Job Description for a Management Consultant

Job
Nine Common
Description for
Management
a Management
Consulting Fit
Interview
Consultant
Questions

Duties and responsibilities of consultants

The fundamental role of a management consultant
focuses on providing strategic, substantial, and
pragmatic advisory services to private and public
businesses and organizations. Consultants utilize their
deep industry knowledge, valuable experience, and
analytical skills to address their clients’ challenges.
The main goal of a consultant is to produce positive
change within an organization. In order to do this,
consultants work on the assigned project for a period
of 1–12 months; the length depends on the
complexity of the issue.

In this presentation, you will learn:
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•
•
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Project team
Schedules and travels
Services and industries
Job Specifications
Compensation and benefits
Criticisms

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Day-to-day duties of management consultants include:
Problem
identification

Defines the problem through management consultations, team meetings, case
framework analysis, and other applicable strategies.

Conceptual
thinking

Breaks the problem into small, manageable segments; identifies the factors that
affect the problem; decides how to approach the project.

Research

Conducts objective research on current market trends, the client’s competitors,
product demands, and other related topics to support critical analysis.

Interview

Interviews or facilitates focused group discussion with stakeholders, managers,
supervisors, and other employees for additional data gathering.

Document review

Checks and analyzes information such as financial status, salary structure,
expenditures, business flows, sales statistics, and other relevant data.

Synthesis

Summarizes all gathered data and facts; deduces logical conclusions based on valid
arguments.

Progress report

Attends regular meetings and reports project progress to management.

Recommendation

Brainstorms, finalizes, and presents recommendations for solutions to the business
dilemma.

Programs
formulation

Develop strategic programs, communication plans, and other attainable change
management approaches to implement desired transformations in the organization.


3

Project Team
A working team of five or six experts is assigned to a project. The team typically consists of:
Position
Partner

Team
Manager

Consultants

Associates or
Analysts

No. of Staff

Duties

1

•
•
•

Builds the relationship with the client;
Expert of a particular domain; and
Handles a few projects at the same time.

1

•
•
•
•
•

Has intensive knowledge and experience of a particular domain;
Oversees the everyday duties of the other team members;
Facilitates regular meetings;
Coaches and counsels the other team members; and
Works full-time on the project.

1-2

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Has gained substantial experience in a specific industry;
Gathers and analyzes raw data; and

•
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New to the management consulting industry;
Gathers and analyzes raw data;
Provides support to the consultants and team manager through
data collection, tabulation, and analysis; and

1-2

•


4

Schedules and travels

Management consultants work approximately 50–80 hours per week. The complexity of their duties
demands a great deal of time and they struggle with the never ending issue of maintaining a work-life
balance. Exceeding the nine-to-five corporate schedule, consultants work overtime for their deliverables.
When they get home, they allot another hour or two for checking and responding to emails in order to
lessen their work load the following day.

Many management consultants work at their client’s offices to obtain first-hand information, get a feel for
the company’s culture, and convey their motivation and sincerity through their actions. They work off-site
Monday–Thursday and report back to their home satellite office on Friday. When the client is based in a
different state or country, some consultants decide to stay in the client’s location for weeks in order to
beat deadlines. This can be one of the reasons why consultants complain they have less quality time for
their loved ones.


5

Services and industries
Multinational management consulting firms cater to companies across all industries. The ―Big Three,‖
Bain, BCG, and McKinsey, have Fortune 1000 clients in the fields of transportation, consumer products,
private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and technology, among others. They usually employ thousands of
employees based in different parts of the globe.

Experts in boutique consulting firms focus on a few niches. For
instance, L.E.K. concentrates on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder
value, and business strategy. The Yankee Group is an example of a
boutique firm in the telecommunications sector. Boutique firm
consultants can master their services easily because they encounter
virtually the same challenges on every project.


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Job specifications
A. Education

The minimum educational requirement for this industry is an undergraduate
degree, preferably in management, business administration, economics, statistics,
or other business course(s). Graduates with alternative degrees may also apply, but
they must exert more effort into networking, engaging in extra-curricular
activities, and building consulting skills to prove their competency to the employer.
Consulting recruiters often visit prestigious schools for recruitment, and in many
cases, the top students are offered entry-level positions in the firm.
Applicants with an MBA degree are at an advantage. This two year post-graduate
program allows them to gain additional knowledge in business, both in theory and
reality. The program also enhances discipline, communication skills, and other
applicable abilities. Fortunately, as part of their personnel development initiatives,
some firms finance their employees’ MBAs, provided that they will continue to
render services after graduation.

B. Knowledge,
Skills, and
Abilities

Apart from the competencies enumerated on the next slide, consultants must be
physically fit for traveling and enduring long working hours. Stress management
skills are imperative as the position encompasses both trivial and critical
encounters.

C. Experience

Applicants who have no experience yet possess soft skills are employed as analysts,
the lowest echelon in a consulting firm. The experienced recruits are awarded
higher positions. Career changers (e.g., lawyers or engineers who want to shift into
consulting) are also welcome to apply. They will be hired as long as they can prove
their previous work experiences have equipped them for the consulting position.


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Knowledge and skills required for the position

Business
Knowledge

The business involves providing advice to companies in trouble. Commercial
awareness is necessary to analyze the problem and recommend solutions.

Industry
Knowledge

Knowledge of a specific industry (e.g., financial services, healthcare, media) is
sought after by firms because it is the key to comprehending real and ideal scenarios.

Analytical
Skills

Management consulting entails a lot of brain work. It requires an analysis of what
went wrong, organizational threats, and other financial aspects.

Quantitative
Skills

Consultants are inundated with numbers, be it a statement of accounts, bank
documents, revenues, etc. The ability to interpret quantitative reports is necessary.

Team Work

A consultant collaborates with a team to produce a quality presentation, both in
content and form.

Interpersonal
Skills

The life of a consultant involves a lot of people. Getting along easily with clients is
vital to accomplish goals faster and develop a long-term relationship.

Communication
Skills

Both excellent verbal and written communication skills are required to convey ideas
clearly and comprehensively.

Commitment

As mentioned earlier, a consultant works for more than eight hours a day. Motivation,
discipline, and commitment to this work schedule are essential.

Research Skills

Designing a data collection tool (e.g., questionnaire for a survey), online research,
and interviews are indispensable for data gathering.


8

Compensation and benefits
•

One of the most attractive aspects of a management consulting career is its lavish compensation and
benefits package. Every second of effort and each sleepless night are rewarded accordingly.

•

The starting annual salary for an entry-level position depends on the compensation scale of consulting
firm (top tier consulting firms usually provide larger salaries), and also your experience. For example,
Ivy League graduates will normally be offered larger salaries. Also, this depends on the country where
you apply.

•

The salary increases as the position moves
vertically. A senior partner earns according
to the degree of his or her responsibility
and accountability in the firm.

•

On top of this, management consultants can
take advantage of insurance, business
flights, luxury hotel accommodations,
transportation allowances, laptops and cell
phones, company trainings, and numerous
opportunities to network with
professionals—the best perk of a consulting
career.

In addition to the salary, many firms offer a
combination of the following perks:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Signing bonus
Relocation assistance
Year-end bonus
Performance bonus
Travel expense reimbursements
Profit-sharing incentive
Retirement pay


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Criticisms
Some employees frown at the presence of
management consultants because they are
worried that:
•

They may be retrenched after
streamlining the processes;

•

They receive extravagant benefits and
pay while the regular staff do not; and

•

They cannot be trusted with confidential
documents.

However, regardless of the
aforementioned criticisms, their
services are still employed because
they have the expertise, know the
best industry practices, and they
significantly contribute to the growth
of a company.


10

Free Guide: Learn How to Break Into Consulting

Do you want to break into consulting? Download our free PDF guide, which
will show you the necessary steps and best practices on how to prepare.

1

2

3

Consulting Interview Process: Get an overview of the
application and interview process when applying to
management consulting firms. Receive tips on how to write
your cover letter and resume and get prepared for the
written tests and interviews once you get there.
Interview Preparation: Learn what you need to practice to
receive an offer from one of the top-tier consulting firms.
See our step-by-step framework to case study solving, learn
how to develop your own frameworks and get mental math
tips.
Case Study Example: Know what to expect from a case
study interview round. Read a real-life case study interview,
which includes a variety of topics. See the practical
application of the step-by-step framework to case study
solving.

Download this free guide (PDF)

Job Description for a Management Consultant

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Job Description for a Management Consultant