How to break into Management Consulting?

What is Management Consulting?

Management consulting is helping solve a problem and taking on the tasks that lead up to the final solution. Management Consultants come in when a business is having a problem or they need some sense of innovation or they're looking to start a project. What they do is, lay out all of the steps, the potential risks and the timeline. Few Management Consultants will perform the work while few will manage the work.  

Typical Day of a Management Consultant 

The typical day as a Management Consultant differs based on whether or not you are on a local project or on a traveling project. If you are in Management consulting of Accenture and on a traveling project, then that's the most interesting day.

• Early Birds
For the traveling project the day typically starts on a Monday. You may have to wake up early to catch your flight for heading towards client site.

• Meeting after Reaching
This is when you will be facing client. Since you will probably sit in a big conference room or will join via Skype. With client you will discuss what work needs to get completed for the day and for the week.

• Team Lunch
Your whole team sits together for lunch.

• Work Inside Your Time Schedule
Sometimes the time schedule may extent if the work is massive and need extended time to complete.

• Dinner Together
All head for the dinner at the hotel or go out depending on how you are feeling.

• Preparation for Next Morning
After dinner with the team or without, you may prepare for the next morning or just relax.

Travelling As A Management Consultant

As a consultant travelling traveling is like a double-edged sword.

• Bright-side
On one way it is fun because you get to travel a lot and if you are young and you really don’t have much of a commitment then it makes it easier.

• Downside
Traveling does wear out the body. Jet lag is real because you are literally on a minimum of two flights every week. You have to wake up early and go straight to the client site without taking a nap in-between and have to work till 8.00pm to 9.00pm. Traveling can be very fun but you have got to find your balance.

Role Of A Management Consultant

The roles and responsibilities depend on what industry you are working in.

1. Translate Data Correctly
2. Work with Strategy Team
3. Be Knowledgeable about Entire Project
4. Open to Receive Criticism
5. Be Flexible with Your Personality
6. Listening to the Needs
7. Open to Client Feedback

How To Break Into Management Consulting

1. Identify why you want to be in management consulting career.
2. Acquire Leadership Skills
3. Hone Your Communication Skills
4. In what industry do you want to join as Management Consultant
5. Leverage the work you have done in your past jobs.

Best Job Search Strategy For Management Consulting Jobs

1. Display Your Commitment Characteristics
2. Get Mentoring from Senior Consultants
3. Research on All the Companies You Want to Work
4. How the Company is Giving Back to the Community

3 Tips To Make Management Consulting Resume Stand Out

1. Add Numbers to Your Resume
2. Add All Experiences
3. Highlight Interest Outside of Your Work

3 Key Skills Every Management Consultant Must Have

1. Patience
2. Be Empathetic
3. Outgoing Personality

Interview Format For Management Consulting Job

1. General Interview
2. Observational Interview
3. Case Interview
4. Confirmation Interview

Frequently Asked Management Consulting Interview Questions

1. Tell us about a time where one of your experiences was able to produce tangible results.
2. What are your future career goals?
3. A company had many call centers and they were losing a lot of revenue they weren't making much profit and they were trying to cut down on a few expenses. What can be the best solution? Explaining why your answer can work is hard.
4. What is Your Expectation from the Company?

Resources Recommended For Preparation Of Management Consulting Interview

1. Cracking the Case
2. Visit the website of different firms, look for the Researches these firms publish. Read the scholarly articles that are available.

Management Consulting Vs Strategy Consulting

1. The difference is in the names itself
2. Strategy Consultants are expert when it comes to research, putting together comparisons and providing options to select the best strategy. After the strategy is fixed, the work will be handed to Management Consultants.
3. Strategic Consultants will give you the solutions from that you can choose. They will tell you why things are the way that they are. Then, the Management Consultant will come in and make sure the project has seen fruition.
4. The Management Consultants typically have a team of people that will perform the work. They will do the analysis, they will build a prototype, and then they will make sure everything goes to fruition.
5. The Management Consultants put everything together to reinforce the solution and to ensure that it has brought all the way out to the end meaning they managed the project.

Difference Between Interview Process Of Management Consultant And Strategy Consultant

With management consulting there are multiple interviews, First is to enter into the firm and afterwards, to choose what industry you will be working, you have to give interview for that.

Career Path Of A Management Consultant

1. Entry-Level Analyst
2. Consultant
3. Manager Position
4. Senior Manager or Managing Director
5. Client Account Lead
6. Partner of a Company

Major Challenges That A Management Consultant Faces

1. Learn How to Relax a Little Bit More
Remember to put yourself first and take care of yourself.

1. Learn How to Assimilate with Various kinds of People
2. Ability to Open Up at Client Dinner

What is Management Consulting

Working within the current structure of the organization and fix problems that the organization has is what Management Consulting is all about. Management consulting mirrors strategy consulting because inherently it also involves moving and changing strategy of the company and its management. The major sectors of consulting like tax consulting, technology consulting, etc are based more on implementation. Management Consulting is a broad sector involving technology to make organizations more effective. It is people oriented requiring a strong understanding of people and the culture of the organization. Finance, technology and strategy all fall within its purview.

A Typical Day of a Management Consultant 

A typical day in a Management Consultant career usually begins with:

• Checking correspondence to see if there is any urgent troubleshooting to be done. 
• Organising your schedule and preparing for any meetings or presentations. 
• Bouncing between the various projects that are running and checking up to see if work is being done and accomplished. 
• Calls and meetings regarding projects that are going on. 
• Constant check to see if all projects are moving smoothly and have not lost direction. 
• Work on business development to bring money into the organization.
• Build specific roadmaps and specific products for problems that exist within the business. 

How to Transition into Management Consulting Career

1. Build a strong network of advocates. Network is incredibly valuable. Volunteer, join clubs, help out in charities and build and leverage your network. When you reach out to your contacts and ask for recommendations it makes them feel important and they are happy to oblige you.
2. Have a very strong understanding of the company, the area of work, their way of operation and other things before you pitch yourself for the consulting job. 
3. Show that you are invested in the specific job in that specific company by doing all your homework on the particular company.
4. If you already have industry experience, temper your expectations and be willing to take a small step back as far as the scope of the work and financial rewards go. 

Best Resources to Help with Management Consulting Interviews

• Case interview study workshops with Victor Cheng, who is renowned expert in his field.
• The company website is another big resource. It provides you information about what they do in their specific sector and a lot of other very relevant information. 
• Consult published papers and articles on the website or on various business journal formats. 
• Thereafter reach out to the writer and express your interest in joining his company and doing similar work.
• Seek professional assistance with your resume. This is an important investment into the way you market yourself. 

Interview Format for Management Consulting Jobs| Technical, Behavioural or Case Interviews 

Case interviews are the format of some top companies like Mckenzie, particularly, if you are not a fresher but an industry person. Many other companies name a responsive thinking exercise as case interviews. 

Most times the interview is conversational and behavioural to get a sense of the candidate. The candidate is encouraged to open up about himself and how he handled certain projects and difficult situations in his old job. Earmark some key incidents and be prepared to elaborate on them. 

The interview then moves on to the technical aspect. This part is generally handled by a subject experts and deals with specifics and concepts. 

Based on the overall performance in all these three parameters, a series of interviews take place with the higher level company management, before you are actually hired.

Strategy Consulting Vs Management Consulting

Strategy consulting is defining the direction of the company in the future. Management consulting is more of an internal strategy with more technical focus. 

Strategy consulting is extremely revenue focused with analysis of numbers, earnings, etc. Management consulting requires you to be knowledgeable about various aspects of the company functioning.

Challenges Faced and Skills of a Management Consultant

• Marshal your resources. Bring into play your own technical skills or those of another expert in your network, when faced with challenges. 
• Draw upon past strategies employed in a particular situation and tweak it to serve the current purpose.
• Time management and the ability to stay on top of projects.
• Program management
• Ask many questions to fully understand and communicate well.
• Be a bridge between the client and the company. Communicate the client needs and expectations clearly to your team and deliver to client satisfaction and expectation always.

Top Tips to Succeed as a Management Consultant

• Manage the impressions that you give people once you are hired and prior to being hired especially at higher level positions. 
• Dress professional. Look the part and carry yourself in such a way as to be easily sold to the client or the company, as the case may be. 
• Ask questions without hesitation and fear. State your opinion tactfully and appropriately. If you have any opinion which will help and benefit the client, bring it up and voice it without being abrasive about it.
• Show responsibility when faced with failures and try to rectify the problems honestly and to the best of your ability.