The Most Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide to Consulting in 2024
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- Опубликовано: 28 май 2024
- Laying out the lifestyle, hours, day-to-day, perks, interview process, and other details on the Consulting industry. Enjoy and subscribe for more weekly content!
Day in My Life as a Consultant in NYC: • Day in my life as a Co...
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#consulting #managementconsulting
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:06 What is Consulting?
2:57 Strategy Consulting firms
5:56 Implementation Consulting firms
8:07 Functional Specialists
9:55 Industry Specialists
10:55 How you get in
14:05 Why people go into Consulting (i.e., Pros)
20:37 Why people leave Consulting (i.e., Cons)
23:57 What the day to day looks like
27:44 Exit opportunities
30:47 Does Consulting create value for society?
31:49 Who should go into Consulting?
33:20 Closing
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Thank you so much for all your videos and massive effort being put into this. They are really helpful and have gained me some insights of the consulting and finance industry. Wish you would keep this on.
I really appreciate the support - this kind of comment motivates me to keep putting out content despite all the things on my plate. Stay tuned for more!
Wow, I have watched 100s of consulting videos but the way you explained especially the different types of the firms is incredible and unique
Hey Adams! Truly appreciate the kind words - glad you found this video helpful!
One of the best , if not the best video about consulting
Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate the support!
you are killing it as usual, keep it going, lots of people missing out for sure!!!
This video is just what I needed! Thank you💪❤️
Hey Adrian! Glad you found it insightful!
Top man, great video
Thanks man!
Amazing video, very informative, keep up the great work!!!!
Thanks Megh! A lot more to come this year, stay tuned!
A lot of very insightful information,thanks 👍👍👍
Hey Phil! Glad you found it helpful
really in-depth explanation and insights on consulting , TQ!!
Of course! Glad you found it helpful
Thank you for this amaizing breakdown, Matt! It was really helpful. :)
Hey Avi! Glad you found it helpful 🙂
Excellent work, Matt! Your insights are greatly appreciated. It would be beneficial to delve deeper into the soft skills essential for consultants in your upcoming content. Thank you!
Very well summarized and exhaustive video. It has cleared up my idea of what consulting is. Thanks Matt!!
Hey Diego! Appreciate the kind words, best of luck!
Really liked how you go in depth and explain for your audience what different exit opportunities require you to have - thank you
Thanks Mamdouh! Glad you’re finding this one insightful!
Great video
Thanks man! Glad you found it insightful
so detailed and helpful! thank you!
You're so welcome!
Thank you.
Good job!
Thanks Mirolim! Glad you liked the video and thanks for being here
Thank Your for this extraordinary helpful Information, due to your inclusion of personal and individual experience of Consulting! Keep it up!
I appreciate it! Best of luck!
Best video on the topic!
thanks Aron!
Thank you so much for this knowledgeable topic and vlog
Glad it was helpful!
What fantastic insights into consulting - thank you! I am currently a functional specialist wanting to branch out into new areas, so love your content!
Glad you found it insightful!
Thank you so much for this useful information ^^. May your positive energy continue, and I look forward to more videos from you! ☺
Thank you! Best of luck with your goals!
Very concise and smooth video! I was even taking down little notes. I have yet to learn from the way you present yourself as well. Thank you for the amazing work, Matt!
Hey Serena! So glad to hear that - thanks for sticking around!
Very useful information
Glad you found it helpful!
This video was just bomb to watch! Watched so many videos but this one had answer to almost everything .
Hell yeah, so glad you found it valuable!
Thank you this video has been amazing! Curently confused on what career path to take.
Hey David! I’m so glad to hear you found the vid helpful!
Gonna watch this 1000 times till I understand it and can implement the practice in my life. I’m at a point in my life where I think I found my purpose. I’m grateful to you. Thank you
You got this! Best of luck 💪🏻
Really great video. I’m interested in strategy and tech consulting and this was a great overview! Keep up the good work!
Thanks Rayne! Glad you found this vid helpful
Quality video. People like you allow us to scrape through the complicated job industry that is consulting. Good shit
Hey Ben! Glad you found it helpful
I work in consulting and this video still gave me so much value! Great work!!
Hey Jack! Great to hear from a fellow consultant - glad you liked it!
Hey Matt thank you for sharing. this content is insanely valuable to me. and I am saying this because I have both a public health and computer science background and day by day I am starting to realize that I am more efficient in talking about strategies, planning project execution, and ideating. Which I guess aligned with a typical consulting job.
Hey! I’m glad you found the video useful. Consulting firms are very open to a variety of backgrounds, so you can definitely try to pivot. Best of luck!
really the most comprehensive, thorough, and genuine advice in consulting i see so far
thanks William!
Would love to see a video of yours talking about what it takes to enter the consulting firms like in skills that people need to learn early on and other personal skills to develop that will.help people excel in this job.
Great suggestion! Will add it to my running list
making to the end wasn't hard though :)) i like how you tried to show every aspects on consulting. great work. i've learned a lot :) thanks a bunch.
Hey Berfin! Of course, glad you liked it. Best of luck!
Nice video
Thanks! Glad you liked it
I'm starting my undergrad degree this September and consulting was one of the careers I'm interested in. Thanks for the video Matt! Very well explained and informative :)
Glad it was helpful!
great video! super helpful for someone who has no experience and is pursuing his MBA. I'd like to ask you what would be the best way to prepare for consulting interviews? Once again great video!
Glad you found it helpful! I would suggest you read Victor Cheng’s book Case Interview Secrets and also do practice cases from the Wharton Consulting Club Casebook with friends / mba classmates who are also interested in Consulting. When you feel more comfortable casing, try to get a few consultants on the phone to do a mock case - hope this helps!
@@matthuang21 thank you so much Matt. New Sub here. You deserve it. Very informative :)
Thank you for all the videos! I am extremely interested in the operations transformation function for management consulting so I was wondering what firms best fit my interests and advice you have for me to be successful in that field?
Ops transformation is something that the Big 4 (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, and EY) and Accenture do alot of work in - unfortunately I'm not too familiar with that function so I won't comment further, but I'd recommend you find some folks on LinkedIn from these firms to learn more!
Amazing vid - actually goes into what consulting is. Any websites like Wall St Prep for IB that exist for consulting?
Hey Jack! Glad you found it helpful. There are some prep resources out there for consulting but they're usually either (1) paid, or (2) not really that comprehensive imo. I recommend reading Case Interview Secrets and checking out the crafting cases blog, then watching youtube videos and practicing with friends/consultants. You can check out Rocketblocks for mental math drills.
Very clear explanation and great insight into the world of consulting.
Where would you place Information Technology companies? Likes of Infosys and TCS?
Also, how does consulting mindset differ from service mindset?
Those fall more closely under implementation consulting, but you could argue they are functional specialists as well
Great insights Matt. Not many people give the unfiltered advice that you have shared about their experience. I have a query that do you find people with diverse backgrounds in consulting for example people with CFA and/or masters in management? Or are there specific MBA requirement that needs to be met?
Hey Shubh! Thanks for the question - I’d say that there are people from all sorts of backgrounds in consulting, though it does skew towards people with business degrees like an MBA for example. That said, an MBA isn’t required (plenty of folks including myself have gotten in without one), and what matters more IMO is your previous work experience and how relevant it is to consulting. A CFA is focused on security analysis, which isn’t core to consulting, so I don’t think it will make that much of a difference. I’ve probably met 1 person with a CFA at BCG in my time here.
Thank you for your reply , Matt. I really appreciate you taking the time out to making these videos. Hopefully more to learn from you in the new year.
Hi Matt. Thank you for a very detailed video, I gained a better understanding overall. I have a question, I’m applying to Deloitte as a Graduate trainee, and during my research from their website they have strategy consulting as a sub unit in consulting, I want to know if this is still part of the implementation consulting you spoke earlier about or it’s actually a form of strategy consulting like the name suggests
The Big 4 do work on some strategy projects (hence why you have Deloitte Strategy or EY Parthenon, and PWC Strategy&), but the bulk of their work is in implementation. So to answer your Q, the Deloitte Strategy sub unit probably does work on strategy projects. Hope this helps!
@@matthuang21 thank you so much. This helps🙏
Hey Matt, thanks for responding to everyone's comments, it's much appreciated! You mentioned that 80-90% of your work output is in PP and 10-20% in Excel. How important are skills in SQL and Python/R or just data analysis in general? As a cold applicant looking for a consulting internship, should I consider an online course in data analysis (including SQL/Python/R lessons) to boost my credentials, or should I focus my energy on PP & Excel skills?
Hey John! I should clarify when I said "work output" I meant materials that you will handover to the client. Most of the time it's a powerpoint deck, with an occasional excel model or other analysis included.
Regarding your Q about SQL/Python/R, these are not commonly used in strategy consulting - I personally have never seen anyone use them in my time at BCG. That said, we sometimes use Alteryx and Tableau on cases with large datasets, so I'm sure you could hypothetically use SQL/Python - it just isn't mandated by the company. I would focus on your excel/ppt skills first as those are going to be used way more on the daily.
How much time you spend using excel and other data analysis tools also really depends on the type of project and your specific workstream.
For example, pricing cases (where clients ask us to help them optimize their pricing strategy) are notoriously heavy in quantitative analysis; similarly, if you are staffed with the market model workstream on a PE due diligence, you'll be doing a ton of work in excel.
On the other hand, if you're running the competitive landscape module which involves conducting 20-30 expert interviews, you probably won't spend any time in excel.
@@matthuang21 Dude thank you SO MUCH for this incredible reply x
Hey Matt, great video! I'm starting at a strategy consulting firm later this year after finishing an engineering undergrad and am interested in how someone who has already landed an offer should be preparing to hit the ground running. Any advice? Or maybe even a video idea? I'll be working in financial services with some IB internship experience but have never worked in a strategy house so I am definitely looking into which skills will transfer and which skills I should work to develop to make a good impression.
Hey George! Glad you're finding the content valuable - unfortunately, most of the learning is going to happen on the job (alot of this stuff is hard to learn from a book), but if you're really eager to get a head start, I'd recommend brushing up on excel / ppt skills, and also reading books on business strategy like "Competition Demystified", or "Competitive Strategy" by Michael Porter. Hope this helps!
Hey Matt, is there a path to pivot into consulting from tech? I know MBB and big 4 have their tech wings but I was looking at moving out into a more generalist role. I know its a pay cut to move out of tech and into consulting but I think its a better fit for understanding the big picture of the business side.
Hey Nachiketh! It's definitely possible to pivot into consulting from tech, though most people will be doing the opposite (leaving consulting for Big Tech). You just need to have a good story explaining why you want to make that switch, and moving to a more generalist role where you'll be able to work with different companies and projects in different industries is a compelling reason. Try to really tie it to your current experience (e.g. if you're a PM in tech, you could say that you've enjoyed building and launching products, analyzing data and customer feedback, etc. and that you've learned a ton, but really want to analyze companies instead) to make it more compelling.
Tactically speaking I would start by networking with people who have made a similar transition (try to find people on LinkedIn who've moved from tech --> consulting) and get smart of casing so you're not rushing if you start getting interviews. Hope this helps!
@@matthuang21 thank you so much for the insight. I just started reaching out other folks on LinkedIn a few days ago. This idea to get out of tech came at the start of the year lol. I did 2 years doing fintech development at a bank and got burned out making features for internal people. I think I've built the technical skills and I need either an MBA or consulting to understand other aspects of business so in 4-5 years I can work on my own start up.
I may be 4 weeks late to this comment, but I made the transition very early in my career (~1 yoe as a dev at a nonprofit) and can maybe provide some insight. Depending on how much experience you have, there's a few ways to go about it.
If you're brand new like I was, you can pretty easily apply to entry level consulting positions and interview the same as anybody else. I'm in tech consulting, not management consulting, but from what I've seen in case interviews for fresh grads I could've passed them coming out of undergrad all the same.
As a mid-senior level with 2-8 years experience, I think it would be important to make sure you can demonstrate some degree of leadership or project planning skills. Perhaps transition to a TPM or customer success type role and see if that type of work is for you. Lots of tech consultants are TPMs and it's a very common exit strategy for consultants looking to leave.
I'm not sure what field of tech you're in, but if you know SQL, Python, and can do some data analytics, Accenture and Deloitte both have strong technical consultant teams and that may be the easiest and fastest way to dip your toes into consulting without a full on switch and an MBA. And while I would never recommend working at a WITCH company like Infosys or Cognizant, you can get some experience at one of them too, though you'll have to be very self driven to wade through all the problems there lol.
You can also apply to a smaller consultant group or a tech company with a professional services department (like IBM or Oracle) that will have the resources to train you on their tech and deploy you to help clients with their problems. You'll still need to figure out the business/management side of consulting though if you want to jump into that.
If none of those routes seem appealing, your best bet is probably to get an MBA and apply at a senior / consultant level after graduating, though I think it's probably best to have your company pay for it if this is the route you take.
Do you have any tips for lateral hire in this economy or potentially in 2024? Im a Consultant at Deloitte working on due diligence and post deal value creation with MM/LMM PE funds and interested in moving to a T2/MBB strategy house. I don't dabble in too much strategy other than some CDD projects but would like to get some experience with BU/Corporate Strategy or Growth Strategy projects, which just aren't sold as much at Deloitte
Thanks for the question! From what I can see it’s not a very good market for lateral hiring right now, less projects being sold and so at least at my firm recruiting has definitely slowed. Lateral hiring tends to be de-prioritized in favor of on-campus recruiting, so it really depends on whether things pick up in 2024. I would just stay in touch with people so that when things pick up again you’ll be ready.
Had you the opportunity to work with people from French business school such as HEC ou ESSEC ?
I personally have not since I'm based in the US, but I have colleagues in Europe who have
Which consulting firm is best for those who have strong work boundaries? Like i prefer to leave work at the office after 40h and im out. Plus any of the firms who focus on construction industry?
I don't know if there is any reputable consulting firm out there where you can work only 40 hours a week. Because you are in a client advisory role, you will always be at the beck and call of the client - unreasonable demands and timelines do come up, and if they want something done by Monday morning and it's Friday afternoon, you might not be able to log off at 5pm. To answer your second Q, I'm not familiar with any firms that specialize in construction - most larger consulting firms are generalist and work across alot of industries.
It seems sad that the only pros working in consulting offers are career ones, it looks like people who are in consulting only do it to leave it
What exactly is your consultant type. Are you talking about Organizational change management consultant. Currently Im working as a Technical writer and got an interview scheduled as Change Management Analyst in Deloitte.
Is Change management good? Are you talking about the same.. Please help 🙏 me .. its hard to figure out
I work in strategy consulting. Change mgmt sounds more like implementation consulting, which is what alot of Big 4 consulting firms do (e.g., Deloitte). It's a bit different from strategy consulting because somebody has probably already developed the strategy, and change management is facilitating the execution of that strategy or whatever change was recommended.
@@matthuang21 Wow, thank you so much for the response ❤️
❤
Any other software worth learning on top of Powerpoint and excel
You can learn data analytics tools like or Alteryx, but 90% of your time at work will be spent in Microsoft land
I am majoring cs, but I find it isn’t suitable for me. So I want to get in consulting industry. I want to ask whether hr need the staff with background like me?
Consulting firms take people from many different backgrounds - I know there are def some people who studied CS and ended up on consulting. You just need to prepare for case interviews and network. As long as you’re focused you can do it.
@@matthuang21 thank you for your advice
hi matt yesturday i send you email, pitching my video editing service thinking you might need one also this would help me to earn little bit as a student. in case you need it ill be happy to listen your requirement and assist you accordingly. btw which state you live in usa, my portfolio website has traffic from oklahoma city us. kinda wierd😅