Insights on Consulting (2023)

By Eda Liew and Timotheus Teng

Discover+ is a series of online industry panels which give students the chance to interact with working professionals and learn about the careers they aspire to enter. These panels provide youths and working professionals with the opportunity to better understand industry trends, hear first-hand perspectives from industry professionals, and gain valuable advice on entering or navigating these industries.

On 24 October 2023, Advisory hosted Discover+: Consulting, the 76th edition of the Discovery+ series. Speakers on the panel included:

• Justin Halim (Moderator), Expert Partner, Head of Modern Marketing and E-Commerce Practice, APAC, FRWD@Bain, Bain & Company
• Cherrie Liu, Strategy Consulting Manager, EY-Parthenon
• Matthew Ng, Principal, Kearney

Attendees included students at various levels of education with a desire to know the different career paths in consulting, and how to best position themselves for entering the industry. Below are some key points shared during the session:

What is consulting, in particular management consulting?

Management consulting is about helping chief executive officers (CEOs) address their most important questions, such as:

1. How can a bank position itself to win with mobile-first consumers?
2. Should our private equity client invest in a hospital group in an emerging market?
3. How can a company build a strategic vision anchored on economic development and nation-building?
4. How can businesses retool themselves in light of the disruption that Covid-19 has brought about, or more recently, the tough macro-economic climate that we operate in?

Whenever you see a company in the news making a big decision, it is usually done by management consulting firms who informed and shaped that decision behind the scenes. This makes the consulting industry instrumental to the movement of many corporations in Singapore or globally.

What is the difference between industry work and consulting work?

The learning curve in consulting is steep, with one year in this field roughly equivalent to two to three years in the industry due to the breadth of projects and the speed at which they ought to be completed. The career path is structured and one can expect to regularly work with senior executives, CEOs and board members, thereby constantly honing problem-solving skills and fulfilling personal development.

Those with a passion for problem-solving and a desire for involvement in commercial decisions and strategic planning are often attracted to the consulting industry. While the work in industry focuses on the implementation of ideas as part of a team, consulting work is advisory in nature, focusing on providing a distinct perspective or strategy to the client.

Is consulting still relevant today?

Of course!

Just like how business cycles repeat themselves, there are problems within these cycles that do not go away with time. In a fast-evolving world with limited resources and manpower, businesses require the help of consulting firms to retain relevance.

Beyond that, many businesses – especially those from very traditional industries like real estate – are beginning to ride on trends such as digital transformation. Many are realising that instead of being a “cost centre”, digitalisation can be a “profit centre” to drive more business in future. A case in point would be using digitalisation to build customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Firms can no longer avoid these topics and although they know that it is important, firms lack the external help to define these problems and navigate the business landscape. This is where the value of consulting lies.

There is also an implicit assumption behind this question that consulting firms do not evolve and lose their relevance. This is not true. Consulting firms are leveraging trends like digital marketing; e-commerce; environmental, social and governance (ESG); generative artificial intelligence (AI), and many more to stay relevant.

What are some current trends in the consulting industry?

First, there is a narrowing in scope. Through the focus on digitalisation, the types of problems raised by CEOs are becoming more specific, so solutions provided by management consulting firms are increasingly digitally-enabled, dabbling into fields including, but not limited to, enterprise technology, automation, advanced analytics and so on.

Second, there is growing diversity in recruitment. Project teams in management consulting firms are no longer limited to generalist consultants. Now, they also feature data scientists, digital marketers, UX experts, project designers, etc. That makes work interesting and teams diverse, equipping firms with the ability to tackle the hardest and most advanced problems.

Third, a shift towards implementation. On the outside, it might feel that consultant work is derivative and often come in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. But increasingly, more work is being done on the implementation side of things – serving as a project management office, attracting experts who are helping to build a digital product, running marketing experiments and scaling positive results. This means that clients can see results even as consultants are working alongside them.

What are some challenges that you face in the consulting industry?

Consultants must accept that the nature of work is always evolving.Clients hire you because they do not know how to solve a problem. Hence, it is important to learn the ropes quickly, conduct research, and communicate with your clients effectively.

Another challenge is the intensity of work. Clients may not give you an entire year to solve their problem. In some cases, consultants must submit their work within weeks. It is imperative that you know how to structure your report and deliver it promptly.

Yet another challenge is the issue of work politics, which detracts you from the value of your work and impedes you from getting things done. It is crucial that you learn how to manage people – this is especially important when you assume a senior position, where client management becomes routine. Your work will involve taking your clients through the whole process and getting them to believe that you have their best interests at heart. It gets difficult especially when you are unable to persuade your client to make the right decision.

That is the point of consulting – you are merely an advisor, so you do not make the final call.

How do you know if you are suited to consulting?

A career in consulting may not be for everyone, yet it presents an excellent opportunity to mould the mindsets and skill sets of young professionals. Internships are encouraged as they allow budding consultants to work directly with managers within consulting firms and engage with clients, providing a genuine taste of the consulting experience to help decide if one is suited to the industry.

Other than skills such as problem-solving, root cause analysis and data precision, individuals interested in consulting should also hone soft skills such as effective communication with superiors in managerial positions (eg. CEOs). One needs to be resilient, be willing to embrace ambiguity and remain comfortable with managing tight timelines to thrive in the consulting industry.

Does educational background matter? Does a consultant with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) stand out from his or her peers?

Some consulting firms may prefer certain educational backgrounds, but generally welcome diversity in terms of the type of universities and courses. While graduates from finance, business and science courses may stand out due to the problem-solving skills developed from studying those fields, anyone else who is interested in consulting should apply regardless of their background.

It is definitely possible to enter consulting with an MBA as there are different entry points into the industry. Some MBA students may enter the industry as a senior consultant or manager, while others start off as entry-level consultants and may choose to pursue an MBA only after beginning work in the consulting industry.

How does a fresh graduate help clients when they have yet to master the required expertise?

Unless hired with a particular specialisation (eg. IT), consultants fresh out of university will start off as generalists. As they work on projects, they will pick up and specialise in industries that they are passionate about. The motivation differs from person to person. It could be a marriage of convenience in picking the core focus areas of the firm or choosing something that drives their career ahead. Else, driven by their passion, the consultant helps the firm build up its capabilities in that specific area, which it might not have previously. Everyone can choose different paths, and there is no pressure to specialise upon entering the consulting industry.

The discovery of your specialty is done by building curiosity and first principles. It helps that the steep learning curve in the consulting industry translates into accelerated learning, expediting the process for one to become a subject matter expert. Working on a project in consulting for six months could easily translate into one and a half years (or even two years) of industry experience.

Beyond that, one could leverage previous experiences, read articles and keep up-to-date with the news, especially industry knowledge. On that note, firms themselves will also often publish papers almost every week.
Talking to experts and leveraging on internal and external databases contributes to much-needed expertise of a consultant as well.

What does work-life balance look like for a consultant?

Covid-19 changed the way people work. As clients adopt hybrid modes of working, some no longer require consultants to be at their office throughout the week.

A daily routine of a consultant would include things like morning coffee, daily stand-ups with the team, meetings, working on deliverables, etc. Working at home after having dinner or putting children to bed is also common. In terms of workload, consultants are often very busy with clients and internal meetings. Deliverables can also get quite intense, given that they often need to be completed promptly.

On one hand, firms do provide flexible work arrangements such as flexi-time, leave of absence, and occasional welfare to make this balance possible. Some even set boundaries and hold each other accountable to them. On the other hand, consulting is a life choice. Rather than aiming for work-life balance, one should strive for work-life integration in consulting, where work and life are not separate from each other but intertwined.

You should organise your time such that you can do things important to you, while still performing at your job. For example, finding an hour in the evening to spend time with your family away from work. There is no work so urgent that you have to sacrifice the things which truly matter.
It is always possible to make time for something. If it is especially important, consider blocking your calendar. While the process will definitely not be easy, this ensures that you have a life outside of work. Burning out is a matter of time if you do not make time for yourself.

What are some qualities that firms look for in a consultant?

That depends on the position that you are aiming for.

Skill sets required for work positions at different levels, along with the focus, can be quite different. Fresh graduates need to know how to solve problems, draft a presentable slide deck and work with data analytics, among many other things. At a higher level, communication and people management skills are important as one would need to manage and establish relationships with internal stakeholders and clients.

Another impressive quality would be the boldness and confidence to treat principals, partners, and managers as peers, and contribute to thought leadership. Those who are able to do that will achieve more in their career. Such a quality can be developed over time, but those who naturally exhibit it will invariably stand out.

What are some tips for landing a role in consulting, or doing well in the industry?

In general, case interviews help one to prepare for consulting. Get a friend to do it with you and test each other. It is also important to be confident even when you do not have the perfect answer.

Networking only plays a small role when it comes to landing a role in consulting as it is very meritocratic. However, your connections will yield you valuable insights (eg. culture) of the company you may be interested to work at. When you do become a consultant, your connections become crucial as these networks – clients and relationships formed – will give you work in the future. These networks will also give you insights into the consulting industry at large.

Another tip that might help one do well in consulting is by utilising learning and training resources that are available on internal platforms. There are plenty of materials focusing on slides training, data analytics, communication training, and so on. Ultimately, the best and fastest way to train is to learn via having hands-on practice, achieved by doing a project.