Common Misconceptions About Working In Management Consulting

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Our clients often ask us this question: what are some common misconceptions about getting a job in management consulting? As always we will be honest with you and provide you a picture of the real world through the experience of our team. Read on…

The biggest misconception and often most ill-conceived reason cited for applying for jobs in consulting is this imagined constant world travel. Applicants think it is cool to be able to travel a lot. Even if you are traveling like this all over the world, it is fun for a few months and then just becomes a routine part of your job. Applicants are attracted to travel, which is fine, but that is not an appropriate motivation to consider this career. You are not in your home very often – and in considering motivation, it is important to think about the lifestyle, where you are and want to be… is being away attractive to your career path?

A lot misinformation is about the nature of the work. People think they will creating savings and personal impact independently and immediately… but it is a team effort, and your role changes throughout your career, so an analyst may not have client contact or see results individually. Will you be happy doing analysis or leading teams and project work streams? Be granular in thinking about your actual tasks. All firms are impact driven, but you may overestimate or romanticize your direct, personal impact. But you may never even know or see what impact you had. You will spend a lot of hours driving toward a solution, you present your solution and walk away. It may or may not be implemented. Will you be ok with that?

We hope that this blog post gave you some new insights about the consulting career. Head over and download our guide on how to land a consulting job to get more insights.

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