Ways to get into consulting

Question

International student here with a BA and MS in psychology (both in non-target schools that are not top-30). I only have less than a year of experience volunteering for a start-up as researcher.

My goal is to work as a strategy consultant but it seems like I don't fit any of the recruiting profiles so my odds are quite low. What are the things that I can realistically do to pivot into consulting?

I've thought about going for Business Analysts roles first. I'd like to get some perspective on my odds are getting into consulting now and what I can do to prepare for a career shift.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

Hi there,

Q: What are the things that I can realistically do to pivot into consulting?

From what you shared, your profile doesn’t look particularly strong but there are still ways to increase your chances of getting an invitation. I would recommend the following:

Prepare a CV/Cover in line with the consulting format. You can find more on that in points #1 and #2 below
Find referrals from alumni of your school. You can find more on referrals in point #3 below
Apply to a wide range of consulting firms, including Tier 3/Boutique
If it doesn’t work, target a strategy role and apply again in 2 years/after the ban to the consulting firms
If that also doesn’t work, you can work for 2-3 years and then target a top MBA (eg INSEAD) and apply again after that

In terms of the application, I would recommend working on 3 main things to increase your chances of an invitation. I listed them below.

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1) CV

The key elements they will look for and that you can optimize are:

University brand
Major
GPA
Work experience
Experience abroad
Extracurriculars and volunteer experience

Red flags include:

Low GPA
Lack of any kind of work experience
Bad formatting / typos
3-4 pages length
Lack of clear action --> results structure for the bullets of the experiences
Long paragraphs (3-4 lines) for the bullets of the experiences with irrelevant details
Long time gaps without any explanation

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2) COVER LETTER

You can structure a cover in 4 parts:

Introduction, mentioning the position you are interested in and a specific element you find attractive for that company
Why you are qualified for the job, where you can report 3 skills/stories from your CV, ideally related to leadership, impact, drive and teamwork
Why you are interested in that particular firm, with additional 1-2 specific reasons
Final remarks, mentioning again your interest and contacts

In part 2 you can write about experiences that show skills useful in consulting such as drive, problem-solving, leadership, teamwork and convincing others.

It is important that in part 3 you make your cover specific to a particular firm – the rule of thumb is, can you send the exact same cover to another consulting company if you change the name? If that’s the case, your cover is too generic.

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3) REFERRALS

To find a referral, you should follow three steps:

Identify the people who can help you
Write to them a customized email
Have a call and indirectly ask for a referral

You can find more information on networking and referrals here:

▶ How to Get an MBB Invitation

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BONUS: INTERVIEW PREPARATION

After you managed to get an invitation you need to find out how to pass the interview. You can find more on that at the link below.

▶ How to Prepare for an MBB Interview

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 2

Honestly, I don't understand why you don't think you can get into consulting.

Consulting is one of the few industries that actually do not require that you have a certain degree. If you were applying for an engineering job, you needed to have an engineering degree. With consulting, this doesn't apply.

What you need to demonstrate is

1. a long-term interest in consulting - can be demonstrated through being part of consulting clubs, prior internships, entrepreneurial ventures, etc.

2. Consultant-like skills - can be demonstrated through prior internships, parallels between your academic and professional experience and what consultants do during their job.

Sharing with you an article here that will help you understand the industry and the role better (and what you need to signal to the recruiters that you have in terms of skills):

Expert Guide: What Do Management Consultants Do?

Aside from this, sharing here a guide on how to develop an application strategy:

Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

Good luck and reach out if you have follow-up questions!
Cristian

Answer 3

Hi there,

Main ways:

Get “free” consulting related experience. Sign up for pro bono and experiential learning programs. Sign up for a bunch and work in 3-5 of them.
Craft your resume in a way that “bends” you towards consulting
Network a ton
Apply to LOTS of consulting firms. I'm talking 40+. Don't be picky

How to Get a Consulting Internship - Tips and Tricks

Application Tracker – Keep Track With This Free Template

Answer 4

Hi,

The right answer would depend on your geography / personal context and timeline, but here are some typical paths to consulting:

MBA
- Work a few more years, get into a top MBA program that is a target school, and apply to consulting
Industry experience
- Here you need to have a standout/significant experience
- Either going to a big brand name industry player
- Or achieving something significant and impressive, e.g. in the startup space
Research role
- Some people start here after some industry/relevant experience to a specific practice area, but generally I do not recommend this path as switching from research to consulting team is not straightforward

From what you described, I think the odds of you breaking into MBB is not high, and I think trying to ‘buff up’ your CV incrementally now will not be as powerful as qualifying for a top MBA (which will require alot of work in itself).

Answer 5

The bad news is that you have a non-target degree at a non-target school. The good news is that consulting firms are quite broad and flexible in their recruiting criteria. What they really look for is for Excellence indicators.

So here lies the real question: do you have any indicator of excellence / of being a high performer in someting or not?

If you don't, then this is something you need to get in your CV. With that + networking, you may be able to land on an interview.