Dear Julia,

Thanks for your email. You sound very diligent.

What kind of person do MC firms look for?

1. High marks
2. Numerical ability (hence people who have done engineering, economics and finance are often suited to consulting)
3. Ability to solve business case problems (i.e. think analytically and on your feet)
4. Ability to work with people
5. Presentation skills
6. Curiosity and love of learning
7. Being a self-starter (i.e. not needing direction from your manager)

What kind of major should you study?

• MC firms hire from a broad range of backgrounds (arts, science, commerce, engineering).
• Getting a job in a firm is about being able to tell the story about yourself that firms want to hear
• Studying finance will help tell a story about point 2 above (if you do well in it)
• Studying marketing may not help you with point 2, but if you do well it will help you tell a story about points 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7
• Being a high performing marketing student is better than being an average finance student

What should you be doing

• Do what you are passionate about (if you want to do marketing, do it)
• Don’t second guess what people may want from you (your life is a story, and only you know the best way to tell it)
• Find something you love (whether that be marketing or finance) and become awesome at it

Hope that help.

Cheers,
Tom

bharath,

Welcome to the Consulting Forum!

Obtaining a role with a management consulting firm is difficult at the best of times.

Your question is a good one, where are the entry points? How do you get your foot in the door?

The specific types of roles offered by each firm will differ slightly, so you should check out individual firm websites.

Consulting firms generally offer opportunities for experienced professionals (e.g. see the [url=http://www.mckinsey.com/en/Careers/Apply/Apply_now_EP.aspx]McKinsey website[/url]).

There would seem to be three possible entry points:
[list=1][*][b]Consulting Role:[/b] Consulting firms generally offer opportunities for experienced professionals to work as generalist consultants on in a specific practice. For example, note that McKinsey has a functional practice that focuses on [url=http://www.mckinsey.com/en/Client_Service/Marketing_and_sales.aspx]marketing and sales[/url]. [/*]
[*][b]Research roles:[/b] You could use your previous experience to apply for a research role. This would involve providing knowledge and research to support consultants who are working on client projects. [/*]
[*][b]Support roles:[/b] This is probably not what you are looking for. However, for completeness, note that consulting firms do also hire support staff (e.g. IT, HR, admin, professional development).[/*][/list]

Does that help?