Transitioning from consulting to corporate strategy - Seeking advice

Question

Hi everyone,

I’m a second-year post-MBA consultant at an MBB firm, currently exploring a transition into corporate strategy. I’d really appreciate your advice on two challenges I’m facing:

1) Positioning without a clear sector focus
As a generalist, I’ve worked across a wide range of topics and industries. While I’ve tried positioning myself as a strong “problem solver,” this doesn’t seem to resonate with corporate strategy hiring managers. They often prioritize candidates with deep sector knowledge—ideally those with both consulting and in-industry experience.

How can I sharpen my positioning to secure more corporate strategy interviews? Should I focus on specific industries or companies that are more receptive to generalist backgrounds? I’ve noticed that certain niche sectors, where it’s harder to find consultants with directly relevant experience, seem more open to candidates with broader experience.

2) Performing in corporate strategy interviews
I’ve reviewed prior discussions, but I still find it challenging to generate deep, sector- or company-specific insights during interviews. Compared to consulting cases, these feel less structured, yet interviewers expect both strong structure and nuanced perspectives. Unlike consulting interviews—where success often depends on asking the right questions—corporate strategy interviews seem to require more upfront industry knowledge and insight. Without sufficient sector experience, it’s difficult to demonstrate deep understanding of the industry and the company. This is a challenge I didn’t encounter in consulting case interviews.

How can I better prepare to deliver both structure and depth in these interviews?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer 1

Hi there,

This is a very normal challenge. What’s happening is less about your experience, and more about how it’s being read on the other side. It’s a slightly different game — not harder, just different expectations.

On your first point, the “generalist problem”:
you’re right — saying “I’m a strong problem solver” doesn’t really resonate outside consulting. It’s true, but it’s too generic. Hiring managers are trying to answer a simpler question: why you, for this business?

You don’t need deep sector expertise, but you do need a clear angle.

The easiest way to get there is to pick 1–2 threads from your experience and lean into them. That could be:

an industry you’ve touched a few times
or even a topic (growth, pricing, transformation, etc.)

Then build a story that sounds intentional. Something like:
“I’ve mainly worked on growth and commercial topics, including a couple of projects in [industry], and I’m now looking to go deeper on that from the inside.”

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to feel focused enough that someone can place you.

Also, your observation about certain sectors being more open is spot on. In practice, industries like industrials, energy, logistics, etc., are often more flexible because the talent pool is smaller. That’s usually a better entry point than highly competitive sectors where they can afford to be picky.

One more thing that makes a difference: how you describe your projects.
In consulting, we tend to emphasize the analysis. In corporate roles, they care more about:
what decision was made, and what changed because of your work.

Small shift, big impact.

On interviews, what you’re feeling is very real. These interviews are less “let’s solve this together” and more “do you already think like one of us?”

That’s why generic structures don’t land as well.

What helps is changing the way you prepare:

Instead of trying to cover a whole industry, pick a few target companies and spend a bit more time on each:
how they make money, where they’re growing, what’s not working, what competitors are doing.

You don’t need to be an expert — but you should be able to say something that feels specific to them.

And during the interview, even if you use a simple structure, add a layer of concreteness.
For example, don’t stop at:
“I’d look at market, competitors, internal capabilities…”

Add one sentence that shows you’ve thought about their context:
“…for example, given your expansion into X, I’d want to understand…”

That alone already puts you ahead of most candidates.

If I had to summarize what usually works:

don’t try to be a “generalist” — pick an angle and own it
translate your experience into decisions and impact, not just analysis
go deeper on a few companies rather than shallow on many
always bring a point of view, even if it’s not perfect

You don’t need to reinvent your profile — just make it easier for them to see the fit.

Good luck!

Best,

Soheil