Launching a management consulting career is a daunting task due to the competitive nature of the profession. Applying for a job entails completing online questionnaires, writing cover letters, and undergoing psychometric assessments before you are even invited for an interview. There is also a large pool of applicants for managing consulting jobs in the developing world and few firms that are actually hiring. This is primarily because management consulting firms like MBB typically only have one recruiting office in an emerging market as opposed to the multiple offices that you would expect to see in developed markets like Australia. The management consultancy market is heavily concentrated in a few Western developed economies. Although explanations for this vary, the infographic below highlights the situation.
Source: Consultancy.org
From the above infographic we can see that North America and Europe alone account for roughly 78% of the global consulting market. Fortunately, there are three steps you can take to increase the likelihood of being hired in an emerging economy.
1. Attend a Top College
Most companies recruit from a limited number of top ranked universities. Recruiters hold events on these campuses periodically throughout the year, and this will increase your chances of building rapport with the recruitment staff and getting your foot inside the interview room.
Although attending a top college will help you stand out in the screening process, your academic prowess should be exemplary in comparison to your peers. Typically, this means having at least an A- average for your academic performance. While there are various avenues of entry into a consulting firm, a large portion of the recruiting takes place at ground level, which is junior associates and business analysts who have recently attained an undergraduate degree. A second point of entry is joining after completion of an MBA or some industry experience as a senior associate or project manager, but this route is less accessible.
2. Engage in Initiatives that Showcase Your Leadership Abilities
Consulting firms look for students who are top performers from prestigious universities. Certain common characteristics and qualities enable these candidates to stand out: being well-rounded, having entrepreneurial spirit, being performance driven, and possessing prior leadership experience.
Students who have held leadership positions not only signal their high social standing relative to their peers, but will have also had an opportunity to develop their strategic thinking skills and decision-making ability. Furthermore, the experience of managing various stakeholder interests while collaborating with a team to achieve goals is great practice for aspiring consultants.
Leadership starts with leading oneself before leading others. It’s for this reason that leadership activities are an important element of self-development and learning for students. Successful leadership requires self-respect and self-awareness of one’s values, goals, strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, interviewers are typically interested in leadership challenges and entrepreneurial ventures that you have faced as a way to determine your personal resilience and fit with the culture of the firm.
3. Participate in Extra-curricular Activities
A typical question that interviewers ask themselves is what has come to be know as ‘The Airplane Test’. The interviewers will ask themselves a version of the following question: “Would I want to work with this candidate and potentially sit next to him or her on a 7-hour flight?”
In order to be attractive on a personal level you don’t need to try to appear interesting, but rather aim to be interested in what life has to offer. Most universities offer a wide range of societies and clubs that you can join in order to expand your interests beyond the classroom, and this will help you to build character. Participating in different activities is a great way to discover more about the world while learning how to interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Ultimately, this will transform you into a holistic individual who consulting firms will consider hiring.
Conclusion
Although there are limited consulting opportunities in emerging markets you can increase your chances of getting an offer by finding ways to stand out. Attaining good grades from a top tier university is a good place to start but developing yourself holistically is also essential.
Oduor Ochieng is an Economics Honors student at the University of Cape Town. He has experience working in a Medical startup and Fintech company.
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