Getting in to Consulting - part II

In addition to my meeting with current students I am already taking meetings with incoming 2020/2021 students. It’s really interesting and encouraging to be speaking so early with those of you yet to arrive but looking to make effective use of your time now to plan and prepare. I have already seen some early drafts of CV’s and covering letters and a number of you now have actions to follow up on with a view to further developing your proposition to the consulting sector. You have begun the long process of preparation for entering this unique and fascinating sector in a little over a year from now. 

Besides the covering letter and the CV which so far remain the basic staples of any job application, the dynamics have been changing gradually over the years around how companies shortlist candidates for interview. As we currently live in the long shadow of a global pandemic, these changes will have been accelerated and so emphasis on the traditional CV and covering letter will change. How you perform in online tests and through initial video interview screening will very often dictate if you reach the end of your application journey or crash out at early stages.  

Consulting is a very popular and highly competitive sector in which to access and begin your career. Furthermore, it is not actually for everyone and there is nothing wrong in realizing that during your studies. We will provide you with information on the sector, the types of roles and the work you could be doing along with access to recruitment teams, consultants and alumni who successfully navigated their way through the myriad of application processes to secure their consulting careers. 

So, what can you do before you arrive, to make effective use of your time now to lay some key foundations for the journey ahead? 

Once you have completed the Careers Primer you gain access to a number of aspects of the online career's elements such as eResources and meetings with us. Anyone strongly considering consulting as a career choice will be expecting a Case Interview and I cannot overstate, the need to prepare. Throughout your time at Imperial, we will work with you to build your case interviewing skills and techniques. I have a number of current and former consultants coming in to support you in this as well but at this stage, I recommend making use of PrepLounge. You will have been given Premium access to this following successful completion of the Careers Primer.  

Alongside PrepLounge, our online case interview prep tool, I also encourage you to work through the Consulting Module found on the Hub as well as the Case Interview Module, which you will find there too. 

So, these initial building blocks will lay some foundations and I suggest you begin with these at this stage. Next time I will be talking more about our plans for supporting you around making applications and how to stand out as a candidate in what is always a crowded field 

In the meantime, on July 9th at 11:00 I am delivering a webinar giving you some background on the service as a whole, the state of the employment market for consulting following my post-COVID review and plans for next year. I will discuss the areas of opportunity within consulting and how the programme of events, workshops and teaching will help you focus on your future career and become high-performing candidates in the market.