Billy Gerhard is a consultant in the Philadelphia office of the Boston Consulting Group, a Big 3 management consulting firm. In 2019, he received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Gunsch Lab from Duke University. His research was on microbial response to water treatment and invasive bacterial species movement. Prior to attending […]
Category: Consulting
In recent years, the Big 4 accounting firms have placed an increasing emphasis on emerging technology. This can be seen from their graduate recruitment process. Recruitment screening assessments increasingly ask how candidates, as newly appointed auditors, would use emerging technologies. The audit process has been vastly altered by emerging technologies. The improvement in technology has […]
One aspect of consulting career development that I don’t think those new to the industry sufficiently appreciate is the importance of having a community of mentors. Yes, most firms have a system whereby each consultant is required to have a designated mentor to be an official guide (formally titled Coach, Counselor, etc.). Yet, beyond that, […]
Cracking a case can be a daunting task. For a career in consulting, you should strive to be ambitious, passionate and determined. The case study interview is a common way for consulting firms to screen candidates because it allows them to evaluate multiple inter-related consulting skills including data analysis, analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, active listening […]
A constantly reoccurring conversation I have heard discussed about the management consulting industry is if the preference for talent is in favor of “poets” (those that come from more of a humanities background) or “quants” (those that come from more of a technical or hard sciences background). Of course, the best position to be in […]
The working world can be an intimidating environment. Problems may arise with your boss, colleagues, the economy, your company’s strategy or business practices. You may have limited control over the source of the problem and little leverage to resolve it. This post aims to provide you with some guidance on how to approach difficulties in […]
There is a misconception in graduate school that participating in an internship is a waste of time and might prolong your schooling, but that could not be further from the truth. Now I am not talking about brief stays at national laboratories where you conduct your doctoral research, nor clinical rotations for course credit, nor […]
Receiving an offer from a top consulting firm is an exciting experience. It is a breakthrough for many and a fantastic journey to begin. The first step starts with training, the learning of technical skills, soft skills, and time management skills. In consulting, your training, adapting, and professional growth actually never stop. You will frequently […]
The biggest challenge of getting into a consultancy is the case interviews. Hardly any other job has such a challenging entry barrier. Fortunately, there are numerous resources to help you prepare for these case interviews. However, most of them are missing a crucial piece of information. One mistake that almost all applicants make during their interview […]
As a corporate strategy professional, I execute and coordinate all of the key activities of the firm that span multiple business units and functions. This involves orchestrating company-wide planning for the Board of Directors and executive leadership team on the firm’s long-term strategic direction, annual operating plan, budgets, capital investment strategy, as well as informing […]
There is a good chance that you have a formidable LinkedIn profile, unmatched experience, and a dream to become the best in the consulting industry – so what’s next? As a young and aspiring professional, you will be launching your consulting career in an uncertain environment. Already, there is immense competition for internships, graduate positions, […]
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The Slide Writing Bible
In management consulting and many other sectors, people spend a lot of time creating PowerPoint slides as it has become the basis for communicating, both internally and externally. However, slide writing is often very challenging. It forces you to structure your thinking and the slide deck needs to include the right content as well as […]
Consultants in the rainbow nation have continued to operate efficiently and effectively during the Covid pandemic. The chaos has changed the way the consulting process is carried out but the end goal of providing reliable solutions to clients has remained the same. Based on several interviews with consultants, here is the picture painted for me […]
At about the 3-year mark after entering consulting most consultants who matriculated directly from undergrad begin to seriously consider their next steps. For prospective and current consultants alike, I want to highlight the reflections and career pathways taken by such consultants. 1. Stay in Consulting and Maybe Shoot for the Partner Track In consulting, it […]
Consulting, like many other industries, is under threat from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). AI refers to a range of technologies that allow computers (or robots) to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. ML plays an important part in building AI systems, and refers to the study of algorithms that improve with […]
When I talk to my friends in consulting (across all firms and types of consulting), it amuses me that the early career mistakes we have made and witnessed are eerily similar across the board. I want to share four of them to help you avoid the most common mistakes and possibly course correct if you […]
Applying for internships is a long process. You start with researching the companies you want to work for, followed by applying, conducting informational interviews, and going through multiple rounds of case interviews. If you do everything properly, with a little bit of luck, you will get an offer. If you really push forward, you might […]
As someone currently in management consulting who has previously done tech sales for a major software company, I was amused by Martin Keller’s article championing tech sales (sometimes known as consultative or customer success driven sales) over management consulting. Both are great career options and anyone starting their career or doing a career pivot would […]
Although a majority of people start their consulting career straight from undergraduate or graduate studies as their first full time profession, there is a substantial number of consultants who are experienced hires, coming from a prior career. For experienced hires, the dynamics of pivoting into consulting can be jarring, especially for the uninitiated. To better […]
For many ambitious university students, management consulting can seem like the ideal industry to start a successful and fulfilling career. But what happens when you realize it’s not the perfect fit for you? After completing several internships in strategy consulting and receiving multiple attractive offers, I became increasingly skeptical whether the job would match my […]
If you are looking to get into consulting, there are several ways to gain experience during your graduate studies. You can take classes, enroll in the graduate consulting club, or volunteer for pro-bono consulting projects. You can also participate in case competitions, which are in a league of their own. Each case competition is different […]
Many candidates spend numerous hours perfecting their resumes, preparing for case and technical interviews, and crafting their fit story. However, they often forget to research the company itself. Conducting due diligence on the company you are interviewing for will help you build rapport with the interviewer, learn the firm’s culture and values, and showcase that […]
You might have a picture-perfect resume. You might satisfy all the basic qualifications. Your credentials might even get past the robotic sorters looking through thousands of resumes for specific “buzz words”. But at the end of the day, if you are just a name on a job application, you might not get invited to that […]
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Alternative Case Interview Tips
When conducting a search for case interview tips on the internet, you will quickly find yourself drowning in information. There are articles giving tips on how to speak, what to say, how to say it, what to wear, and so on. This post is not intended to be just another one of those articles. Instead, […]
When you apply for consulting roles, your CV will be the first thing that the recruiters see. According to a 2018 study conducted by Ladders, recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds looking at the CV that might have taken you weeks to perfect. You need to make each of those 7 seconds count by […]
In nearly every consulting firm, sooner or later you’ll have to prioritize a specialty to formally begin establishing a focus area for your consulting career. Just to be clear, by specialty, I mean a specifically defined industry (e.g. industrials, pharma, etc.) or functional area (e.g. cost cutting, organizations, etc.) that the firm has built a […]
The greatest accomplishments will follow a focused person. Our society rewards specialists more than generalists, and the way to become a specialist is to remain focused on one area for a prolonged period. At all stages of our life there are times to explore and times to focus. When playing sports as a child exploring […]
While at university, the most basic form of assessment of new skills learned is through the completion of homework assignments. During lectures, students learn new formulas, memorize methods, or practice more advanced techniques. They then apply their newfound knowledge to a set of problems outside of the classroom. Once a solution is reached, the submission […]
Case coaching is an industry of its own. It seems like coaching is a necessary part of the consulting interview prep process and without it you don’t have a chance of getting an offer. It can be a tough decision as the price point for case coaching can be very high (10x more than the […]
Conducting market research is a key skill required in consulting. Consulting involves working on different assignments in completely different industries, hence knowing how to conduct market research is a fundamental skill all people who want to work in consulting need to have. In addition to doing market research, you need to know how to best […]
Ever since I started my undergraduate degree, I was keen on securing a job in strategy consulting. It is not difficult to see why the job is so attractive to young overachievers. You get the opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment surrounding yourself with smart people and learning about business problems in a variety […]
There is no denying that the Corona pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we work. Home office and video conferences have become the norm, and some say they are here to stay. While the “new normal” can be convenient in many ways, it also presents an unprecedented challenge for new starters. Six months ago, I […]
Consulting case interviews require lots of preparation. On average probably 1-2 months. Although you will hear of some geniuses who aced their cases after only one week of preparation, this is probably not true for us mere mortals. Consequently, if you want to be well prepared for your case interview, you will probably have to […]
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Gardner’s Eight Intelligences
Howard Gardner, an American developmental psychologist and Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, proposed the theory of multiple intelligences in 1983 in a book called Frames of Mind. The theory challenges the idea that intelligence can be estimated using a single measure such as IQ. According to Gardner, each type of […]
Looking back to consulting recruiting in graduate school, I always think about how interesting it was that so much of the conversation among candidates was about getting an offer from a top consulting firm. Yet, I don’t remember many conversations about succeeding within a consulting firm after joining. I want to shed some light on […]
As a regular mentor to new consultants, I regularly find myself addressing some challenges of consulting life by simply recommending gear acquisitions based upon my personal experience. After much extensive feedback about how helpful my recommendations have been, I thought it would be helpful to share the wealth with a wider audience. For those who […]
Often, individuals rush to study degrees with the hope that after graduating, they can transfer that knowledge to the respective fields they will be working in. This isn’t entirely false, but it isn’t entirely true either. The wealth of knowledge one gains while studying a three or four-year degree cannot automatically be transferred within an […]
Launching a management consulting career is a daunting task due to the competitive nature of the profession. Applying for a job entails completing online questionnaires, writing cover letters, and undergoing psychometric assessments before you are even invited for an interview. There is also a large pool of applicants for managing consulting jobs in the developing […]
Whenever you hear people speaking of the “imposter syndrome”, you will hear them say things like “I don’t belong”, “I am not worthy”, “did I make the right choice?”. Whenever you find yourself questioning why you belong in the spaces you are in, immediately block those feelings out. If you are sitting on your own, […]
As I’ve progressed further along in my career, the importance of being able to manage upward has become clearer to me. If you think your relationship with your manager is a one-way street with the manager doing all the delegating and you doing all the following, think again. At its core, managing up isn’t just […]
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3 Tips for Your Consulting Internship
The biggest difference between an internship at a consultancy and a “normal” internship is that, at the end of a consulting internship, if you perform well, you can expect a job offer. Pretty awesome, right? However, whether or not you get an offer depends on various factors. Below, I list three important points of advice that […]
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Consulting: Blazing your own trail
Apart from the rigorous selection process that consulting firms use to assess their potential candidates, securing a job and thriving within the consulting industry is not easy. The most frequently asked questions that consultants are asked by students include: “what is consulting”, “what do consultants do” and “what are the minimum requirements needed to get […]
Many management consultants hardly complete two or three years in their jobs before they realize that there’s more to life than consulting. Consultants are called upon to do problem-solving on behalf of their clients, but they are forced to move on and find solutions to the next client’s difficulties before being able to see what […]
Deciding whether to obtain an MBA can be difficult. It is a rewarding experience that can allow you to improve your job prospects, expand your network, and learn all about business. But, you also need to study for the GMAT, leave your current job, and possibly relocate to a new state. If you decide to […]
The question of when to leave your first or second job is intimate and messy. Especially if your first job is management consulting as you will be presented with many opportunities to jump into industry. But no matter what the circumstance is, it requires you to consider an endless number of factors, ride through a […]
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How to Approach Experiential Questions
“Tell me a time where you…” Inevitably in any job, internship, or graduate school interview, you will hear these words. You are sitting in a chair facing a recruiter, manager, or professor asking you to share an experience where you displayed a particular emotion, dealt with a problem, or overcame a challenge. Consequently, these types […]
A job can be defined as a group of tasks and responsibilities that are assigned to one person. We have all had some type of job where we had to do a certain set of tasks in order to help the group or organization be successful. How we perceived the tasks that made up the […]
If you are interested in consulting you have probably heard of the case interview. It is a key component of the consulting interview to test how you approach problems. Practicing cases can teach you how to think like a consultant, yet they can also be a large source of stress and anxiety for candidates. It’s […]
A management consultant is someone who is consulted on difficult business issues. In other words, senior managers come to consultants for information and advice. Whilst not untrue, this is a fairly unremarkable description of what a consultant does. It is a description that, actually, doesn’t describe all that much at all. For instance, how, or […]
One of the most mentioned career paths after graduating from Harvard is consulting. It is one of the few industries, apart from investment banking, that is a stereotype for every graduating class, and people start preparing for it from freshman year through joining multiple consulting clubs on campus. But what is it about consulting that […]