What does it FEEL like to be a Strategy Consultant?
People say Consulting is a people business, so it probably makes sense to break this down by the types of people you’ll interact with:
Another way of putting it is that a Consultant spends their time either doing things that involve interacting with (different groups of) people, or doing things that don’t. So we can look at this by asking what each of those chunks of time feels like.
Before we dive in, a quick disclaimer. I’m going to focus here on the good stuff that I’ve experienced personally in Consulting so far. I’m not going to talk extensively about the bad stuff, mainly because that side tends to be more subjective and dependent on the mind-set and the career goals of the individual. (Though it is important to accept that the high points I’m covering will inevitably be balanced by more challenging periods and feelings that you’ll go through in Consulting – or any other career.)
You
Working hard because you want to. If you’re not doing this, you’re either working hard because you have to (which is frustrating and stressful) or you’re not working hard at all (which is temporarily fun but boring in the long term for ambitious people). When you’re working hard because you want to, it’s usually because you’re attacking a problem you’re enjoying, engaging in an area you’re interested in, or preparing content you’re proud of. (Or all three!) This is when you feel fulfilled and motivated.
“Brainwave” moments. They don’t come every day, and they make up less than 5% of your actual time, but they’re the little flashes of intellectual excitement that I – and a lot of Strategy Consultants – do the job for. Whether it’s a sudden idea of how to decompose a big question into smaller parts, a breakthrough on a quantitative problem, or a realisation about how to psychologically connect with or convince someone, these “brainwave” moments are the highs of life in Strategy.
Your team
Trading good ideas with smart people. This has two benefits. First, you feel good because you’re holding your own in a demanding intellectual environment – which, if you are in fact suited to Strategy Consulting, you will tend to enjoy immensely. Second, and less egoistically, you will develop respect for the people with whom you’re trading ideas. You will go to them with new ideas or discussions, and you will genuinely value and enjoy their input and the conversation.
Spending time with people you get on with. In my experience, the social angle is just as important as the intellectual. You can work with the brightest minds in the industry but, if you simply don’t get on with them as people and enjoy spending time with them, things are not likely to be sustainable in the longer term. Actually liking the people you work with means the intellectual side will flow much more smoothly and naturally, not to mention you’ll make genuine friendships beyond office premises.
The wider firm
Getting wide respect for good things you’ve done. While Strategy Consulting is an environment where you are constantly pushed to improve, there are also times when the quality or effectiveness of something you’ve achieved is recognised – not just by an immediate team, but at a firm-wide level. This might be a project you’ve worked on that gains a lot of positive attention. Or, more generally, you might gain a positive reputation for being the “go-to” person on a particular topic or for a particular skill. That’s a great sign of making your mark. In my experience, to make sure you can replicate and maintain this, the key is to critically reflect and understand what exactly it is that you’re doing right – just like replicating high marks in exams, what you think you did well might not be what your audience responded to!
Learning how the firm sells and works. As a graduate, it’s quite easy to get into the habit of thinking only about your tiny, close-up universe of to-do’s. Alongside this, I’d actively encourage you to look “beyond your pay grade” – understanding how the firm at large does business, what the priorities and worries of its leaders are, how different teams interact, and what motivates people. When you take this step back from your day-to-day tasks, it’s like taking a blindfold off after stumbling in the dark. Suddenly, the reasons why people make certain decisions, why senior leaders seem more concerned about certain issues than others, and why you’re asked to perform certain tasks that would otherwise seem illogical, all start to make more sense and fit into a wider picture.
Clients
Meeting and interacting with them explicitly. Not an original point to make by any means, but worth emphasising nonetheless. A positive meeting with your client, especially after putting substantial work into preparation, is a great feeling. And, of course, you can learn an incredible amount about how businesses and businesspeople behave.
“Reading” their mind-set implicitly. Personally, I enjoy understanding what isn’t spoken even more than understanding what is spoken. Sitting underneath the explicit interactions between your team and the client is a complex environment of incentives, priorities and tactics, both at an organisational and an individual level. Reading and navigating this environment effectively is an important skill that grows with time – it is one of the key strengths that very experienced members of your firm, such as Partners, will bring to the table.
Do these sound like the kinds of experiences that you would enjoy and perform well in? If so, Strategy Consulting could be a good fit for you!
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Strategy Consultant
I work as a Strategy Consultant at Monitor Deloitte, a top-tier strategy firm with a global presence. I have received offers from numerous strategy consultancies, and have knowledge of the case interview processes across many of the top companies personally leading Monitor Deloitte’s recruitment process at Oxford University.
