Management Consultant
Helps organisations solve problems they cannot solve alone.
Why it may fit you
- Included to widen the options you have seen
Your evidence for this career
Based only on the experiences and strengths you have entered. Add more in My Evidence.
Strong evidence
Nothing here yet — two experiences showing the same skill will move it here.
Some evidence
Nothing here yet.
Evidence to build
- Communication
- Presenting
- Teamwork
- Listening
- Analysis
- Working with data
- Research
- Commercial awareness
- Project management
- Planning
- Attention to detail
What you may need to develop
Communication
Why it matters: Named in almost every job advert, and usually tested at interview.
Your current evidence: Limited evidence identified so far.
Ways to build this
- • Ask for written feedback after a presentation or piece of writing
- • Write a short summary of something technical for a general reader
Presenting
Why it matters: Being able to explain your work clearly is often what gets it noticed.
Your current evidence: Limited evidence identified so far.
Ways to build this
- • Volunteer to present your group's work
- • Record yourself explaining your project in two minutes and keep the notes
- • Join a society that involves speaking to a group
Teamwork
Why it matters: Employers want a specific example, not the word itself.
Your current evidence: Limited evidence identified so far.
Ways to build this
- • Write up one team experience: your role, a disagreement, what you did
- • Join a team activity outside your course
Listening
Why it matters: Underrated, and central to advisory, care and client roles.
Your current evidence: Limited evidence identified so far.
Ways to build this
- • Volunteer in a support, buddy or peer-mentoring scheme
- • Interview someone about their career and write three notes from it
What they do
Consultants join a client for weeks or months, gather evidence, analyse options and recommend changes — then often help make those changes happen.
What your day could involve
- Interviewing people inside the client organisation
- Structuring a problem into parts you can research
- Building a slide deck that tells a clear story
- Analysing numbers to test an idea
- Presenting to senior managers
Skills employers often look for
People skills
- • Communication
- • Presenting
- • Teamwork
- • Listening
Technical skills
- • Analysis
- • Working with data
- • Research
Professional skills
- • Commercial awareness
- • Project management
- • Planning
- • Attention to detail
Qualifications
There is usually more than one way in. A degree is one route — not the only one.
Typical degree routes
- • Any degree — business, economics, engineering, humanities all appear
Apprenticeships
- • Level 4 business analyst apprenticeship
- • Professional services degree apprenticeship
Other routes in
- • Industry experience then a move into consulting
Certifications worth exploring
Only worth doing if it helps you. Experience and evidence usually matter more than collecting certificates.
Useful now
- Presentation and slide-writing practice
Free to practise and directly tested at interview.
Useful later
- Project management foundation (PRINCE2 or Agile)
Useful once you run workstreams.
Optional specialist
- Accounting or data certifications
Only if you specialise in finance or analytics work.
Organisations to Put on Your Radar
Examples to explore — illustrative, not job adverts or endorsements
Large employers
A global consulting firm
Consulting
Roles to look for: Graduate analyst, spring insight weeks
Why explore it: Famous insight days and structured schemes.
Specialist organisations
A boutique strategy consultancy
Consulting
Roles to look for: Analyst
Why explore it: Smaller teams and early client contact.
Public sector
A government commercial team
Public sector
Roles to look for: Business analyst apprentice
Why explore it: Public value focus.
Charities and NGOs
A charity consulting network
Third sector
Roles to look for: Volunteer analyst
Why explore it: A realistic way to get first project experience.
Start-ups and growing companies
A growing scale-up
Technology
Roles to look for: Operations associate
Why explore it: Consulting-style problem solving in-house.
Organisations in my region
A regional business advisory firm
Varies by region
Roles to look for: Apprenticeships
Why explore it: Often overlooked and easier to access.
What should I look for on an employer's website?
- Graduate programmes — Structured schemes with training, usually opening a year before they start.
- Apprenticeships — Earn while you learn. Look for the level — Level 2 or 3 up to degree level.
- Internships — Paid experience over summer or a placement year. Often the main route into graduate roles.
- Insight days — One-day or one-week introductions, often for Year 12, 13 or first-year students.
- Volunteering — Many employers run volunteering days or support local projects you could join.
- Work experience — Short placements or shadowing. Ask directly — many are never advertised.
- Entry-level roles — Assistant, coordinator or support job titles are real doors into a career.