"Consulting" is a job title currently used by many kinds of people, ranging from general management to technology, from education to health care. Every sector needs people to help them do their jobs better, more effectively, and more efficiently.

Do you have good analytic skills? Able to gather facts and figures and synthesize it into useable information? Perhaps you should consider consulting.

There are web sites out there that will help you clear up your ideas about what kind of work consultants do. Check out the "career" section of individual firms' web sites. Often they have profiles of the people who work there, the kind of skills the job entails and the working life. A few examples include:

McKinsey & Company -- This company web page allows you to "read about and apply for consulting roles and current opportunities" at McKinsey & Co.
Boston Consulting Group -- The career page at BCG provides a lot of information about BCG employees. In other words, the kind of people that BCG looks for and the kind of people the company attracts. This user-friendly site also has information about how to prepare for an interview, how to apply on-line, etc.
Bain & Co -- Bain & Co.'s "Join Bain" page offers information about professional development, the chance to read descriptions about current employees, and a page entitled "Roles," which offers a general guideline as to which consulting role may be most appropriate for you given your starting level of experience.
Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting)

The CDO library also has several books which can orient you to consulting work. Consider checking out one of the following references: The Harvard Business School Career Guide to Management Consulting; So, You Want to Be a Management Consultant; and The Fast Track: The Insider's Guide to Winning Jobs in Management Consulting, Investment Banking & Securities Trading.

Grinnellians in Consulting:
Many Grinnellians work in the field of consulting. A cursory search on our alumni database revealed over 300 people in this career field. They range from Analysts (entry-level) to Consultants, to Senior Consultants and even Principals (one of the highest levels attainable). Management consulting careers are not just theoretically attainable for Grinnellians -- rather, such careers are realistically attainable too, and some Grinnellians have been very successful at it.

Gathering More Facts/Informational Interviews & Research:
Once you decide that consulting sounds interesting consider talking with alumni who have "been there". Students who have done this are emphatic about their experience of gathering information by talking to experts. One student said, "Although I did not actually speak with Grinnell alumni, I conducted some informational interviews with current and former consultants, and I found this to be the most useful preparatory stage for my interviews. People who are in the field have already gone through the case interviews, and they can give invaluable advice as to how to approach different problems. Also, they can give you more personal information about a company that you might not find on their web pages." Ask a Career Counselor how you might get in touch with some alumni.

The next step is to polish your resume and do your research on the various firms in the industry. One reference book in the CDO library is quite comprehensive: The Directory of Management Consultants 2000.

Still looking for more information? Below are many links to help you.

Management Consulting (strategy consulting):

Yahoo's List of Consulting Firms -- Yahoo has catalogued many of the firms in the industry.

Vault Reports -- This site helps you understand not only more about the firms in the industry, but also how to get a job in consulting and numerous other areas of business. This site provides a great place to do research before you apply.

Wetfeet -- With "real people" profiles, insider tips, job listings and more.

The Case Interview:
Interviews in the field of management consulting frequently have a distinctive component called a "case question." Generally you will be asked to solve (think it through out-loud) the same kinds of business problems that an actual consultant would confront on the job. Case interviews can be tricky and intimidating if you are not well prepared.

Getting the Job:
You've read this far, you're obviously interested in going for a job as a consultant. You should begin a dialogue with one of the career counselors at the CDO early (like the first week) of your senior year or late in your junior year to help you launch your job search.

Luckily many consulting firms want Grinnell students. Consulting firms come to campus during the fall semester, and they participate in our consortium recruiting events. Keep posted on these web sites for more details.

More Benefits:
Often an entry-level job in consulting is a sure path to getting an MBA from a top business school a couple years down the road. And, although it's not guaranteed, many of the top firms sponsor some of their consultants for business school (the firm pays the tuition, etc., if the consultant pledges to return to the firm after graduation).

You should know, however, that most of the top consulting firms are both BIG and EARLY recruiters. This means that they often recruit heavily during the fall semester and frequently have given out all their job offers before the start of second semester. SLAC is a good way to gain access to some consulting companies, but for many of these companies, they have already completed the bulk of their recruiting by our winter break. So if you have decided you really want a job in consulting, you will need to move quickly with your job search.