Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

As a manager, I am responsible for leading small teams of highly skilled consultants to analyse critical business issues for our clients and recommend initiatives to address them. As a result of our project work, I develop methodologies and whitepapers to spread the results of my experience around the firm.

On a typical day in the office, I leave home at 06:30 and get to work at 07:35. While having breakfast at my desk I read through any emails I have received overnight and note down any actions arising. I'll spend the morning working on an analysis or documenting the outcomes before scheduling a meeting with the client to discuss our findings. After a quick lunch, I might have a meeting to discuss outcomes and next steps from the work with my colleagues before assigning the changes to one of my team. With a trip to the client's office in Paris coming up I need to go online and book a Eurostar ticket and two nights in a hotel near their office. There's an early evening meeting booked to discuss the next phase of the work, so I grab a coffee before reading the materials that my boss has sent me to make notes and ask for clarification on a few points. I've got some time to spare before attending the planning meeting so I start to plan the workshop materials for the client meeting in Paris. We finish up at about 18:15 which allows me to get home about 19:45, just in time to read my elder son a bedtime story.

Presenting the results of our work to the client's senior leaders, very often national, regional or global directors. It's great to see them grasp the logic of our analysis and take steps to implement the recommendations.

The hours can be very long at crunch times on projects, and giving senior managers at clients difficult messages can be stressful.

The work makes use of a wide range of analytical and communications skills that I've developed over the past ten years of my career in consulting. It is also varied in terms of the clientele, location and subject matter.

I use analytical, communications and negotiation skills every day of my work. Being able to think critically about processes and situations is also a great help. The most useful qualification I have in management consultancy is an MBA.

In an average year I'll take about 5 days of training, which needs to be scheduled around my project and internal work. Available training covers general professional skills (e.g structuring written communications), specific competencies (e.g. procurement) and industry knowledge (e.g. process chemicals.)

I joined Accenture at the start of 2003 as an IT consulting Analyst. I specialised in customising and integrating Supply Chain Planning applications. I received early promotion to Consultant in 2004.

In 2007 - 2008 I received a Director's Scholarship to study at Cambridge University (Judge Business School) for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA.) I completed the course in August 2008.

I joined my current employer's London office as an Associate in 2008 and worked on a very diverse range of projects and clients.

After three years at my current employer I resigned to join Wipro Retail, a specialist division of Wipro as a senior manager to try and move the balance of work and home life after the birth of my second child; however I found the change of pace difficult.

I returned to my current employer in January 2013 as a Manager and have managed to rebalance my career and life somewhat!

I want to progress in my career as a management consultant but ultimately see myself running my own business in the next 5 - 10 years.

When it comes to job applications quantity and quality are not the same thing. Rather than applying for any jobs that are out there, be realistic and be selective. Decide what it is that you want to do and then do a great deal of research into your prospective employers before applying to no more than 20 companies which fit your profile and where you think that you could thrive.

No matter how much work you have to do, try not get anything below a 2:i in your degree. This is used as a cutoff to manage the huge number of graduate applications that firms receive down to a manageable level and it is extremely hard to get past the starting gate if you don't have a 1st or 2:i degree.