What Does a Job in Consulting Look Like? An Expert's Perspective

Consultants are problem solvers, providing organizations and individuals with expert opinions, analyses, and recommendations. They are hired to help clients solve specific business challenges and improve their performance. Consultants can work independently or as part of a consulting firm, specializing in any given field of specialization. To gain a better understanding of the daily life of consultants, it is important to recognize the distinction between the companies where consultants work (consultancies) and the companies they work for (clients).

Consultants strive to enhance the position or profile of an organization by assisting it in solving problems, managing change, and improving efficiency. The principle of the project would be to use its internal network and staffing tools to form a team of consultants for each function. In simpler terms, an advisory project is one in which a consultancy reports on the strategy, and an implementation project is where a consultancy executes the strategy. Depending on the strength of their relationships, the consulting team may obtain informal information from customer stakeholders before filing a formal presentation with the client.

Consultants travel frequently, and a typical schedule is to fly Monday morning, fly home Thursday night, and work from the head office on Friday. To help you better understand what a consultant's daily work is like, we've broken down 9 common aspects of strategic consulting projects:

• Forming a team of consultants for each function
• Analyzing market conditions and giving recommendations
• Providing specialized experience in specific sectors
• Obtaining informal information from customer stakeholders
• Filing formal presentations with clients
• Traveling frequently
• Analyzing numbers before giving a firm answer
• Updating project milestones
• Highlighting anything that is behind (or ahead of) schedule

Realistic examples can illustrate the type of work you can expect to find in the consulting world. Instead of facing the desperation of a missed opportunity, you hire a team of Bain consultants who specialize in mergers and acquisitions in the automotive industry. To provide the agreed services, the consulting company would internally hire a team of consultants with experience and skills commensurate with the project. The life of a consultant is often fast-paced and demanding.

It requires strong problem-solving skills, excellent communication abilities, and an ability to think quickly on your feet. It also requires an understanding of how businesses operate and how to best serve their needs. Consulting is an exciting career path that offers many opportunities for growth and development.