World Colleges Information

With the horrible state of economy coupled with lack of employment opportunities, the Indian job market had taken a huge blow. But, even amidst such tussle, the only sector that kept churning out job with solid packages and scope to grow is Consulting. This claim is supported by the latest statistic drawn from a survey conducted by TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) where it was found that 8 out of 10 management student in the country opting for a career in consulting in the 2014. Carried out by TCS’ Global Consulting Practice, the results revealed that business students are inclining towards becoming a consultant.

The description

Consultants are key players in a company’s hierarchy. The job profile of a management consultant includes a wide range of responsibility within the company. A consultant is an individual who can also be called an analyst of sorts. These folks are required to examine and understand information from within the firm and outside in order to make business and operational recommendations which will boast the productivity and market value of a business enterprise in its entirety. Consultants are the masterminds behind profit yielding plans of a company. Organizations of very size, type and nature, a NGO (non-profit organization), a government firm or a private corporation, spend big money on recruiting the right kind of management consultant. While some companies hire a couple of consultants, few multinational companies cash in on a entire team of expert consultants to ensure growth and increase returns.

The recommendations made by these consultants decide the course of a company’s future and help in cutting unnecessary manpower, hiring the right workforce, reducing production cost and increasing market presence and revenues.

The numbers

One of the most luring aspects in opting for a career in consulting is the attractive pay package. For a fresher or an entry level consultant the package would span anywhere from 40k pm to 1 la and more. But, it isn’t the package alone that attracts the young folks, what’s more inviting is the fact that many of these consulting companies sponsor executive MBA courses for their consultants. A consultant has the flexibility to work from home and has excellent benefits and perks. With the consulting industry swelling at a promising pace, it was noted that among the 300,000 consultants all over the globe a whopping 30 billion US dollars was generated as annual revenue. Among many other stark revelations brought about by the survey conducted by TCS was that about 28 per cent of students want to pursue consulting as a long-term profession and also believe that consulting is a gateway to attain leaderships positions within a firm

The eligibility

Being an intellectually stimulating role, a consultant is laden a high-risk responsibility very early in their career. For who like to stay on their toes and don’t want to be tied down by a mundane monotonous 9 to 5 job then consulting is the profession for you. A consultant needs to be an all rounder, a jack of all trades rather.

While most companies prefer MBA students, with the rise in need for specialized knowledge and expertise, many recruiters are hiring Ph.D students, lawyers, engineers and even pilot and then ready them by putting them through business training. Reason being that there is a strong numerical element to consulting, therefore a degree in science, economics and commerce will qualify as well. There are two types in consulting – the generalist and the specialist. The generalist as the name suggest is consulting on a generic, broader level.

Specialist on the other hand is more intricate in nature, according to the same survey which was conducted by TCS, it was reported that about 55 per cent of students preferred strategic consulting followed by IT (Information Technology) consulting. In consulting work experience isn’t as important as being skilled and talented. Therefore if freshers have all the attributes to become a consultant, the company will still hire them. The generic skills on the checklist of recruiters looking to hire a consultant are –to be innovative, creative, fast –thinker, a passion for ideas, high intellectual capacity and to be a people’s person. Consultants are the intellectual capital of a firm hence, a candidate with pure and strong intellectual capacity and a passion to generate ideas will score the job. Passion for client service and for people in general is a must. Being in a service rendering profession, a consultant is often required to work very closely with clients in order to meet and understand their needs. Seasoned consultants are often quoted saying that the profession of consulting becomes truly enjoyable only when there is a need for personal excellence and an urge to connect with people and build or bridge relationships. Hence in a nutshell a consultant has to have an appealing personality, should be smart, talented, an intellect, a likeable person, should possess good IT skills, should have the ability to "Consulting is the only sector where a fresher has access to tremendous amount of mentorship and coaching from seniors as well as high level executives." work from anywhere and for anyone, should be witty, fast to problem solve, willing to travel and in general an all- rounder.

The scope

Consulting calls for lots of hard work and dedication. The scope to grow for young aspirants and fresh B-school pass outs are ample, as entry level management consulting jobs are not only well-paid but also very engaging. Since management consulting is about analyzing the right information and respectively deriving creative solutions all recruiter even hire fresh graduate if the candidates’ qualify and meets all the criteria. Consultants at entry level or as freshers are known as Business Analyst or Associates. These folks are primarily made to work in a team alongside Mid-level and senior consultants. Consulting is the only sector where a fresher has access to tremendous amount of mentorship and coaching from seniors as well as high level executives. Since a consultant is required to constantly upgrade this skills and stay updates with the changing status of the market, many big firms offers training, seminars, online courses and even aid or pay for specialized courses. The chance to work with a variety of specialist and learn about all the departments within the company and its working methodology is given only to consultant. For a consultant, as the process of learning never stops, the job never gets boring.

BUDDING MANAGERS
SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSUE