I Want To Work In … Management Consultancy
Management consultancy is "The service provided to business, public and other undertakings by an independent person...in identifying and investigating problems concerned with policy, organisation, procedures and methods, recommending appropriate action and helping to implement those recommended."
Management consultants may advise on: organisational structure and development; production management; marketing, sales and distribution; personnel management and selection; systems analysis and design, and economic and environmental studies.
This is a very popular career choice for students, but is not easy to get into as a new graduate. You will need a strong academic background; good numeracy, analytical and communication skills, confidence, determination and a strong interest in business.
PROFILE: Management Consultant INVOLVES: The service provided to business, public & other undertakings by an independent person in identifying & investigating, problems concerned with policy, organisation, procedures & methods, recommending appropriate action & helping to implement those recommended. Working with all kinds of business to enhance their short - term or long - term performance. Projects may last anything from 1 month - 1 year. Management consultants may advise on: organisational structure & development, production management, marketing, sales & distribution, personnel management & selection, systems analysis & design, economic & environmental studies. |
Employers
include specialist consultancy firms, management consultancy divisions of chartered accountancy firms (see above) and IT consultancies such as Logica and Accenture.
Getting in.
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- By Direct entry. There are relatively few vacancies for new graduates - except in information technology consultancy. Postgraduate business qualifications may be useful.
- After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant.
- After relevant work experience, e.g. in personnel, finance, systems, production, marketing or operational research.
Useful information sources
- Prospects Occupational Profile: Management Consultant www.prospects.ac.uk/links/ManConsult
- Inside Careers www.insidecareers.co.uk vacancies, company profiles and careers advice
- Management Consultancies Association www.mca.org.uk
- www.consultancylinks.com The site includes a list of companies offering UK graduate schemes, lots of tips on the applications process (including
guidance, interviews, case studies and aptitude tests), a comprehensive directory of management consultancy firms and extensive lists of useful
contacts and websites. - TARGETjobs targetjobsconsulting.co.uk advice and information on careers in management consulting
- Real World Magazine: Consultancy www.realworldmagazine.com/consultancy
- Ace The Case www.AceTheCase.com provide advice and guidance on management consulting case interview questions which have been asked of candidates in real life interviews.
Firms
- Accenture www.accenture.com Information on graduate careers in the UK is at http://careers3.accenture.com/Careers/UK/GraduateJoiners
- Arthur D. Little www.adlittle.uk.com/careers/graduate
- Cap Gemini www.uk.capgemini.com/careers
- McKinsey & Co. www.mckinsey.com includes the chance to try your hand at a case study
- PA Consulting Group www.pa-consulting.com international management, information and technology consultancy
- Towers Perrin www.towersperrin.com actuarial and Human Resource Consultants
- Oliver Wyman www.oliverwyman.com/ow strategic consultancy firm dedicated to the actuarial and financial services industry
- KPS Consultants www.kps.biz management consulting organisation specialising in portfolio, programme, project management (P3M), change, risk and leadership management capabilities.
Questions asked at interviews for management consultancy jobs
MARKET SIZING questions
These evaluate your temperament and analytical skills and are often used in CASE STUDY interviews by consultancy and banking firms. They test your logical, analytical, numerical and problem solving skills. A lot of the skill in answering these questions involved making reasoned estimates of the market size.- How many women sell AVON products in the UK? (McKinsey)
- How many photocopies are taken in the UK each year? (McKinsey)
- How many piano tuners are there in the UK? (A brain-teaser – they want you to logically arrive at a guestimate e.g. 10,000,000 households in the UK, 1 in 5 have a piano etc.) (LEK)
- Give the weight of a fully loaded Jumbo Jet at take-off. (LEK)
For help with answering these see our page on CASE interviews
Other questions
- Why consulting? (McKinsey)
- Give me a situation where you led a group of people … and another. (McKinsey)
- Tell me about a situation where you were working hard towards a goal …. and another. (McKinsey)
- What's your idea of a good night out in London? (Marakon)
- How do you evaluate aesthetics? (Marakon)
- How do you evaluate a business? (Marakon)
- If in two years time you decided consulting wasn't for you and you left the industry, why do you think this might be? (Marakon)
- Who would you put on top of Nelson's Column? i.e. instead of Nelson. (Marakon)
- Let's talk about a current business issue that interests you. (Marakon)
- What's the best, and what's the worst team/organisation you've been part of? (Marakon)
- Why do organisations fail? (Marakon)
- Why are the railways in such a mess? (I'd expressed a strong interest in transport). (LEK)
- What's the benefit of the Channel Tunnel Rail link. (LEK)
- What motivates you. (LEK)
Tips from interviewees
- Almost all consulting firms give you a numerical/analytical oriented test as a first step, and then they determine which people go to the first interview.
- Prepare for the Maths test; Focus on the 4 competencies – personal impact/leadership/drive/analytical ability; Prepare for the case studies.
- More of a discussion than an interview, very much tailored to the interviewee – i.e. you.
- Know why you want to go into consulting, and why that firm. Enjoy it, be prepared for very demanding questions – i.e. expect them, there's not much you can do to actually prepare for them. Be confident at every stage.
- Be yourself. This is a very thorough but very individualised interview process. Like all consultancies they claim to be looking for “individuals” etc. etc., but unlike some of the others their interviewing is very much interested in you as an individual and whether or not you want to work in consulting, and could. They take your CV as read and want to know what makes you tick/how you think. Oh yes and STRUCTURE. One of the key skills they're after is the ability to structure, both in the interviews and the case studies i.e. the ability to think laterally and make links, and be coherent. (Marakon)
- Check out what differentiates the firm from other consultants; Enjoy it; Be confident; Practise for the case study and maths test.
- Searching questions that led to discussions. Don't be afraid of spending a while thinking before answering. It's hard to prep for this sort of interview but take a look at what makes the consultancy different from other companies. This is one of those situations where the interview really will depend on the individuals involved – i.e. no set CV style questions.
Last fully updated 2011