Switching Careers

"My background is in [insert non-consulting background here], and I want to get into management consulting. Can I do it?" Absolutely! For every person who has done consulting in the past, there is another succeeded at getting into consulting from a non-traditional field.

For instance, at one company presentation the first three employees I met all had non-traditional backgrounds: chef, opera singer/teacher and minor league baseball pitcher. All three had successfully translated their experiences and knowledge into a form that made them seem like a great fit for management consulting.

In some respects, an intelligent candidate with a unique background can actually help more than it can hurt. You provide a level of diversity that consulting firms consider necessary to broaden their thinking. The key, of course, is making a convincing argument that your background can be an asset to the consultancy.

What should I do?

There are several things you should consider doing to parlay your experiences effectively.

Update your resume - Make sure you spend enough time adjusting the experiences on your resume to convey the qualities that a consulting firm looks for. See the resume section for more details. For example, the opera singer from above discussed how he diagnosed performance issues with his students and persuaded them to adopt different vocal techniques, increasing their scores by 80%. The bullet point conveys a problem, solution and successful result in a field unrelated to consulting.
Work on your story - You will need a very strong "Why management consulting" and "why firm X" story. This will take longer for you to build effectively than for others. A good story will explain key characteristics about your job that you enjoyed, and how those characteristics can be found in management consulting and in the firm you are interviewing with.
Listen to Career Services - All MBA programs have a career services department, and they typically have training. As 85% of all MBAs are looking to switch careers, they will focus on necessary steps for you to go where you want to go.

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