Consulting

In a nutshell, consultancies provide advisory service to top management of companies or the government. Consultants are hired to provide solutions to a specific problem. The value of hiring a consultant is to provide a fresh perspective or specific knowledge. Projects vary widely, from planning for a new market entry to restructuring a company’s overall organisational structure.

The consulting industry can be divided into the following areas:

• Management consulting: the focus is on how a company or organisation works to achieve its desired goals. This can include working on strategy, operations and information technology (IT)
• IT consulting: the focus is on using technology to help an organisation become more efficient and achieve its goals
• Industry-specific consulting: the focus is on a specific industry and can include strategy, management, IT, human resources or technical consulting.

Consulting is a great introduction to the world of business. Consultants can experience intense workloads and long hours. However, it can also offer the opportunity for travel, work variety, high salaries and bonuses. Consulting firms are typically located in major cities, with close proximity to headquarters of major corporations.

The consulting industry in Singapore is largely made of a few top management consultancy firms such as Bain, McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and Accenture. Specialist consultancy firms such as IBM Consulting, A.T. Kearney and Mercer focus on specific industries. Boutique-size firms such as Marakon Associates also operate to offer strategy advice to corporations.

Traditionally, consulting firms encourage their business analysts who hold bachelor’s degrees to study for a MBA or Master’s degree after two to three years of working experience.

Job opportunities

Undergraduates are first hired to act as business analysts or associate consultants. Typically, consulting firms look for potential candidates with strong academic credentials, quantitative ability and leadership/teamwork experience. For a management consulting firm, candidates can come from various backgrounds. Postgraduate degrees and MBAs are highly regarded. If you have an MBA, you might get meatier roles. In addition, specialist consultancy firms focusing on IT, for example, might look for graduates who have specific interests or qualifications in the appropriate technology.

If you are selected for an interview, the interview process normally consists of multiple interviews with case studies. The case studies are meant to demonstrate your analytical abilities and whether you can articulate your thoughts succinctly.

The following is a list of skills that are necessary in many domains of consulting:

• problem solving
• researching
• analytical and quantitative thinking
• understanding of business
• interpersonal and communication skills
• networking
• ability to work in a fast paced environment
• project management.

As a business analyst, the work can be wide-ranging and often includes field research, data analysis, customer and competitor interviews, and client meetings. In IT, analysts might do heavy-duty programming.