Consulting

Career Profile (Salary, Job Titles, Grad School Data)

Consulting is a fairly broad term that can have a variety of meanings depending on the industry it refers to. For example, you can work as a marketing consultant helping companies create and optimize their marketing campaigns or as a software consultant, designing software systems for an organization. However, although the term has many applications, it's generally used to refer to management or strategy consulting, the practice of helping companies increase their efficiency and profits by addressing the major operational or strategic challenges they're facing.

CPD has provided free access to Vault resources for Gies students. Vault has extensive resources on the consulting industry, including rankings, application prep and "day in the life" guides. Access the resources here. In addition, we provide access to Management Consulted.

What do consultants do?

Consulting roles can vary greatly depending on the type of consulting firm you work for and the companies you work with. For example, if you work for one of the large management consulting companies (such as McKinsey, Bain or Boston Consulting Group) you'll be following a fairly structured career path, starting off as a junior consultant and moving up to a senior consultant role within two to three years. Working at one of the larger consulting firms also means that you're more likely to be a generalist in your early years since you typically only become specialized in a particular vertical, industry or type of work after working in consulting for several years. At smaller consultancies or boutique firms, you'll generally focus on a particular industry from the beginning (such as healthcare or technology) and work exclusively within that industry.
What are the challenges of working in consulting?

Being a consultant is an exciting career path but it does have its share of challenges. One of the main ones is traveling. Although many other careers require travel (e.g. sales), few are as travel-intensive as consulting. In fact, it's not uncommon to hear of consultants who travel four out of five days of each work week, meaning that your non-travel time will usually be limited to weekends. Additional challenges include long hours (12-hour days are standard) and working closely with a new team every few months. Although these factors might take a little getting used to, most consultants adapt to them fairly quickly and are able to thrive in their roles.
What are some benefits of working in consulting?

One of the main benefits of being a consultant is having the opportunity to learn about multiple industries and business models. Diverse project work is one of the biggest perks in consulting as you get to try out different roles and industries all the while at the same job. In fact, this knowledge will serve you well throughout your consulting career (and beyond), allowing you to quickly spot operational and managerial problems and come up with creative solutions to solve them. And although travel can be a challenging part of the job, it can also be an exciting one, giving you the opportunity to see new parts of the country (and helping you build up some frequent flyer miles in the process!). Consulting will also improve your presentation skills, teaching you how to build impressive presentation decks and communicate your point effectively to any type of audience. Plus, the pay is good!
What skills are needed to thrive in consulting?

As consultants, Excel, Python and PowerPoint are admittedly the go to tools on a day-to-day basis to help synthesize multifaceted ideas to clients in a digestible, actionable manner. Consultants need strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Soft skills are highly important to communicate your ideas and manage client expectations, both of which are equally important when working in consulting. Strong writing and verbal communication skills are essential as is the ability to present findings and proposals to groups. Consultants tend to travel frequently and work long hours during crunch periods with projects, so evidence of adaptability and a high energy level are valued.
Top consulting firms

The top 3 strategy consulting firms are in a league of their own, and they are commonly referred to as MBB. The members of this elite group are as follows: McKinsey, BCG and Bain. Beyond the MBB firms, there are several other reputable strategy consultancies. Below we've highlighted additional firms that are notable. You may notice that a few of these firms are the strategy branches of Big 4 accounting firms: Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, EY-Parthenon, Oliver Wyman, PwC, AT Kearney, Roland Berger, and Deloitte. Here is a list of 200+ firms.
Typical consulting career path
Consulting offers a faster career growth trajectory than most industries. Most consultancies hold an "up or out" employee promotion policy, meaning you're either promoted "up" to the next level, or you're phased "out." These promotions typically happen every 2-3 years. If you're a top performer, there'll always be opportunities to advance up the firm's career ladder. Below is a typical career progression:
- Business Analyst: Their work involves researching, interviewing experts, gathering and analyzing data on spreadsheets, and building PowerPoint presentations.
- Associate/Consultant: Associates have similar job functions to analysts but manage larger workstreams and have more autonomy.
- Manager/Project Leader: They define a client's problems and lead a team of analysts and consultants who figure out the best solutions.
- Principal/Director: Directors strengthen and develop new client relationships, provide input on high-level projects, nurture team members.
- Partner/Shareholder: Their key roles include identifying new business opportunities, winning projects, managing client relationships, and providing leadership.
Confused about analyst roles vs. consulting roles? Learn about the similarities and differences here.

Consulting Pathways

Management Consulting

Management Consulting is the business of analyzing and offering solutions to complex problems within an organization. This is a valuable service because consultants can offer an outside, unbiased perspective to the problem and devote their full attention to solving it. Management consulting firms include top strategy firms such as Bain, BCG, and McKinsey. These firms hire business-savvy problem-solvers to help their clients:

Define the problems or opportunities their businesses face
Decide on on the approach to take
Collect and analyze data to better understand the problem/opportunity
Identify a recommended course of action
Plan the implementation of that solution across the company
Follow up to see if the recommendations were successful

Strategy Consulting

Strategy consulting involves bringing a third party to of analyze client operations and challenges to provide appropriate recommendations.Strategy consultants usually have considerable industry knowledge and are expected to assess high-level business issues objectively. They take a holistic look at specific problems companies are dealing with and give advice on how they should approach them. Sample job titles:

Business Analyst
Consulting Advisor
Management Consultant
Strategy Consultant

Operations Consulting

Operations consultants are hired by clients to support them with improving the efficiency of their value chain. These services include developing and implementing target operating / service delivery models, executing cost reduction programs and optimizing business processes.

Sample job titles:

Brand Management Consultant
Sales Consultant
Marketing Consultant
Marketing Data Consultant
Supply Chain Consultant

Information Technology Consulting

They primarily focus on assisting clients to develop and apply IT solutions within the organization. In IT consulting, your role is to facilitate the transition of projects into the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) scene so that they can become more effective.

Sample job titles:

Cyber Security Strategy Consultant
Field Technical Consultant
Software Implementation Consultant
Technology Consultant

Human Resource Consulting

Having the right talent within the organization is a key focus of many businesses. Human Resource (HR) consulting helps clients manage their employees and improve the performance of every team member. As an HR consultant, you will often tackle problems regarding organizational management, terms of employment, talent management, and retirement plans. You may also be involved in transforming company culture and other core systems & processes that relate to the HR team.

Sample job titles:

Healthcare Consultant
Human Capital Consultant
Benefit Plan Consultant

Financial Advisory Consulting

Large accounting firms also offer consultation services to their clients. This group mainly targets financial advisory roles within a business. On top of evaluating financial capabilities, financial consultants tackle questions regarding financial reporting procedures, techniques for improving cash flow, tax-related questions, and risk management.In most cases, financial consulting falls under larger management consulting firms such as Deloitte, PWC, and KPMG. Sample job titles:

Financial Consultant
Risk/Compliance Consultant
Accounting Consultant
Financial Services Consultant

How to Land Your First Consulting Job

Use Keywords

When using job search platforms, such as Handshake, utilize keywords to find appropriate positions for the industries you are interested in.

Below are consulting job titles Gies Alumni have had:

Accounting Consultant
Advanced Analytics Consultant
Advisory Consultant
Analytics Consultant
Benefit Plan Consultant
Business Advisory Consultant
Business Analyst
Business Risk Consultant
Consultant
Consulting Analyst
Customer Experience Consultant
Cyber Risk Consultant
Data Analytics Consultant
Digital Media Marketing Consultant
Financial Services Consultant
Forensic & Litigation Consultant
Functional Consultant
General Consultant
Health Care Consulting Analyst
Healthcare Product Consulting Specialist
Healthcare Staff Consultant
Higher Education Consultant
Human Capital Business Analyst
M&A Consultant
Management Consulting Associate
Marketing Communications Consultant
Operations Excellence Consultant
Product Consultant
Recruiting Consultant
Risk And Compliance Consultant
Risk Intelligence Consultant
Sales Consultant
Staff Consultant
Strategic Cloud Services Consultant
Tax Consultant
Technology Advisory Consultant

Use the Right Resources

Consulting jobs are highly sought after because they are prestigious and offer excellent pay and benefits. To come out on top, you need to know where the jobs are and how to learn about companies that are hiring. For undergraduate and master's program recruits, full-time consulting application deadlines typically fall between July and September, depending on the consulting firm and the specific program. Summer internship application deadlines usually occur between June and August. It's essential to be proactive and start preparing your application materials early to avoid missing these deadlines.

Visit Management Consulted to view
Consulting Application Deadlines.

A simple way to get started is by learning more about the companies that have hired Gies students in the past. Once you have identified your target companies, follow these companies on Handshake to be informed about opportunities and info sessions, in which you can network with recruiters and professionals.

Examples of employers who have hired Gies students:

Accenture
Bain & Company
Baker Tilly
BCG
Booz Allen Hamilton
CapGemini
Charles River Associates
Claro Healthcare
Cognizant
Crowe
Deloitte
FTI Consulting, Inc.
EY
Galt & Company
GEP
Grant Thorton
HBR Consulting
HealthScape Advisors
Huron Consulting
Kearney
KPMG
L.E.K.
McKinsey & Company
Oliver Wyman
Plante Moran
PwC
Protiviti
RSM
West Monroe
ZS Associates

Customize your Resume & Cover Letter

Consulting resumes and cover letters are a step above what you would need at a typical corporate firm. The leading consulting firms get hundreds of thousands of applications for a small number of positions and their recruiters will scan your documents only for a few seconds. As a result, to be successful you'll need to optimize your resume and cover letter for consulting positions. TIP: Consultants are obsessed with quantifying things. A big part of their job is to crunch numbers to back up ideas they present to clients. So, in your resume, you will need to demonstrate this skill by using numbers wherever possible.

How does your experience align with the skills the employer is seeking?

Analytical Skills
Detail-oriented
Problem-solving
Prioritizing/Organization
Communication with colleagues/clients
Adaptability and flexibility
Spreadsheets (Excel) and Powerpoint
Ability to work with a team
Leadership skills
Intellectual curioustiy
Presentation Skills (Powerpoint, think-cell)
Understand performance metrics
Technology and Data Visualization Skills: Python, PowerBI, Tableau, SQL
Whiteboarding Tools (Miro)
Mental Math Skills

Learn more about the Gies Professional Pathway skills that all employers rank as top sought-after skills for future employees!

Gaining The Right Experience to Be Prepared for a Consulting Career

Network and Build Social Capital

Networking is key to getting a job in the consulting industry. The top 3 management consulting firms receive over 200,000 applications per year and only about 1.5% of them are selected to work at BCG, McKinsey, and Bain. One of the best ways to get your resume noticed is to attend an event where their representatives and recruiters are present. Start making connections with people who are working for those organizations, beginning with alumni from your school. Develop a relationship with them when you start and follow up with them regularly. Having an advocate inside the organization is the best way to get that chance for an interview.

Join Consulting Organizations and Take on Leadership Roles

Soft skills like leadership, communication, and teamwork are coveted by consulting firms, and you need to show these to the recruiters. Considering joining RSOs such as Illinois Business Consulting (IBC), Illinois Consulting Academy (ICA), OTCR, EntreCorps, iData, Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations, FACES Consulting, Disruption Lab and others to build not only your consulting experience, but also your project management and leadership skills.

You can also utilize resources such as Forage to develop your skills through virtual consulting programs.

Focus Your Coursework

Grades (3.5+) do matter to these types of employers, especially the top consulting firms. Management consultant firms highly value academics as an indicator of discipline and intellectual curiosity. Also, focus your studies in the area you want to tackle in industry. If you want to work in Org Development, make sure you take those courses. If you want to work in Supply Chain Management Strategy, the courses you take should reflect this to the companies you are applying to.

Practice the Case Interview

Consulting firms are famous for using case interviews during their recruitment processes. Case interviews are much more difficult than the type of interviews you would encounter at a typical corporate firm.

The case you encounter will often be modeled after real business problems that your interviewers have encountered. They will expect you to analyze some aspects of the problems they faced and produce a recommendation.

If you want to land a job offer, you'll need to prepare thoroughly for your case interviews and you should practice as much as possible.

Utilize Management Consulted to prepare or schedule an appointment with one of our case consulting trainers.

Practice the Fit Interview

Behavioral interviews are an important step in the recruitment process for all consulting companies. Behavioral interview questions can be either Personal Experience Interview (PEI) questions or fit questions. Here are examples of each:

Fit questions: These are high-level questions such as "Why consulting?" or "Why firm X?"
Personal Experience Interview (PEI) questions: These are questions that start with "Tell me about a time when..."

All firms ask a mix of these two types of questions but some are more focused on one type than others.

Consider Mid-Tier or Boutique Firms

You can get valuable experience in another firm and may be able to get broader experiences more quickly with an organization less structured than the large firms.

Learn More

Sample Interview Questions for Consulting Roles

Behavioral and Fit Questions

The fit interview focuses on your background, skill set and your interest in the role. A typical fit interview includes questions like, "Tell me about yourself" but also focuses on your leadership style and your interest in consulting.

Why are you interested in consulting?
Why do you want to work for this firm?
What are your strengths?
Tell me about a time you displayed leadership.

You will also likely be asked a number of behavioral interview questions. These are questions about how you have handled various work situations in the past. For example, you might be asked how you have handled an issue when working with a team.

"Please describe your most important leadership experience and the impact that you had as a leader."
"Describe a problem that you would like to tackle at [this firm], why and how would you pursue it."
"If I were to speak to your colleagues from your most recent internship (or friends in school), what would they say about you? What are the strengths and weaknesses they would share?"
"Describe a situation where you failed. What did you learn about yourself and how did you change as a result?"
"Tell me about a project that didn't go well and why and what you would do differently next time?"
"How do you quantify a lead?"
"Can you describe your brand?"
"Describe a project which challenged you. Describe a client relationship which was challenging."

Other questions might be situational interview questions. These are very similar to behavioral interview questions. However, situational interview questions are about how you would handle a future work situation. For example, an interviewer might ask how you might manage a project with a very tight deadline.

Learn More about Interview Preparation

Case Interviews

The most common type of consultant interview question, however, is the case interview question. A case interview question is one in which the employer gives you either a business scenario or a brainteaser, and asks how you would solve the problem. These kinds of questions show the employer that you can use logic to solve complex problems. The formats of these interviews differ depending on the firm that you are interviewing with. There are candidate-led case interviews and interviewer-led case interviews.

Candidate-Led Case Interviews: During candidate-led case interviews an interviewer requires the candidate to direct the discussion of the case. Your task as a candidate will be to develop and evaluate your hypothesis while answering the pertinent questions. BCG, Bain, LEK, Deloitte, and PwC conduct their case interviews using the candidate-led style.

Interviewer-led case interviews have a pre-structured format. The interviewer presents you with a problem (sometimes with or without data) and then asks you a set of pre-determined questions. The same method of approach applies in both formats, but unlike the interviewer-led cases where you solve the case from beginning to end, in the candidate-led, you will jump around to different points of the case. Interviewer-led case interviews are typically used by McKinsey, Oliver Wyman, and Accenture.

Most questions in case interviews belong to one of these 9 types:

Framework/issue tree questions
Market-sizing and guesstimate questions
Valuation questions
Brain teaser questions
Chart insight questionsValue proposition questions
Value proposition questions
Information questions
Math problems
Solution-finding questions

*Tip: Schedule an appointment to meet with a Career and Professional Development Case Coach to practice your case interview skills!

Learn More about Management Consulted