Consultancy Industry Profile for Graduates
Overview
Estimated graduate starting salary: £25,000 - £35,000
Typical salary after training: £35,000 - £50,000+
Consultancy Graduate Jobs
Consultancy is the process of advising companies (clients) on the practices that will improve performance, increase efficiency, save money or generate money within their business; consultants produce plans after a review of operations and strategy and are then responsible for implementing these proposals and training employees accordingly.
There are many different kinds of consultancy, from Management to HR and IT to Strategy. Within each subsector there are different industry practices, but all have a similar overall goal: to add value to a client's business in response to a specific brief.
The largest consultancy firms are household names such as KPMG, Deloitte and PWC. There are also many smaller, niche firms that take advantage of providing a targeted offering to their clients.
Typical salary after training: £35,000 - £50,000+
Consultancy Graduate Jobs
Consultancy is the process of advising companies (clients) on the practices that will improve performance, increase efficiency, save money or generate money within their business; consultants produce plans after a review of operations and strategy and are then responsible for implementing these proposals and training employees accordingly.
There are many different kinds of consultancy, from Management to HR and IT to Strategy. Within each subsector there are different industry practices, but all have a similar overall goal: to add value to a client's business in response to a specific brief.
The largest consultancy firms are household names such as KPMG, Deloitte and PWC. There are also many smaller, niche firms that take advantage of providing a targeted offering to their clients.
Career path
The traditional route into consultancy has been for an individual to gain commercial experience with which to apply to a specialised consultancy role. However, over the last few years companies have increasingly recruited top graduates into entry level positions in order to train them up in-house. The AGR (Association of Graduate Recruiters) Graduate Recruitment Survey 2008 confirms this, citing that 7.2% of all graduate vacancies are in the consultancy or business services arenas.
Here at the GRB we have seen that graduate consultancy jobs are becoming more appealing to grads who see the field as an alternative to entering the Banking and Finance sector. It can offer the same kind of intellectual challenge, with similar financial rewards. Furthermore, a career in consultancy offers a graduate the opportunity to actually use the transferable skills they gained during their degree (something many grads tell our GRB consultants they are looking for). Analytical skills, presentations skills, numeracy and communication skills are all essential requirements to make a successful consultant.
Because it is such a broad sector, no two graduate consultancy jobs are instantly comparable - however there are certain activities that most types of consultant will perform. On a day to day basis a graduate consultant might;
- Interview clients and clients' employees to assess a business situation
- Organise and attend conference calls and client meetings
- Collate data and build models Assist with process mapping
- Formulate workplans
- Create clear presentations of complex information
- Build tools and systems for clients
- Client training
- Carry out trouble shooting final solutions
A consultancy career can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Graduates will get the opportunity to utilise the transferable skills they picked up at university whilst enjoying the perks of working in a big firm. Consultants will have to get on with long working hours and constantly traveling away from home.
A consultancy career can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Graduates will get the oppertunity to utilise the transferable skills they picked up at university whilst enjoying the preks of working in a big firm. Conslutans will have to get on with long working hours and constanly travling away from home.
Graduates will start their consultancy career at 'analyst' level, a supporting role to an established management consultant, researching or actioning data driven requests. Client facing work can also be required at this stage when a new recruit is charged with processing data presenting it in a user friendly format to the business. You might be responsible for number crunching at this stage but will soon move on to the strategic consultancy side of the business.
Most consultancies are meritocratic environments, where the individual is responsible for their own success. Progress through the ranks can be swift, but graduates must understand that they first have to learn and master the trade. The ultimate goal for many consultants is to make partner of the firm, or to break out in their own specialist or niche consultancy.
Here at the GRB we have seen that graduate consultancy jobs are becoming more appealing to grads who see the field as an alternative to entering the Banking and Finance sector. It can offer the same kind of intellectual challenge, with similar financial rewards. Furthermore, a career in consultancy offers a graduate the opportunity to actually use the transferable skills they gained during their degree (something many grads tell our GRB consultants they are looking for). Analytical skills, presentations skills, numeracy and communication skills are all essential requirements to make a successful consultant.
Because it is such a broad sector, no two graduate consultancy jobs are instantly comparable - however there are certain activities that most types of consultant will perform. On a day to day basis a graduate consultant might;
- Interview clients and clients' employees to assess a business situation
- Organise and attend conference calls and client meetings
- Collate data and build models Assist with process mapping
- Formulate workplans
- Create clear presentations of complex information
- Build tools and systems for clients
- Client training
- Carry out trouble shooting final solutions
A consultancy career can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Graduates will get the opportunity to utilise the transferable skills they picked up at university whilst enjoying the perks of working in a big firm. Consultants will have to get on with long working hours and constantly traveling away from home.
A consultancy career can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Graduates will get the oppertunity to utilise the transferable skills they picked up at university whilst enjoying the preks of working in a big firm. Conslutans will have to get on with long working hours and constanly travling away from home.
Graduates will start their consultancy career at 'analyst' level, a supporting role to an established management consultant, researching or actioning data driven requests. Client facing work can also be required at this stage when a new recruit is charged with processing data presenting it in a user friendly format to the business. You might be responsible for number crunching at this stage but will soon move on to the strategic consultancy side of the business.
Most consultancies are meritocratic environments, where the individual is responsible for their own success. Progress through the ranks can be swift, but graduates must understand that they first have to learn and master the trade. The ultimate goal for many consultants is to make partner of the firm, or to break out in their own specialist or niche consultancy.
Qualifications and skills needed
The sector is competitive for graduate entry, with the top employers demanding high achieving candidates with strong academic backgrounds. In their careers guide, the MCA (Management Consultancies Association) advise that:
The strategy houses, for example, will take a few of the highest fliers of their year - typically candidates who have achieved a 2.1 or first-class degree from one of the most prestigious universities - and usually with a strong numerical basis to their academic background
Most degree disciplines can be transferred to make a successful graduate consultant, but students from IT, Economics, Mathematics and other numerate subjects may find it easier to specialise earlier on in their consultancy careers. Languages can also be a particular advantage, as many organisations operate internationally and need good communicators to build on global relationships. Any work experience gained within the sector is invaluable. An internship, a placement, even a week's work-shadowing would make a graduate application more desirable. Most of all, graduates must display the certain personality that is required to be an effective consultant; these include a savvy, clued up nature, the ability to work at pace and the consistency to always produce accurate, thorough work.
The strategy houses, for example, will take a few of the highest fliers of their year - typically candidates who have achieved a 2.1 or first-class degree from one of the most prestigious universities - and usually with a strong numerical basis to their academic background
Most degree disciplines can be transferred to make a successful graduate consultant, but students from IT, Economics, Mathematics and other numerate subjects may find it easier to specialise earlier on in their consultancy careers. Languages can also be a particular advantage, as many organisations operate internationally and need good communicators to build on global relationships. Any work experience gained within the sector is invaluable. An internship, a placement, even a week's work-shadowing would make a graduate application more desirable. Most of all, graduates must display the certain personality that is required to be an effective consultant; these include a savvy, clued up nature, the ability to work at pace and the consistency to always produce accurate, thorough work.
Sources for further information
Institute of Business Consulting http://www.ibconsulting.org.uk/
Management Consultancies Association www.mca.org.uk
Management Consultancies Association www.mca.org.uk
