Pursuing a career in consulting can be difficult. However, for MBA graduates with the right skills, consulting offers a good and lucrative career path and a variety of world-renowned firms to work for. In the field of consulting, you'll be working with a lot of data and facts, and you'll have to make a lot of decisions. Not all of them will be right.
Becoming a great consultant means that sometimes you make an error in judgment, and that's okay. If you make a mistake, don't beat yourself up or try to correct the mistake yourself. Seek out experienced resources, such as your mentor or boss, to understand where you went wrong and how you can fix it. As a consultant, you'll work directly for CEOs and their executive teams early in your career.
This will allow you to start developing many of the soft skills you'll need to become a top executive later on (for example, convincing people who don't agree with you, managing difficult stakeholders, giving presentations to large audiences with little time to prepare, etc. Consulting is a sure way to figure out which career is right for you by trying out different industries, roles and locations). International expansion has been one of the main drivers of growth for consulting firms over the past two decades. As a consultant, the impact you have is mainly indirect through the advice you provide to your clients.
This is a safe option because employers and talent seekers generally view being a consultant positively. Consulting provides exceptional opportunities to work with executives, advance your career quickly, collaborate with talented people, and travel to new places. If you decide not to return to consulting, you will need to reimburse your employer for tuition fees. This will allow you to start developing many of the social skills you'll need to become a senior executive later on (e.g., as a side note, Bain has listed on its website the destinations where it sends its consultants for training).
However, having worked in a consulting firm will give you access to a strong network of alumni who will be there to help you throughout your career and ready to introduce you. It's hard to get a job at the best consulting firms in the world, where the acceptance rate is usually only 1%. Consultants are also expected to stay at the cutting edge of trends, so not only will you read about major macrotrends in the industry or that affect your clients, but you will also challenge these trends and discuss them with other people you work with. When they hire you, consulting firms want to make sure that you've thought about what you're getting into.
Even if you're sure about a specific industry, consulting provides you with the opportunity to see different business cultures and meet people within the company, which can be a big step in choosing a place where you can succeed in your next career. Get a full management consulting course taught by former MBB consultants and a case study interview with professional commentary, so you can stand out and get the best deals.
