Consulting
Consulting is one of the most competitive job functions in business. The analytical skills required are extensive and candidates must also possess strong communication skills to compete in this industry.
Areas of Consulting
- Strategy Consulting
- Management Consulting
- Operations Consulting
- Financial Advisory
- HR Consulting
- Technology Consulting
Skills Required
- Communication and interpersonal skills as you will work with a diverse set of people as you are exposed to different industries and functions.
- Analytical and problem-solving skills to create solutions for clients.
- Ability to work in a team-oriented environment.
- Internal drive for results. Since clients are paying consulting firms top dollar they expect results, and quickly.
- Flexibility as you may be traveling anywhere from 50 to 100 percent of the time.
Consulting Interviews
Interviews in the consulting industry are unique. They may start the same as any other industry with a screening interview. The next is usually an interview with traditional and behavior-based questions. But at some point, the interview format will change to case interviews.
Case interviews are used when hiring consultants regardless of the area of consulting you are targeting. A case interview includes a hypothetical business situation that is used to determine how a candidate thinks about a particular problem and how they would solve it.
There are various frameworks you can learn to solve these business cases. In most interviews, you are only allowed one sheet of paper to write some notes as the case is verbally presented to you. You can ask some clarifying questions, but you must be ready to calculate numbers without a calculator, organize your thoughts and solutions and finally make recommendations.
The key point to understand about a case interview and the case interview process is that it is designed to simulate life on the job as a management consultant. It replicates all of the stages of a three- to six-month engagement in approximately thirty or forty minutes.
There are several resources you can use to prepare for case interviews.
Consulting Resources
- Case Interviewing
- CaseCoach: The market-leading toolkit preparing you for all aspects of case and consulting interviews. Built on the expertise of a former McKinsey interviewer. Log into BizLink | Resources to access this tool.
- Mergent Intellect: Get industry information and find links to consulting companies. Access Mergent Intellect through the UB Libraries on CRC Job Market and Research Tools page
- Management Consulted: Join the largest management consulting community. Sign up for their free newsletter. Watch case interviewing walkthroughs. Hear from consulting experts on the hiring process.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Read about the nature of the work, employment information, working conditions and more.
- Technical Consulting and Staffing Firms: Assessing Their Value [PDF]
Web Resources
- McKinsey, BCG and Bain Free Case Interview Prep
- Management Consulted: Join the largest management consulting community. Sign up for their free newsletter. Watch case interviewing walkthroughs. Hear from consulting experts on the hiring process.
Professional Associations
- Buffalo Undergraduate Consulting Club
- Institute of Management Consultants: The national professional association representing management consultants.
- Turnaround Management Association
- UB MBA Consulting Group: Offers pro-bono project work to small- and mid-sized businesses in the Buffalo community while building the next generation of consultants in the UB MBA program.
Guides
Case Interviewing
Case interviewing is the main method for selection used by recruiters in consulting. Case interviews allow recruiters to see how you think and solve complex problems. The focus is more about the thought process you use to answer the question rather than the correctness of the answer.
Sign up for Case Coach to begin prepping for case interviews. Use the interview prep course, read case interviews, complete drills and practice with other students. You must log into the site through BizLink | Resources using your UB email address.
Top Consulting Firms
Management Consulting
Based on Vault’s annual consulting survey:
Technology, Media and Telecommunications Consulting
Based on Vault’s annual consulting survey:
Academics
To learn more about the Consulting area and courses included within the concentration or program, please refer to the academic curriculum.