Post MBA Career as a Strategy Consultant: Good, Bad & the Ugly | Strategy Consultant Essential Qualities

In this article, we will cover the good, bad and the worst experiences of being a Strategy Consultant. We will also cover the essential qualities of successful consultants in Strategy.

Good

Learning

Consultants have to work in a number of industries, and switch between them quite frequently. The learning experiences are satisfying, and the consultant develops a bird’s eye view of all the major industries.

Travel Opportunity

Travel is mandatory for most Strategy Consultants, as the clients are scattered around the world. Experiencing different cultures and interacting with people around the world can lead to better job satisfaction.

Great Team

The opportunity to work with high caliber consultants in Client Companies and Senior partners in parent organization has been quoted by Consultant as the biggest learning experience.

Bad

Work-Life Balance

The same factor that motivated the MBA Aspirant to a career in Consulting can often lead to poor Work-Life Balance. Most consultants will be traveling 60-80% of the time, and it takes a toll on the body and work-life balance once the consultant hit late 30s and early 40s.

Pressure

Consultants are known to bill staggering amount for consulting, and clients expect consultants to be precise with their recommendations. The pressure to perform is much higher when consultants realize that their analysis and recommendation can impact the consulting company and the Client in the long-term. There is very little room for miscalculation.

Ugly

Politics and Bureaucracy

One factor that demotivates a consultant is the politics in larger consulting firms. MBA Aspirants should realize that to work in the Big Cs, they have to have a high tolerance for politics. Bigger consulting firm often attracts larger clients, and consultants have to learn to handle bureaucracy and inefficiencies within the company.

Long-Term Plan

As an MBA Aspirant, having a long-term plan is necessary for getting into a top Business School. More importantly, before you start your post-MBA Career as a Strategy Consultant, find out your motivations:

a) Starting your own Business

If you are planning to start your own consulting company, weigh in the option whether you would like to work for a larger consulting company, and learn their processes, and framework. Would you like to pick the best practices from the Consulting Framework for your future company? Do you excel in a creative environment most often associated with smaller and start-up firms? Understanding your optimum performing environment can help you pick the right Business Schools (Read Top MBA for Consulting and Skills for Consultants)

b) Learning Motivations

Have a clear understanding about the learning motivations that you would have in 1-2 years, 3-5 years, and 5-10 years. Working in diverse industries might motivate you as a Strategy consultant during the initial years but later you might prefer to be known as a specialist in certain industries. Pick consulting companies based on your long-term learning motivations. Contact senior consultants and learn how their career has evolved.

What Qualities you should have as a Strategy Consultant

Although you can learn a lot through an MBA program, a Consultant should possess some inherent qualities. It is ever so more for a Strategy Consultant.

a) Confidence

Giving recommendations to Senior Management and CEOs require confidence in your ability, and knowledge. If you are not confident interacting one on one, giving presentations, and supporting your recommendation with facts, a career as a Strategy Consultant might not be a good fit for you.

b) Listening Skills

The first step in learning about an Industry is through Listening. If you have poor listening skills, then consulting might not be a good fit. Read about Listening as a Leadership skill.

c) People Skill

Working with some of the brightest minds in the world, and interacting with some of the worst bureaucracy requires a balancing act. Consultants should be good at understanding motivations that drive each people.

d) Number Crunching

A strong analytical mind is mandatory for data modeling, and fact analysis. GMAT Quant, Data Interpretation and transcripts can give Adcom hints about the candidate’s analytical capabilities. Top Schools have partnerships with some of the best consulting companies, and the school would prefer candidates who match their skills with their career plan.

e) Effective Communication

Most MBAs will have excellent communication skills. However as a Strategy Consultant, you should understand the motivation of each individual before putting your communication on email or paper. Writing excellent error free correspondence is not the same as Effective communication. It is a level higher than the traditional Business Communication, and some of the best consultants are masters at such concise communication.