Which skills are important for consulting ? Which courses does a student need to prepare himself for consulting ? They may be Udemy or Coursera courses.
Consulting Skill-Set
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Hi there,
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Know that no-one can perfectly prepare for the job and that's the point: You will mess up, you will learn, you will be trained and supported. That's OK!
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First: Read the 25 tips in my consulting handbook here: https://www.spencertom.com/2018/01/14/consulting-survival-guide/
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Second: Attend an academy
There are so many great training programs that prepare new graduates for the consulting world! I'm part of a few myself. Feel free to shoot me a message and I can point you in the right direction!
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Third: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:
1) Daily Reading
- The Economist, The Financial Times, BCG/Mskinsey Insights
2) Industry deep-dives
- Learn, in-depth, how the industries/companies your office advises, work. (PM me for an industry overview template)
3) Analytics tools
- Alteryx, Tableau, etc.
4) Excel
- https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/free-online-resources-to-learn-excel-basics-6946
- Pivottables
- Working with data
- Key fuctions (vlookup, Index match, count and sum if/ifs, sumproduct, concat, etc.)
- Hotkeys (i.e. use keyboard more than your mouse)
- Financial modeling
5) Powerpoint
- https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/powerpoint-skills-4072
- Wireframing
- Lead-in titles
- Best practices/standards
- Different layouts
- Quickly editing/updating slides
- Thinking in PowerPoint
6) Presentation skills / sharp communication
- There are some great online/virtual classes for this (including the academies meantioned above
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Fourth: In terms of doing well in your role when you're there:
1) Understand the context/prompt (what role are you in, what company, who's watching, etc.)
2) Understand the objective (what, specifically, is expected from you...both day to day, and in your overall career progression)
3) Quickly process information, and focus on what's important - Take a lot of information and the unknown, find the most logical path, and focus on that.
4) Be comfortable with the unknown, and learn to brainstorm - think/speak like an expert without being one
In summary, there will always be a flood of information, expectations, competition etc. and not enough time. Find out which ones matter when. (i.e. be visibile and focus efforts on the things that people care about)
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Fifth: Here are some great prior Q&As for you!
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-hard-is-it-to-excel-in-top-consulting-firms-6762
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Hi Yalçın,
Happy New Year!
The top consulting skills from my perspective will be problem solving, structured thinking, relationship/trust building and comunication skills. Some others worth mentioning will be leadership, people management & innovation.
Reading books/online content & training courses will certainly give you the understanding of these so definitely consume that. But the best way to learn is to practice in real life if you can- at work, at school/uni and even in personal life. Next time you come across a problem or difficult situation in personal life- approach it differently. Approach it in a structured way, think end to end before you decide on the solution. You dont necessarily have to be a consultant to learn these skills..am sure you know what I mean. But yes, once you get into a consulting company, you sure become very good at such skills.
I recommend checking out Udemy courses or youtube videos on these subjects. Some highly recommended books:
- To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
- The Trusted Advisor by David Maister/Charles Green
Feel free to message me if you wish to discuss further.
All the best!
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Hi Yalçın,
the coaches gave you a lot of great advices here. Pick any and try it, if it doesn't work - move to the next one. Go and search for courses that'd be interesting and stimulating for you.
If you just type "consulting" on Udemy or Coursera, you'll have a wide choice of courses.
At the end, one of the most important skills a consultant can have is taking responsibility, finding your own trajectory and being able to change it if it doesn't work anymore.
Cheers,
GB
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Hi,
PrepLounge has great resources to help you develop and improve your consulting toolkit.
Have a look at their blog for more information and actionable insights and exercises.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Antonello
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The consultant skillset is not limited to analytical and problem solving skills, but also encompasses team and client management abilities. This last two cannot be tested through business case, hence the importance of FIT
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Hi,
I would say that the basic skills you need for the job will be taught in the different trainings provided by the firm. However, you can also do an advance preparation by doing the following:
- Read the business publications - Financial Times, WSJ, Economist
- Brush up your quant skills - Finance, Statistic
- Study about the different analytical tools - Tableu, Alteryx, Excel
Nothing will perfectly prepare you for the job but that can be a good startng point.
Best,
Iman
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