Management consulting career is popular among recent graduates and
experienced candidates because it offers intellectual challenges, a
great sense of fulfillment and an attractive compensation and benefit
package. Because it's highly sought after, thousands of applicants
submit their job application to top-tier firms each year. The
competition for a single position has become tough; the reason why you
must prepare hard for the recruitment process if you wish to land a job
in this industry.
Begin your preparation by being aware of what
you getting into. Before the recruiters gauge you for the vacancy,
reflect first on how fit you are for it. Read the job advertisement and
evaluate if you acquire the competencies to deliver the expected
deliverables. Are you capable of analyzing and problem-solving
activities? Can you communicate your ideas logically and get along with
anyone well? Is going through quantitative data an effortless move on
your part? Are you interested in learning about business operations
conscientiously? These are just three of the questions you need to
answer truthfully.
If you believe you have the right credentials,
then it's time to proceed with the next step - research about your
target firm. The knowledge you gain from reading their website, from
following their social media profiles and from communicating with those
who are connected with the firm will guide you in the entire recruitment
process - from preparation of your job application to acing case
interviews. At times, because many applicants skip this aspect, they
couldn't get through with the selection procedure successfully. They
fail to build a connection between their qualifications and the firm's
goals.
The next step is writing an excellent cover letter and
resume. Excellent is the term used because it must be superior enough to
pique the interest of the recuiters. Craft your marketing tools in a
manner that will make the firm realize that you will be of great
contribution to the company. This is possible as long as you keep in
mind your research results. Further, make sure that you state only
relevant information. This includes your achievements, work experience,
education and other significant awards. Writing too many unnecessary
details only puts your application aside.
You also need to prepare
for the written tests. Though some management consulting firms skip
this aspect, some also believe that it's an effective way of weeding out
applicants. Two of the most common pre-employment tests measure your
verbal and numerical skills. The former determines your comprehension on
text passages while the latter usually assesses how well you interpret
charts and graphs. Some firms also request candidates to take a
personality test to see if their personality or values match the
non-technical aspects of the job or the corporate culture.
Candidates
who get a good mark in pre-employment tests are often contacted for
interview. In management consulting, there are two kinds of interview:
fit and case. The goal of the fit interview is to determine if you
attain the values required for the job. Questions focus on your
commitment, previous experience and education. The questions are mostly
behavioral in nature; recruiters will often ask you to describe a
situation in the past where you exhibited either brilliance or weakness.
It can be about your greatest achievement at school, about how you
handled a difficult colleague or the weakness you're trying to improve.
On
the other hand, the case interview concentrates on your technical
skills. Recruiters give you a vague business scenario, and you are
expected to come up with acceptable recommendations within 20 to 30
minutes. To do well in this part, it is highly recommended that you
master consulting frameworks. These are structures that illustrate how
to analyze and resolve the problem on a step-by-step basis. In the
actual interview, things can be very overwhelming, so it would help to
come in with a guide in mind.
On top of these suggestions, keep
meeting key people in the industry by joining networking events and
activities. These connections may bring in some information and job
referrals. Remember that most vacancies are circulated through the word
of mouth. Who knows the firm representative with whom you had an
engaging conversation at a career fair will refer you to a recruiter or
hiring manager?