Jaymin says: I am a final year undergraduate in a prestigious college in India. I am aiming to make my career into Management Consulting, a couple of good consultancy companies do visit our campus. However to be honest, I don’t stand a very good chance of being selected by looking at their past selection criteria. What should I do?? Please help.
Jaymin,
This is an excellent question.
Here’s my short answer.
Without knowing which selection criteria you don’t meet, I’m going to assume that they are not criteria like being smart and resourceful or looking credible.
You don’t have to work for a management consultancy firm to be a management consultant. You do, though, need to have some expertise; you need to have a good mind, you need a methodology, you need to read and learn and be curious.
The advantage of working for a consultancy is that they will give you a methodology to work with, and help you make that practical as well as theoretical.
Clients buy your services outside of a management consultancy because they believe you can help them. If you have ONLY a theoretical education, then you may have difficulty finding a client. If you have both a theoretical and a practical education, then you might not need to work for a consultancy first.
This is quite a challenge, but not insurmountable. I wish you luck!
