Ninety percent of the top FTSE 300 companies use them and in 2001 the UK consultancy industry enjoyed revenues of several billion pounds. Yet, if you were to ask management consultants to explain exactly what they do, you would never get the same answer twice. This is because a consultant’s role is extremely wide-ranging and almost impossible to define except at a very general level. Such is the nature of the consultancy work that recent graduates often find themselves working alongside and advising management at the highest levels, and so it is crucial that individuals are articulate and self-confident.

Management consultants aim to provide independent advice to clients about management issues, typically identifying business problems to improve effectiveness and recommending and overseeing the implementation of solutions. Essentially consultancy is about trouble-shooting and resolving whatever those issues might be in order to achieve improved performance for the client’s business. This can involve the complete restructuring of a company, merger of two blue-chips, or the creation of a new dotcom. Indeed several of the leading consultancies now have their own venture capital and act as incubators for new dotcoms and businesses.

Work is almost exclusively project-driven, working in teams of up to fifteen, lasting any amount of time, from a couple of days, up to several years. It is mainly done onsite at the client’s headquarters, and can necessitate living out of a suitcase for significant periods (often abroad) and thus, a willingness to work away from home is virtually a prerequisite for any potential applicants. Nevertheless, there has been a recent trend for companies to adopt lifestyle policies, which make provision for flights home at weekends and can limit nights away from home.