General Description
This is an ideal career for visionary thinkers. As a management consultant, you provide companies with strategic solutions to business, organisational, or industry-specific problems.
Career Advice - Management Consultant Career
You analyse and evaluate the key strategies, people, technical systems and operating procedural workings of a corporation. You then advise management of your findings and make recommendations for both the short and long term. Generally you are consulted on a specific problem or opportunity; some examples are rapid expansion, restructuring to improve business efficiency, increased competition, performance management, people management, business relocation, technical innovations, or many other strategic issues requiring an independent assessment.
The value in hiring a consultant is a fresh perspective, objectivity, or perhaps a specific knowledge base or expertise. Your work deals in business strategy, marketing, structure, financial and management control, e-business, human resources, and supply-chain management of a company but can also include scientific or technical consulting.
What you do every day
Management consultants can specialise within a field, such as health care, fast moving consumer goods, retail or telecommunications, or can specialise within a particular function of business, such as marketing, supply chain, finance or human resources. Regardless of your area of consulting, your daily work is often broad and varied.
As a new graduate, your tasks will involve undertaking research, collecting data, and conducting analysis; carrying out interviews with employees and the management team of your current client; organising focus groups and workshops; and composing proposals and presentations.
Once you are more experienced, your work focuses more on the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the business, function or individual performance. You collate information regarding the tasks carried out in each section, analyse and identify problem areas; consider solutions and formulate recommendations; and compose and present your report. You also remain available to ensure the client receives assistance during the implementation of solutions, and usually recheck three months thereafter to fine-tune your recommendations.
Personality that best fits this career
As a management consultant, business and commerce are your natural element, and you have a flair for project and people management. You will need well developed business sense, with an aptitude for problem solving and ongoing desire for personal improvement.
The best management consultants also have good communication skills and can develop client trust with a seamless attention to detail, insightful comments and interpretations of data and information.
You will also need a keen sense of observation, self-motivation, good judgment, confidence, an eye for detail, and the ability to work with others. If you are considering self-employment, you will also need an ability to sell yourself and your business.
Best thing about this career
Management consultants improve business efficiency and effectiveness. Your work is fascinating and challenging, and the recommendations you devise will often give you a great sense of satisfaction. No two clients are the same, and so your work will always be different and interesting. Clients can be grateful for your educated input, and often respect your judgement.
The position of a management consultant has positive employment opportunities, and is valued in the world of business. You can expect a high salary in reward for your qualifications and experience. Travel to the offices of global firms is attractive to many.
Worst thing about this career
You can only make recommendations, not decisions. The decisions are left to the client. The high level of academic qualifications combined with tough project deadlines means you are always under the pump to deliver on time and to budget. It’s a stressful job.
About the Author
Andrew Lewin
Andrew Lewin is a seasoned strategic and operational consultant, with 15+ years experience devising, leading and consolidating transformational change. Currently a sole practitioner, he formerly worked for Accenture in San Francisco, Mars & Co in San Francisco and Tokyo and Portland Group in Sydney and Melbourne.
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