I wish more people gave deliberate thought to the kind of skills they would need before beginning any career, and especially Management Consulting. 

Remember that you just have the first few weeks (sometimes days if you get a project immediately) to impress your seniors and peers at the Consulting firm. And those impressions can be hard to break out of.

Here are the few skills I wish I had learned before I started my Consulting career:

  1. Presentation / Storyboarding

    I can’t stress this enough. As a newcomer, even being able to appreciate how Consultants think and frame their presentations a.k.a. storyboards is a huge advantage.

    While it’s true that most top tier Consulting firms (especially MBB and Big 4 firms) will have their specific frameworks and presentation styles, it is worth understanding the process of storyboarding and the approach as it is so integral to Consulting.

    A lot of these techniques can be learned - e.g. how to frame a problem, standard frameworks to apply, how to present the approach and solution, etc.

  2. Communication

    As a Consultant, every communication you send - from the way you draft your emails to the way you structure your meeting invites or deliverables will reflect the firm’s reputation. Having access to many senior clients adds more complexity to the task.

    Your communication needs to be succinct and professional. It is best to avoid using words such as ‘so like’ with your clients. The same goes for emails with lots of exclamation marks or capital letters or emojis.

  3. Structured thinking

    Consulting is all about problem-solving. In most top tier firms, teams are open to new ideas when brainstorming the solution to complex client issues. Even if you are a new associate, your seniors would like to know your point of view (POV) on the matter.

    The more you exhibit logical thinking and participate in discussions with a solid POV, the more opportunities you will get. Your seniors will pull you into more projects if they can trust you with more responsibility.

    This is key to boosting your confidence and gaining that momentum that gets you the better and high visibility projects.

  4. MS Excel/PowerPoint/Word skills

    If not an expert, you should at least be familiar with these Microsoft tools that you will start using day 1 of projects that you work on.

    My first job was at a Big 4 firm approximately 20 years ago and I didn’t have these skills on day 1. Although I learned fast, I did have several embarrassing moments in my first few months that made me very self-conscious.

    This is totally avoidable and can really boost your confidence in the first few weeks, so you can focus on learning the style of your workplace vs. making formatting blunders.

  5. Running meetings/conference calls

    One of the first things your seniors will delegate to you is planning and running meetings/conference calls. There are several things to keep in mind before, during and after these meetings to make them a success. Read all about it in my post How to avoid online meeting disasters.

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     Punya is a former management consultant with 15 years of experience at 2 Big4 firms, serving top Fortune500 clients. She has lived and worked in 6 countries and changed 3 careers working across several industries. Punya is passionate about coaching new and aspiring Consultants to succeed in Management Consulting.