Junior doctor hoping to transition into management consulting

Hi Kathan,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• Ultimately, the application and preparation process is the same whether you are applying directly from university or as a professional. The first steps for you will certainly be to polish your application files, secure a referral, and start case study preparation. As the coach with the most combined experience in consulting, interviewing and coaching, I'd be more than happy to help you with these steps and all the others that follow.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming applications, pre-interview assessments and/or interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hey there, 

Yes, many individuals like you have made the switch.. It's completely feasible and possible, and in many instances can be a strategic advantage - especially if you position yourself in the Life Sciences practices of most consulting firms. 

Some few ideas that could work for you is to look for Public Health and Life Sciences consultants across the different firms and try network with them. You'd want to try position yourself within those circles (and preferably get a referral)- and then get through the recruiting process and join those practice. 

Please do feel free to reach out for practical implementation steps on anything I mentioned here. I'd be happy to help

All the best

Hi Kathan,

Q: Was wondering if anyone has made this career switch, and if so if they have any advice for someone like me.

I helped a few candidates who moved to management consulting as doctors. In general, you have more chances if you target a company focused on life sciences / healthcare, although it’s not impossible to be considered by other companies as well.

You can find a list of the main companies with a life science / healthcare practice below:

• MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain)
• ZS Associates
• LEK
• IQVIA
• ClearView
• Putnam

Regarding how to prepare, I would recommend this:

▶ How to Land a Consulting Offer

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi Kathan,

Glad you are deciding to break into consulting. It can indeed be a very rewarding and fulfilling career. I've known a few doctors who have made the switch successfully - so it is definitely possible. 

Sharing some thoughts here. You probably want to think about 2 aspects about breaking into consulting:

1. Getting invited to the interview (getting one foot into the door)
   1. Strong application (CV & CL)
      1. Make sure your application is in tip-top shape and worded in the right and relevant way that showcases the skills that are important
   2. Networking
      1. This is also extremely important as it gives you a higher chance of getting a referral, plus also can help to strengthen your application story
2. Acing the interview
   1. Understand what exactly you are going to be graded on
   2. Understand what good looks like
   3. Develop a strategy and plan to get you to a star candidate

Given your medical background, you can definitely leverage it to make your application strong in terms of a healthcare focus (a popular practice area, especially in UK), as well as to network with existing ex-medical professionals who are now in consulting.

There's lots more details and nuances that I go into in my article which talks more about breaking into consulting from a non-traditional background - you can read it for more perspective:

Breaking into consulting from a non-traditional background

All the best!

Hi there, I knew several folks with a medical background from U.S. offices. Your background is a unique differentiator and a strong value proposition compared to more generalist candidates. As you know, healthcare is a highly complex and technical field, and your expertise would be incredibly valuable to MBB firms.

I don’t think securing an interview will be difficult for you—your background is a great asset. The key will be preparing for case interviews, as they can be quite challenging to navigate. With solid practice, I’m confident you’ll do well!

Hi there,

I have coached several doctors from the NHS (and also outside the UK) for consulting roles and also met quite a few while at McKinsey.

A couple of observations:

1. You can often transition without an additional business degree. Happy to have a quick look at your resume for free if you want to provide better insight here (DM me). 50% of consultants at MBB usually do not have a business background!

2. Doctors perform well during interviews and on the job (due to the overlap in skills such as problem-solving, stakeholder management, communication, etc.).

3. Doctors tend to stay shorter in consulting and move back to their old profession, to the NHS, or to research.

All the best,

Florian

Hi, many have successfully made the transition from medicine to consulting, and your experience as an SHO can be a strong asset if you emphasize the analytical skills, decision-making under pressure, and teamwork that you've developed; I'd suggest tailoring your CV and interview responses to highlight how these skills translate into consulting, investing time in thorough case interview preparation, and reaching out to former colleagues or industry professionals who have made a similar move for further insights—feel free to get in touch if you have any more questions. Best, Alessa

It is definitely possible - and happens more often than you'd imagine.

I've known multuple colleagues at BCG who moved from practising medical roles into consulting and have even reached Partner levels.

Consulting is a generalist profession - with the primary currency being intelligence and story-telling. So backgrounds do not matter as much when hiring. 

With the right preparation, it is definitely crackable with a high degree of certainty.

Feel free to message me for discussing your preparation roadmap, key areas of preparation, the right direction to take in preparation, and the wrong direction to avoid.

Hey Kathan,

Plenty of individuals on my MBA (LBS) have transitioned from a Junior Doctor -> MBB. In fact many of the doctors on my MBA were the one's who ended up getting interviews from all of the top consulting firms, so definitely bodes well for you.

I would recommend reaching out to a few ex-doctors turned management consultants on Linkedin and asking for advice. You should be able to do this via the Linkedin filtering system.

Best of luck and reach out if you need further clarity!

Will

Hi there,

I had colleagues in both Bain and BCG coming from non-typical backgrounds, including medical doctor, lawyer, history major, etc., just to name a few. So it is totally possible to make the switch. The key is to show case your analytical skills and problem solving skills during the interviews. In addition, it would also be helpful to gain some fundamental business and financial knowledge and showcase your business acumen. As long as you (1) have strong analytical and problem solving skills, (2) show great business judgement, and (3) appear friendly and coachable, you would stand a high chance of passing the bar, regardless of background. 
For more details about how to plan, feel free to DM for a discussion.

Best,
Emily