Graduate case studies
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.
Working with clients to explore any challenges and building a case for change
Identifying the key stakeholder groups who may be impacted and may need to be included in delivering the change
Working with colleagues to build/amend frameworks for clients where issues have been caused by poorly planned delivery frameworks
Helping clients gain visibility and control of issues
Coaching and mentoring both internal and external colleagues
Developing thought leadership collateral through assignments
Working as part of a team to produce proposals for new client work
Engaging with clients, helping them diagnose business challenges and working with them to solve and overcome these
Building productive networks with other teams and getting buy-in from various parts of an organisation to deliver mutual benefits for all parties involved.
Working with colleagues on developing capabilities within firm through developing thought leadership, training, coaching and mentoring others.
Building an objective case to challenge/support client perceptions
Focusing on doing the right thing, learning as much about your client as you can - for the first month, if you're not a sponge, you're not consulting right.
The 'wow' moments. After weeks of working closely with client to develop solutions to challenges, reflecting with clients and having them realise the amazing change which we've delivered together.
Working with clients to deliver projects and programmes and helping them define their portfolios of work
I recently completed my assignment with a client and it had become apparent to me that the relationships which I had built were more than transactional. My client team colleagues and I will be staying in touch over the coming weeks and months and I feel that building a network of people who have helped you and who you have helped is one of the benefits which is often understated.
Building relationships and becoming a trusted advisor to highly talented and resourceful people.
Sometimes client's requirements can change and they can change their minds.
The constant raising of the bar - do great and they expect you to do greater.
Dealing with a multitude of personalities.
The long hours
I get to work with people to solve challenging business problems for clients, focusing on tangible value and helping clients succeed in achieving their ambitions.
Working face to face with a variety of clients, never doing the same thing twice.
Learning new ways to approach challenges and building a career in delivering results for organisations.
Stakeholder Management
PRINCE2 and MSP
Portfolio Management
Commercial Skills
Consulting Skills
Numerical Analysis
Change Management Skills
Project and Programme Management
Organising and running workshops
Framing conversations with clients which deal large issues (The elephants in the room)
Continual Professional Development
Professional courses such as PRINCE2 and MSP, MoP
Subject matter master classes e.g. Programme Assurance or Capital Markets
Upon leaving university I took up a graduate structural engineer position with a prestigious engineering consultancy in Leeds. This was in October 2008 and the global financial crisis was just about getting to a climax. The work which I was asked to do was challenging and rewarding but there was less and less to do and within a month, the whole organisation was put through a redundancy consultation. I managed to make it through but it wasn't the last redundancy consultation of my brief career to date...
Having stuck it out through 2 such consultations I reviewed my choice in career and though construction is very rewarding and a great sector, the amount it is impacted by the volatility of financial capital markets compared to other industries forced me to make a difficult decision. Going through 3 consultation periods left me asking the question "Sure I can handle this now but in 15-20 years how will I cope with the stress of having to take yet another pay cut or even losing my job?"
The engineering consultancy for which I worked had a management consulting division and as they were growing, I asked to transfer in September 2009. The transfer was approved and I was on my first management consulting assignment working directly with clients. This meant relocating to Bath and working on procurement jobs and large transformational change programmes within the public sector. I learned a lot in my 18 months in this team but I learned how overexposure to one industry can break a team. With the change of government in 2010, a moratorium was placed on all public sector consulting spend and as a result, the management consultancy arm of this firm made further redundancies. I was made redundant in June 2011. I moved back to Leeds and took stock and reflected.
After taking a career break for 3 months (during which I thought of setting up my own business) my CV was picked up by a recruiter who contacted me and told me that she thought I had sufficient experience to do well in a large management consultancy firm. She put me forward for my current employer and after a telephone interview, on-line assessments, an assessment centre and 2 interviews I was offered the job of Consultant Analyst. I commenced my new role following a tough relocation to London in January 2012.
Since taking the position I've helped a large UK organisation transform how their technology enables their business to succeed in an increasingly competitive marketplace. We have worked to help them gain greater vision control of a challenging portfolio of projects. After 12 months, I was promoted to the role of Management Consultant (effective 1 April 2013) and I continue to advise clients today.
I see myself continuing to work in management consulting for a few years and then moving into a leadership role. Whether that is in consulting or not, I've yet to decide.. That may be some way off - near term goals are consolidating my position and continuing to deliver great consultancy.
I plan to take MSP Practitioner and MoP Practitioner qualifications in the near future.
I am also looking into doing an MBA within the next 5-10 years.
Getting your first job is always tough but persevere. Be personal, don't rely on the internet, if you can, go see people in person, or at least call. Be different, if you can, volunteer. One of the best things I ever did was go through the Sheffield Graduate Award - it differentiates you from others.
In terms of working in consulting my advice is to reflect and think about how you are with people. If you find that you don't like people and that you're uncomfortable going up to strangers and talking to them, then consultancy is probably not for you - as consultants we can often have to build great working relationships in relatively short periods of time, often with little formal introduction or induction. If you don't like the sound of working long hours and working far from home, then consultancy is probably not for you either.
Last updated: 16 Apr 2013