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Consultants provide advice and recommendations to other organisations. In some cases, they help their clients implement their suggestions in a hands-on way. They work in teams of mixed experience levels, and early roles usually involve desk research and data collection.

Projects usually operate on tight deadlines and can involve long hours. Output includes presentations, reports, workshops and shared working.

Where to start

The Careers Service Consultancy Directory provides an overview of consultancy firms by sector.

Our ‘Careers in Consultancy’ playlist on YouTube is a valuable resource. These videos provide insights and guidance on getting started.

The Careers Service also provides targeted careers information about Consultancy through a weekly round-up in term-time. To receive notifications, select ‘Management Consulting’ in your career/sector interests when you sign up to Handshake.

You can also learn about Consultancy careers at Inside Careers. Consultancy UK presents the latest news and trends in the sector, while the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) is the representative body for UK management consultancy firms.

There are five key areas of consulting:

  • Strategic Consultancy: covers issues such as planning and corporate strategy (eg the maximisation of shareholder value might be a company objective, as might future positioning in the marketplace).
  • Operations Consultancy: concerned with business process improvements; which might include manufacturing processes, purchasing, logistics, financial management, personnel functions. Can involve benchmarking processes against other organisations.
  • Product Development & Innovation: relates to the introduction of new technology, as well as information support and IT strategies. Can also cover important areas such as outsourcing, business continuity and security of systems.
  • Public Sector Consultancy: consultancy for public sector clients in central, local government, health authorities, non-departmental bodies and the for-more-than-profit sector.
  • Management Consultancy: sometimes used as an umbrella term to include all types of consultancy.

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