed is Editor of BusinessBecause.com, a professional network for the business school world. On BusinessBecause you’ll find useful information about MBA jobs, MBA Rankings and fresh daily editorial including the Why MBA series.

Management Consulting Networking

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People Network

Recruiters don’t only make recruitment decisions based on your application documents, test results and performance during interviews. In fact, they prefer to bank on candidates who are highly recommended by key people. This means that you should continuously widen your network through our suggestions in this post.

The old phrase, “It’s who you know that matters more” is true to the current recruitment setup of management consulting firms. Though some applicants find it a deprivation of equal opportunity, recruiters find it a more reliable strategy. They would rather have confidence in those who apply with an impressive recommendation than in candidates who only have a resume and a cover letter as their marketing tools.

What does this imply to you? If you’re pursuing a career in a huge firm like BCG, you might as well learn the nitty-gritty of management consulting networking. If you think you’re not capable of this, you are misguided. Look around you and recognize the people you interact with. They are already part of your network that might lead you to your dream job.

However, you should not stop with who you currently know. Aspiring consultants like you must find a way to expand and nurture your network to fully maximize its benefits. It may take a significant amount of time. You might be required to attend regular meetings and to establish quality relationships with others but just imagine the scenario like this: the person you mingle with has more than ten professional buddies who can perhaps help you land a consulting job.

Below are three management consulting networking tips on how to meet people personally or virtually.

Attend School Events

University students are encouraged to attend consulting activities initiated by management consulting clubs, conducted as part of career programs or facilitated by consulting firms themselves. In these activities, you can usually interact with current or former consultants, alumni who previously worked for consulting firms and other successful professionals who can refer you to recruiters. Make sure that you apply techniques on how to engage them in a good conversation so they can easily remember you.

Join Professional Organizations

Look for management consulting professional organizations and be an active member in it. They usually initiate forums, seminars, training and programs that build up your career. They keep you updated with the quick changes affecting consultancy. They also allow exchange of questions, ideas and opinions among members and invited guests to understand industry developments in a deeper and better way. In these organizations, you will most likely meet a lot of professionals so you have to take full advantage of these connections to be considered job opening.

Be Active on LinkedIn

Maintaining an updated account on LinkedIn brings a few advantages. For one, many recruiters look for management consulting candidates who can fill their unadvertised vacancies. They go through different profiles and contact those who are qualified. Another benefit you get from this site is professional virtual networking. You can join consulting groups where you get to interrelate with knowledgeable, well-experienced experts. You can also check how many of your friends are connected with consultants or recruiters employed by your target consulting firms. Once you have the information, you can then find a way to contact them for further assistance.

When you communicate with your contacts, do not just bluntly ask them to refer you to any recruiter. Some might consider it too straightforward or offensive. Just mention that you’ve already sent your application to this or that firm or you’re heading to this direction in the future. If they’re willing to help you, they will reach out to you proactively. If not, don’t get frustrated. Move on and be on constant lookout for other opportunities.

Management Consulting vs. IT Consulting

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keyboard

Responsibilities of management and IT consultants may overlap at times but there are unquestionably a few differences between the two. By reading this post, you’ll know what their similarities and differences are. You’ll also be able to assess which type of consulting is fit for you.  

Main Objective

Both management and IT consultants target to help clients improve business growth with their well-thought advice. The only difference is that they work on different aspects of the organization. Management consultants focus on organizational development, cost and benefit analysis and market researches. They use management consulting frameworks to find out and generate solutions for the main business dilemma. Here’s the job description of management consultants for your additional reference.

On the other hand, IT consultants concentrate on advising management on how to efficiently manage information technology to meet their business goals. They also develop, implement and evaluate IT systems that lead to productivity and efficiency in business processes. They also train employees to strengthen their skills.

Job Requirements

Management and IT consulting positions require some of the same skills and abilities. Both teams must be analytic, logical, organized and attentive to details. They must also be able to excellently express their thoughts in written or verbal form. They must have the capability to deal with top management and interact with frontline employees as well. What sets them apart is their technical expertise.

Management consulting staff are expected to be knowledgeable in human resources, strategic planning, finance, marketing, sales and operations. They must have a good grasp of change management tools and techniques. They must also have a good background in technology since in some cases, they need to touch that area during evaluation. Graduates of Management, Marketing, Economics and Business Administration are usually the potential candidates for this field.

On the other hand, IT consultants try to understand the current IT infrastructure of the company and identify the main concern so they must be proficient in all factors affecting it.  These factors include the hardware, the program and the people using them. IT consultants must be adept in IT assessment, computer network, systems integration, security and customer relations management. They also need to keep themselves abreast with the latest software, gadgets and other updates in IT. Graduates of Computer Science, Information Technology, Computer Engineering and other related courses are usually hired for this position. Most have CISCO, Microsoft and other technical certifications.

Prominent Management and IT Consulting Companies

Three of the top-tier management consulting firms that are popular around the world are McKinsey, BCG and Bain. Other widely-known firms are Deloitte, Booz and AT Kearney. In the field of IT consulting, Accenture, Deloitte and Capgemini are some of the large ones.

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Seven Questions to Guide You for a Consulting Career

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question mark

Are you interested in landing a job in management consulting? If you are seriously considering this option, there are some questions you need to ponder. They will serve as your guide in getting your dream job. Continue reading and find out what these questions are.

Question 1: Have You Assessed Yourself for the Position?

Before the recruiters assess you, why don’t you do it on your own? You can start by reading their job description carefully and by checking if you have the required competencies. You can also conduct your own research about the company and see if your values fit their corporate culture. If you have contacts in McKinsey, Bain, Booz, BCG and other consulting firms, ask them about their regular duties and responsibilities and ponder if you’re willing to adapt their daily routine. Once you’ve done these steps, you will know if management consulting is the career path you should pursue.

Question 2: Why Do You Want to Be a Management Consultant?

The difficult times have pushed employees to put financial priorities on the front row. If this is the main reason for your management consulting application, every day at work is going to be a drag and every assignment is a potential cause of stress. You will end up having empty days, wanting to do other things. Ideally, you should have organizational growth and improvement as your noble intentions. This will give you the passion to get things done and consequently, the feeling of fulfillment.

Question 3: Have You Done Networking with Current Management Consultants?

Never underestimate the power of networking. In the field of management consulting, it’s one efficient way of landing your dream job. Through your contacts, you’ll get information on unadvertised consulting vacancies. They can also recommend you to recruiters and this will distinguish you from the rest of the pile. Remember that many candidates are highly qualified but your recommended application is more reliable than any well-written resume.

Question 4: Do You Have a Well-Written Cover Letter and Resume?

As soon as you’re done with the competency and motivation check, evaluate your management consulting cover letter and resume. Are they attractive enough to catch the attention of the recruiters? Did you follow a structure to make it concise and organized? Have you clearly emphasized your selling points and previous accomplishments? Have you double checked the grammar, spelling and format? Remember that recruiters sift applicants in the most efficient way they know. Their target is to hire the cream of the crop; thus, they don’t bother going through application documents that are inferiorly written.

Question 5: Are You Ready for Numerical, Logical and Verbal Reasoning Tests?

To be called for management consulting testing is already a milestone you must be proud of. If you get a chance to know what kind of tests you will take, exert some effort to finish related exercises. The more you are familiar with the process and the more confidence you exhibit, the less stress you feel on the day of the examination. This should improve your score. If you run out of time to prepare, stay cool. Try to comprehend and analyze the given information on each item and give it your best shot.

Question 6: Are You Ready for Fit Interviews?

During fit interviews, recruiters will probe on the information stated on your resume and cover letter. They will ask questions about your experience, education and personality to find out if you are the right person for the opening. Be prepared to answer in detail about your past accomplishments and the skills you’ve developed along the way since these are the indicators that you can successfully perform the responsibilities of the position you’re applying for.

Question 7: Are You Ready for Case Interviews?

The purpose of the case interview is to evaluate your ability to effectively resolve business cases and communicate ideas. Your business judgment, creativity, grace under pressure, quantitative skills and logical reasoning will also be assessed in this part. To prepare for this, be familiar with case interview frameworks because they provide structure to your answer. It would also help to research on business cases, ask those who have already undergone the process and have mock interviews beforehand.

Getting a job in management consulting companies is a long process. But once you get there, you will feel that it’s all worth it.

Management Consulting Internships

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Management Consulting Internships

The competition in getting a consulting internship opportunity may be as tough as getting a job. Many students would like to get hold of and maximize this opportunity. To arm you for this endeavor, read this post and have a solid background about this program.

After years of intellectually feeding your brain with theories and principles at the university, you must be too excited to apply them in the real world. Your stock knowledge about the culture of business, nature of organizations and management strategies is never enough to make you an outstanding management consultant or analyst. You need the practical side of things; you need the experience factor. The internship program in a management consulting firm can be the answer to that missing piece.

What Is a Management Consulting Internship Program?

A management consulting internship program is a systematized on-the-job training that allows undergraduate or postgraduate students to be immersed in the field for a specified period of time, usually about 10 to 14 weeks. You are given a day or two for the company and job orientation but after that, you will be assigned to work on tasks like everyone else. A supervisor will be assigned to you to answer your inquiries, monitor you during the program and address your other concerns from time to time.

Should You Take a Consulting Summer Internship Program?

Management consulting firms offer internship all year round but the most convenient time to do it is during summer. Top tier firms like McKinsey, Bain, Booz and BCG have well-organized internship programs in summer, a perfect time for you to receive formal training and meet other consultants in social events. Recruitment usually begins in January and if you’re fortunate enough to qualify, the internship starts within June and ends within August.

What Do You Get from a Consulting Internship?

Consulting internships are quite popular because of the advantages they offer to students. Enumerated below are the perks you can enjoy from this short training.

You Can Build Your Competencies

The kind of training you get from management consulting firms will expose you to responsibilities that require your utmost knowledge, skills and abilities. You’ll be given tasks to explain organizational situations, go through documents and reports, analyze critical details and possibly recommend solutions to existing problems. These require your critical thinking aspect, positive work habits and high level of professionalism.

You Can Reflect on Your Calling

Within the short duration, you can realize if this is the career path you should follow. Being surrounded by people who are already there gives you an idea of the actual life you’re dreaming of. Do you feel motivated to get your tasks done? Do you take the pressure as a positive inspiration? Do you believe you can get along with people in a fast-paced, highly intellectual environment? If all your answers to those questions are in the negative after the internship, management consulting is not probably for you.

You May Get a Full-Time Job Offer After the Program.

This is probably the best prize you can claim after the internship. If the management consulting firm has a vacant post that is commensurate to your qualifications, most likely they will offer you an employment contract, a big break that any fresh graduate would love to have. It is then very important to produce quality output, establish smooth relationship with colleagues, get constructive feedback and participate actively in team projects. Act responsibly and proactively. Prove to them and most of all to yourself that you deserve it.

You Broaden Your Network

If you don’t get the offer for a full-time position, you can still be grateful for the opportunity to meet and work with management consultants and clients. Since these people have connections with big companies, they can give you recommendations and referrals to the best employers in town. In the future, if you stumble upon complicated challenges in your career, you may contact them and seek advice.

What Do Management Consulting Companies Get from the Program?

It’s not only students who benefit from internship programs. It’s actually a win-win situation for both parties. Below are two reasons why consulting firms continue to offer this training.

Effective Recruitment Strategy

During the on-the-job training, they can closely monitor who among the interns exhibit the competencies perfect for their vacant position. They can determine who has the leadership skills, analytic way of thinking, excellent communication ability and initiative. They’ll be able to evaluate candidates not only through their resume, interview and test results but also through performance, which is more reliable.

Form of Advertisement

Management consulting firms treat their interns as a team member because after the program, they will be returning to the university and will be sharing their experience. Further, in the future, if the interns get hired by companies that will require consulting services, they can recommend the consulting firm because of their fantastic experience.

How Do You Avail of Opportunities for Consulting Internships?

Not all management consulting firms offer internship programs. Hence, being always on the lookout will keep you aware of rare opportunities. Watch out for job fairs and other special programs where recruiters or representatives from consulting firms accept on-the-job training applications. You can also tap your contacts who can help, guide and recommend you for the program. You can also visit the websites of your target firms for updates.

If you get the internship opportunity at a well-respected firm like BCG and PWC, make the most of your experience. Your short stay will not only provide you ample insights but also wonderful encounters with different people. Enjoy every aspect of it. You might get too absorbed with the projects assigned to you to have fun at the workplace.

After reading this post, explore our website or download this guide for more practical tips on how to land an opportunity in management consulting.

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