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Career Advice

Applying for consulting opportunities

Applications can be a stress inducing process when pursuing a consulting career or opportunities from consulting firms as a student. Especially when you are competing against your peers who offer a diverse pool of skills, experiences, and backgrounds for consulting firms to cherry pick from. Selection criteria for candidates may differ from firm to firm and thus you might think it to be near impossible to gain a competitive edge.

This post shares four insights from my journey into the management consulting industry:

1. Take a farsighted approach to building your profile

Taking a long-term approach will serve your interests as a consultant and well-rounded adult, ultimately leading to a confident application that stands out from the crowd.

One way to take a farsighted approach is to participate in student consulting societies, starting from your freshman year.  In doing so, you may face a difficult choice.  Should you join a new and developing student organisation or one that is well established?

New student organizations tend to have serious challenges in their structure, communication, processes and ability to grow. Hence, they represent a more challenging environment, even more so if there are other well-established opposing clubs.  The new society will have less hands on marketing, corporate relations, event organizers, administration and data capture. The established society, with a mature membership base and experienced executive will not pose as many challenges due to their robust procedures developed over time.

As a student, being in an environment where processes have to be developed by your contribution will show that you have the initiative and dedication to support your consulting firm to thrive in an uncertain environment. A shortage of resources or executive experience will open various opportunities to play multiple roles such as events coordinator or corporate relations director at important moments. Times like these, where you go above and beyond expectations (by filling more than two pairs of shoes) can show that you are a team player who commits to the cause.

Ideally, your student organisation would have a diverse executive team, and roles would be delegated in a way that shares responsibilities fairly. However, this is not always possible. In new societies there can sometimes be difficulties like excuses, lack of commitment and internal conflict between members because processes and procedures have not yet been put in place. By discussing problems early, you can amplify your chances of success. Excuses are common, which provides an opportunity to develop the skill of empathizing to understand why someone cannot fulfil their commitments and the skill of management to delegate tasks and motivate your small team. Holding people accountable for performing their duties takes courage, and you will get the chance to practice this skill in a slightly chaotic environment. In my experience, the best way to confront someone is confidentially, gently and with an open mind.

Navigating through these challenging situations, even if progress is barely made, can provide you with the background, soft skills and experience you need to be a more attractive candidate for consulting opportunities. These experiences will give you stories and examples to help you cruise through almost any application.

2. Take initiative to engage with firms

Engage with consulting firms at their public and student events. This will give you an opportunity to collect information and also make valuable connections. When the time comes to apply for consulting roles, these interactions can be referenced in your application to solidify the image that you having a genuine interest in the firm. It does not need to be a spectacular interaction; however, a meaningful interaction can help you stand out from the crowd and help your application resonate with the recruiter who is considering your application.

Talking with people involved in recruitment or who work as consultants at the firm will greatly aid your application. This should not be a mammoth task since people can be approached on campus, in the public domain or online. All requests for feedback should be polite and respectful. If you want to seek feedback on your application documents, remember to request constructive feedback in a way that is convenient for the contact. Instead of asking generic questions, provide a completed draft of your documents so that the person has something to work with. This will increase the likelihood of receiving specific and relevant advice as you have shown commitment.

3. Give yourself options

Apply to more than one firm. Applying to more than one firm not only gives you options, it also gives you much needed practice!

4. Seek guidance on your application

The application process can be difficult and daunting for students who are confronting it for the first time.

Seek guidance to make sure that the tone, grammar, jargon and length of your application is suitable. Applications that deviate from the norm in any of these aspects are less likely to be considered in light of other appropriately completed application forms. A second opinion and a thorough proofreading will help to ensure that your application is not quickly dismissed. Required documentation must be presentable. You can access a template cover letter and CV here and here, or you can use free online software such as canva.com to design your CV.

Finally, if your application is unsuccessful, don’t despair! Seek specific feedback on why so that you will know what you should do differently next time.

Rhulani (Ruce) Ndlala is an accounting student at the University of Cape Town, and former President of the UCT Consulting Club.

Image: Pixabay

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