BCG, McKinsey & Company, Bain- the 3 legendary management consulting organizations.
In this career insight, I will be sharing the hard and soft skills that every MBB consultant needs and exhibits.
I will be taking into account my personal experiences as a former BCG consultant.
Here are 5 top skills management consultants exhibit & are evaluated for implicitly in interviews:
1. Excel at Microsoft Excel-
Excel is the bread and butter of a management consultant
You need to be skilled at-
A. Number crunching
B. Revenue Projections
C. Financial valuations
D. Cost savings analysis
2. High Business Acumen-
Not only are you expected to know the jargon of the industry, but also have an intuition about such things.
You ought to know the basics of financial accounting, marketing, etc.
Example- My first client at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was an IIM Ahmedabad gold medalist.
Despite our thorough analysis, he would always ask good questions about our reports and suggestions. Gone are the days when you deal with dull and inactive clients
3. Decking-
Consultants are storytellers.
But this time, you are selling a story of qualitative and quantitative data.
You need to have an airtight Powerpoint on why the Client CEO should spend large amounts of money on your suggestions.
B. Soft Skills
4. Crisp Communication-
As a consultant, you deal directly with CXOs from your as well as the client's organization.
These are extremely busy people.
So you should be able to deliver your key message effectively in 2-3 minutes.
5. Emotional Intelligence-
Daniel Goleman has an excellent book on this, in case you wish to dig deeper into the topic.
In a corporate ecosystem, people are often obsessed with downward management.
Here, you must be able to have an indirect influence on your colleagues.
This includes your team, the professionals from the client's side, and your case partner.
**
I have always maintained a stint in management consulting is not just a job, but like another hashtag#MBA in itself.
Today, I bleed green as a BCG Alum and will always root for their success, especially for the firm's work in hashtag#climate impact. The firm has given me so much, especially the immense amount of support from leaders for my education venture.
It is true, one year spent in management consulting actually accelerates your career by 4 years in the market ❤️
If you are interested in learning about GGI's MBA Scholar program, you can learn here.
Author- Shatakshi Sharma, Co-founder Global Governance Initiative & GTI, Ex- BCG, Advisor; Tony Blair Institute