Thinking Like A Management Consultant Would Exhaust Most People!

 

Management consulting, the business of advising companies and organizations for improvement and growth, is not for everyone.

 

Many are attracted to its lavish compensation and benefit packages but unfortunately, not all of them are ready to undertake the responsibilities of a professional expert. They may possess the required technical know-how but it doesn’t necessarily imply they can sail through successfully. 

 

Now you may ask, “What does it take to taste victory in a management consulting job?” 

 

During the recruitment and selection process, recruiters make sure that you have the necessary skills and abilities. These are the building blocks of your career. If you don’t have them, you won’t be able to keep up with the team or you’ll just blow the project away. 

 

Below are the skills and abilities that make you successful in this industry:

• Logical Analysis – You are mainly hired by clients to analyze and to recommend solutions. These basic responsibilities belong to higher order thinking skills, which make them both challenging and exhausting for most people. If you want to be successful in this field, learn how to break a complicated issue into manageable sections for easier understanding. This is actually what recruiters examine during case interviews. 

 

• Communication – This includes all forms – reading, writing, listening and speaking. Reading keeps you abreast with industry trends and issues. Writing reports and presentations is necessary to keep clients updated with the team’s progress. Listening is also essential because other people may have the best ideas for the project you’re working on. Lastly, speaking is required for conveying your facts and opinions to everyone involved. 

 

• Sociability – You need people skills because you will be assigned to different projects. For every assignment, you will encounter various types of personalities. You will interact with top management, supervisors, technical staff and rank-and-file employees. Getting along smoothly with them is necessary for data gathering.  

The skills are not enough to get you going. This is precisely the reasonrecruiters don’t only go over your management consulting resume and cover letter but also ask you to take personality tests. They want to know if you can adapt to the corporate culture, to the dynamics of the firm and to its values. Often times, it’s your characteristics that will dictate how satisfied and successful you can be in this industry. They also tell you how fast you will climb the ladder to the highest position. 

 

You will most likely succeed if you demonstrate the following: 

• You have the intrinsic drive to succeed. Your motivation doesn’t depend on external circumstances. 

• You have excellent stress management skills. You can stay calm amidst conflicts and pressure.  

• You are creative. You don’t stick with conventional ways. 

• You are independent. You are productive even without constant supervision. 

• You naturally get along well with people. You can empathize with how they feel.

• You handle differences of opinion professionally. You understand other people’s perspectives without ignoring your own thoughts.  

• You are objective in handling issues. Your thoughts are not clouded with personal preferences or ideals. 

 

The goal of management consulting is improving companies. Since everything revolves around business, you must have a good grasp of commercial and management activities. You may be assigned to a healthcare industry for database control or in a manufacturing factory to increase productivity. The bottom line is your solutions must promote the growth of the company. 

 

This is impossible if you are not familiar with or not inclined to marketing, mergers and acquisitions, human resources, information technology, economics and other related topics. Yes, it’s true that graduates of non-business programs are still hired to work for consulting firms, but if you're not interested in business, you will go nowhere. 

 

Management consulting, just like other jobs, has its downs. It's not a secret that experts work more than 40 hours per week. While other employees leave the office at 5pm, you'll find yourself still absorbed in your market research or on the first slide of a long presentation. Because of this hectic schedule, your time for your family and personal interests will be affected.

 

Moreover, traveling can be part of your routine. You will be physically tired and worse, you might miss important occasions at home. When these stumbling blocks pull you down, get strength from your commitment. Try to endure all the challenges to deliver the expected output.