How to become A Management Consultant

They are innovators...they are change agents. They are team builders...they are helping hands. They are implementers. They are Management Consultants who use Big Data Analytics to help organizations improve their efficiency.

• Management Analyst

What do Management Consultants do?

A Management Consultant would typically need to:

• Use their business skills to help organizations solve issues, create value, maximize growth, improve business performance, and fulfill business needs that cannot be undertaken successfully by the client due to lack of time or other resources
• Propose ways to improve an organization’s efficiency, provide objective advice and expertise to help an organization develop any specialist skills that it may be lacking, and advise managers on how to make their organization more profitable through reduced costs and increased revenues
• Use their independence to manage difficult or political situations on behalf of their client, often using change management expertise and human resource knowledge
• Carry out research and data collection to understand the organization; analyze and identify issues and form hypotheses and solutions
• Run focus groups and facilitate workshops; interview the client's employees, management team and other stakeholders
• Prepare business proposals and presentations to share research and put forward recommendations to clients
• Implement recommendations or solutions and ensure that the client receives the necessary assistance to carry it all out
• Liaise with the client to keep them informed of progress; make relevant decisions and travel long distances to meet with them if required
• Manage projects and programs while leading and managing those within the team, including analysts
• Assist new business start-ups

A Management Consultant’s time is split between an office and the client’s site. Frequent travel is required, as they must spend a significant amount of time with clients to provide high-quality and educated advice and solutions. With work now carried out on an international level, client offices overseas also provide opportunities for travel and work abroad.

Management Consultants are generally encouraged to wear formal business clothing when working out of an office or at a client’s location and business meetings.

Management Consultants typically work with tight deadlines; demanding workloads require long hours outside of the standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours but can vary according to employers and the size and type of projects you take on.

Increasingly, firms are finding ways to allow flexibility in the work schedule and routine and foster work/life balance through measures such as Flexi-work, part-time work, work from home, and enhanced maternity and paternity leave.

Due to the high standards required and the intense competition resulting from high earning potential in this profession, some employers will require Management Consultants to go through several interviews and assessments. Employers can range from those that offer end-to-end solution provision to niche firms that provide specialist skills and knowledge. Specialist recruitment agencies handle vacancies.

Management Consultants are generally employed by:

• Charities
• Educational Institutions
• Healthcare Services
• Media & Telecommunications
• Government
• Financial Services
• Hospitality & Leisure Industry
• Manufacturing Firms
• Retail Businesses

Professional associations and organizations are a crucial resource for those interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation. Membership in one or more looks excellent on your resume to bolster your credentials and qualifications as a Management Consultant.

• High level of responsibility and pressure caused by working overtime and stringent targets and tight deadlines to meet
• Considerable time traveling between client sites, and significant time spent away from home if the client is not local, due to the need to be based in their client’s office
• Stress from trying to tackle demanding clients and their requirements

Employers often value commercial experience and skills as much as qualifications; it is useful to gain relevant work experience before a Management Consultant enters the profession. Suppose you wish to get into consultancy work immediately after university. In that case, you should start applying for positions at the beginning of your final year and try to establish some relevant experience.

Part-time or voluntary work or extracurricular activities such as club membership, team sports, or society work that involves team-building skills, business or finance knowledge, and organization skills will prove invaluable.

Many Management Consultants enter the occupation with several years of work experience. Organizations that specialize in certain fields typically try to hire candidates who have experience in those areas.

Consulting is a wide field, and some Management Consultants specialize in virtually every sector of the economy. Therefore, work experience varies widely and can include the fields of accounting or audit, computer systems analysis, or market research analysis.

A bachelor’s degree is the typical entry-level requirement for Management Consultants. Some employers prefer to hire candidates with an MBA under their belt. A postgraduate or doctoral degree may allow you to enter the profession at a higher level despite not being mandatory for a management consultancy career.

Formal programs in Management Consulting are rare, but many fields of study provide a suitable education because of the range of areas that Management Consultants address. Common fields include business, management, economics, accounting, finance, marketing, psychology, and computer & information science.

It may also help if aspirant Management Consultants have a degree relevant to the industry in which they wish to work, e.g., banking, healthcare, or engineering.

Certification demonstrates competency in skills, typically through work experience, training, the passage of an examination, or some combination of the three. Voluntary certification from an objective, credible and reputed organization is often seen as evidence of an individual’s drive and motivation and helps them stand out in a competitive job market, increases their chances for advancement, builds their knowledge in a specific area, and helps them become an independent consultant.

As a new graduate, you will usually begin your management consultancy career in an analyst role, mainly carrying out research, data collection, and analysis. Having gained some experience, you may move on to a multi-faceted consultancy role with increased responsibility.

Senior Consultants may lead teams working on more complex projects and become more involved in seeking out new business. Those with exceptional skills may eventually become Partners or Directors in their consulting organization and focus on attracting new clients and bringing in revenue. Senior Management Consultants who leave their consulting companies often move to senior management positions at non-consulting organizations.

Career progression is driven by performance, experience, and acquisition of professional qualifications. Employees with consistently high levels of performance may be eligible for promotion every two to three years.

Job opportunities may be best for those who have a graduate degree or a certification, specialized expertise, fluency in a foreign language, or a talent for sales and public relations.

Large consulting firms typically have a structured training program with a detailed induction process that covers an overview of the organization, structure, and specific roles. An experienced colleague will usually guide rookie Management Consultants. In smaller firms, a lot of the training is on the job, and you learn the ropes as you go along.

Beyond this, professional organizations offer a competency-based assessment process that provides evidence the Management Consultant has reached an acceptable standard. Courses, workshops, and seminars are offered at all levels, from writing a business proposal for junior consultants to high-level presentation skills for partners.

Continuing professional development (CPD) allows individuals to upskill continually, regardless of their age, job, or level of knowledge. It keeps practical and academic qualifications from becoming outdated, allows individuals to identify any knowledge gaps, and allows professionals to progress to a new specialism.

One Job - Several Fields of Specialism

Management Consultants may offer comprehensive services or offer specialist advice on strategy, systems analysis & design, cybersecurity, organizational restructuring, profit planning, and revenue budgeting. They may manage the outsourcing of projects or set up niche consultancies.

Specialized Knowledge in High Demand

Management Consultants with expertise in logistics management, knowledge management, data warehousing, multimedia, client-server development, sales force automation, electronic commerce, brand management, and value management are highly sought after. Large firms offer industry-targeted services to pharmaceutical or chemical companies, and electricity firms; so, specific technical qualifications also look attractive on a Management Consultant’s resume.

Focus on Diversity

Consultancy firms with a strong commitment to diversity, focus on initiatives such as targeted graduate recruitment, internal mentoring, and diversity networks to support people from under-represented groups. While consulting firms traditionally preferred to hire MBA students, they are more open to recruiting lawyers, engineers, and students with doctoral degrees and training them as per the needs of their business.

Tips for Engineering Recruits

An engineer or a techie who wants to switch to management consultancy should demonstrate flexible thinking and analytical skills. Sharing an experience in which they applied engineering skills to tackle a business issue shows the ability to think outside the box.

Tips for University Students

Try to develop a framework that you can use to think about and analyze developing economies by taking courses in development economics, trade, and international finance. There is a significant demand for such services worldwide, with over half the revenue generated outside the First World.

The global nature of management consultancy has generated a high demand for multilingual professionals. If you opt for a semester abroad, optimize your expatriate experience by integrating into the local community rather than isolating yourself with friends and fellow students from home.

Training

Inquire about the training you will receive as a Management Consultant. Some firms may want you to be ready to take on projects, while others may prefer to initiate you into their organizational culture and values through a training program.

Fields of Heightened Focus

Healthcare, with its rapidly evolving payment and delivery systems, requires an increasing number of Management Consultants to help companies adapt through alliances and innovation, access strategies, and quality improvement. Management Consultants also help navigate higher costs engendered by an aging population, and the regulatory environment within health insurance.

Firms with large sales forces also look towards Management Consultants to help enhance their marketing effectiveness through sales force automation, seamlessly integrated wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), contact management systems, easily accessible support databases, and e-mail systems.

Large Firms vs. Small Firms vs. Solo Consultancy

A large consultancy may choose to sell projects staffed mainly by mid- and junior-level employees, billing the project at a substantial margin, and share the revenue earned. When implemented effectively, this hikes up compensation significantly.

Small firms continue to attract some of the best talent in management consultancy as they provide autonomy and the chance to create a more significant impact than a large firm. Smaller consulting companies specializing in specific industries or services envision more robust growth.

Being self-employed is an option after you spend considerable time in a conventional, corporate, salaried position, built a formidable Rolodex of contacts, and acquired significant knowledge of the market place and industry. To succeed in a solo consultancy, Management Consultants must overcome the challenges of building and sustaining credibility while marketing their worth. Only one in ten solo consultants lasts for ten years.

Novel Concepts

Relationship consulting, a growing concept, involves working with an organization for an extended period of many years, ensuring continued and monitored discussion and implementation of ideas and strategies. Long-term contracts may also equal higher consulting fees.

Consulting firms may also use the case interview method where you are presented with a business situation and asked to suggest a solution. Including members of management from your client company as part of your consulting team will make it easier to convince your client of new ideas and implement them.

Long-term Management Consulting contracts fetch over $20 million in consulting fees.

Notwithstanding the allegation, some people make that “Management Consultants take your watch and tell you what time it is,” Management Consulting is the right choice if you would like to learn a lot and are not sure which industry excites you the most. It’s a bonus if you are willing to be in a service job where you always have to be helpful to clients who don’t have to be nice to you, can deal with uncertainty and lack of routine, and willing to work harder than people do in average jobs.

If you have a good enough profile to try out Management Consulting, go after it. In the worst-case scenario, you can stay for a couple of years and learn a lot. In the best-case scenario, you will find a career that is so much better than most other alternatives available. You will find a career that will accelerate your professional development and your search for what makes your heart sing.