Individuals looking to fast-track their careers frequently find themselves lured by the exciting world of consulting in today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving business environment.
Beyond the veneer of prestige and a lucrative 6-figure salary, however, lies a highly intense and competitive industry, leading naturally to a high turnover rate as many choose to exit this pressure cooker environment in search of greener pastures (less stressful careers, for example).
Nevertheless, it’s perfectly fine if you don’t find yourself staying in consulting for the long term – in fact, most consultants don’t. The experience of working in a consulting firm itself can be enough to boost your career in several important ways.
1. Developing hard skills
Anyone who has spent a few years in consulting is highly likely to possess a versatile skill set spanning a range of hard skills, refined through the firm’s formal development programmes and on-the-job learning.
For instance, consultants are frequently asked to analyse enormous datasets to derive insights and trends, which requires an understanding of statistical analysis, data processing, and data visualisation, as well as proficiency with tools like Excel, Python, R, and sometimes even more specialised analytics software.
Data analytics skills are applicable in the area of market research, which makes them easily transferable to careers in corporate strategy, entrepreneurship, or even product management, where professionals are expected to be able to analyse market dynamics, customer preferences, and industry trends to generate actionable insights.
The ability to approach challenges strategically by analysing complex problems, uncovering valuable insights, developing a range of viable strategies, and recommending a course of action is highly valued by employers virtually anywhere. Whether you are a lawyer putting forth a case for your client, a government official assessing the viability of a new policy, or the head of a business looking to expand into a new market.
2. Developing soft skills
Hard skills mean little without a corresponding mastery of soft skills, that is, the non-technical skills that enable you to effectively communicate, collaborate, and coexist with other professionals.
Consulting offers numerous opportunities to hone your soft skills due to its fast-paced, dynamic and client-facing nature. Imagine working 12 hours a day, up to six days a week – while this doesn’t exactly sound pleasant, it will undeniably build your resilience and time management skills. At the same time, you will be required to communicate effectively with stakeholders from a range of backgrounds, listen actively to their needs, then adapt your communication and presentation style to various audiences while breaking down complex issues and strategies for clients, leaving you with impeccable communication skills.
When I was interning at PwC, I saw first-hand how the partners on the case managed various difficult stakeholders. They went to great lengths to understand each party’s specific needs and perspectives, socialised ideas with board members individually to get feedback before presenting insights formally to the entire board, and shared the same material in a slightly different manner based on the specific audience.
Consulting also offers you the opportunity to repeatedly strengthen your work ethic through the daily tasks of handling difficult clients, managing competing priorities, defusing conflict, communicating with internal and external stakeholders, and meeting tight deadlines. This learned resilience will benefit you in the long term regardless of which career path you choose to embark on.
3. Gaining rapid and diverse industry exposure
Consultants are required to work with a wide range of clients from different industries, especially in the early years of their consulting career, often within a short span of time for each project, thereby introducing them to industries they may not have previously known about at an unprecedented pace.
The opportunity to gain broad industry experience is especially true if you are a consultant at one of the MBB firms (McKinsey, Bain, BCG), which focus primarily on shorter term strategy projects. As a result, the turnover from one project to another is extremely fast, and you’ll find yourself working on new projects with new clients every few months.
For instance, you might be supporting a multinational bank in the digital transformation of their customer experience for a few months, before helping a steel manufacturer optimise their supply chain processes, then building a renewable energy venture in a developing country.
Because MBB puts an emphasis on recruiting generalist consultants, they are expected to apply the same robust problem solving strategies to any problems in any industry. Through this deliberate and rapid exposure to a tapestry of issues, ideas, and industries, consultants quickly uncover new interests and career paths through working and networking with professionals from different sectors.
Oftentimes, we close ourselves off to certain career paths due to the simple reality that we don’t know much about these paths, which is why such industry exposure is crucial in overcoming this information disparity, especially for a budding careerist fresh out of school and still exploring their options.
Apart from broadening your worldview, gaining broad industry exposure lays down valuable stepping stones that can pave the way towards the next leg of your career journey.
4. Building networks
One such stepping stone is the chance to build networks with professionals from various industries who have previously worked with you on a consulting project.
As a consultant, you are thrust directly into the centre of the action and expected to interact directly with c-suite executives and other professionals in top management positions, work closely with the clients’ in-house teams, and meet all kinds of subject matter experts during data gathering phases.
On paper, this sounds exciting, perhaps even intimidating, but what it offers you is the exclusive opportunity to network with and learn from top professionals in their respective fields. Such a network is undoubtedly beneficial to a consultant, whether or not they choose to build their career in consulting or transition into another industry.
The bottom line
When speaking with recruiters from multinational corporations and blue-chip companies, a recurring theme is that the very act of thriving in the competitive environment of a consulting firm is a badge of honour that signals to future employers that one is capable and effective in a corporate setting.
As such, if your resume shows that you had a 2-3 year stint at a consulting firm, then this speaks volumes about your overall level of competency and personal drive.
When it comes to boosting your career in the long term, virtually no other job comes close to consulting – in terms of the rigorous training, on-the-job learning, and industry exposure that can enable you to develop a transferrable skill set and a global network of powerful contacts.
Stay tuned for the next article where I elaborate on which doors consulting opens!
Lucas Foo is a Philosophy and Linguistics Undergraduate at the University of Oxford. He enjoys drawing insights from ambiguity to create real and positive impact.
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