Why a graduate career in Consulting is for you

Consulting is the second favourite career choice of new graduates. With good starting salaries, great colleagues and a breadth of different roles and experiences available, it’s easy to see why. At Bright Network, we partner with some of the best consultancy firms, amongst them Alpha, EY, KPMG,Strategy&, McKinsey and more.

So why Consulting? Here are Bright Network’s Top Six Reasons to consider a career in Consulting…

Fast Learning

There aren’t many careers that give you the breadth of training and on-the-job experience as Consulting. Consultants typically work with the Senior Leaders in businesses to help them solve challenges and make decisions about future growth and change, and they do this across multiple sectors – consumer, retail, health, lifesciences, technology, media & telecoms, public sector and finance.

In most firms you’ll have a chance to work towards a professional qualification – usually CIMA or the CFA, as well as developing ninja powerpoint and excel skills on the job, and not to mention getting lots of practice at presenting and pitching, leading meetings, running projects and liaising with multiple stakeholders. For many, Consulting is the perfect training environment – intense and fast paced with lots of variety.

Senior Exposure

Working with Senior Business leaders provides fantastic exposure and opportunities to work with and learn from some very senior individuals in their careers. For example, if the project team are working on a technology challenge you can expect to be working with the CTO or if it’s around Supply Chain the COO, and if a strategic challenge then you’re likely to be working directly with the CEO and their team.

For a fresh-faced graduate, working in close proximity with some of these individuals who may be 30 or 40 years into their career, is a pretty unique opportunity.

Discover the key Industries in Consulting.

Great People

Consultants typically operate in teams – usually smaller if the project is a strategic or finance advisory piece of work, and larger if it is an operational or technology implementation project. However, regardless of size, working in teams means that the quality of your career experience depends a lot on the calibre of your colleagues.

Happily, Consultancy attracts hard working, ambitious and motivated types who make fantastic colleagues. In Consulting, you can expect to work with individuals who are completely passionate about what they do, and who enjoy to balance work and play.

Intellectual Stimulation

Consulting attracts graduates from all degree backgrounds – including humanities subjects and financial/economics subjects in equal measure. However, one thing all Consultants have in common is a hunger for intellectual stimulation. Consulting involves researching ideas, conducting qualitative and quantitative analysis and applying complex frameworks to solve knotty problems and as such, it attracts graduates who enjoy tackling intellectual challenges.

Within Consultancy there are a number of different advisory areas, each of which require a slightly different set of skills and interests. Strategy, Financial Advisory, HR, Technology Implementation, Supply Chain, Cost Reduction, Programme Management and Business Process Outsourcing are just some of the key areas that exist within Management Consultancy.

Learn how to get into consulting with the Bright Network Academy short course.

Lifestyle

There are many lifestyle perks to being a Consultant and it is a key reason that many people consider Consulting as a long term career option. The perks range from earning a great salary from day one – and all the opportunities that come with that, to the vibrant social side that comes from working hard with great colleagues (think flash team dinners, fun Friday beers and various other socials to keep a busy team motivated), to the international opportunities.

Variety

If you are happy and confident adapting to new situations and learning new things (constantly) and the idea of change stimulates and motivates you, the fast-paced world of a high-flying consultant will suit you to a tee. 

Whether working for an international client, conducting primary research in a target market or taking the opportunity to second to an international office – many of the leading Consultancy Practices pride themselves on their international offering and what they can offer to their employees. So if you’re looking for a career which can offer you travel – this might just be the one for you!