Stepping into Consulting at BITS Pilani: A Beginner's Guide
When you first step foot into BITS Pilani, many students find themselves drawn to consulting. It's like discovering a buffet of opportunities – you're eager but unsure where to start. Most of us chose engineering as a "practical choice," not for a love of circuit analysis. Consulting, however, is a mix of problem-solving, strategy, and presentations – demanding yet rewarding. Don’t worry! This article will guide you through BITS' resources, essential skills, and tips for starting your journey in consulting.
Let’s begin with everyone’s first question.
What exactly is consulting ?
Consulting is about helping clients do things better, differently and to achieve their objectives. Consultants provide an objective perspective to problems which at many times businesses lack. This career is perfect for someone who gets a thrill from problem-solving, thinking outside the box and is ready to go that extra mile.
In theory, a consultant can work in any sector, but over the past few decades, consulting has become almost synonymous with business advisory. This type of consulting mainly focuses on business strategy, management, organization, operational processes, and technology.
When most people talk about consulting, they're usually referring to management consulting. This field includes giving business advice on topics like corporate strategy, product development, marketing, IT, and operational improvement.
These top firms get over 200,000 applications every year, but only about 1.5% of applicants end up landing a job at BCG, McKinsey, or Bain.
Why Consulting Firms Matter ?
Consulting firms base their existence on a few key factors.
First, they possess a 'knowledge advantage' – expertise that their clients lack. Companies hire consultants to tackle problems requiring specialized knowledge.
Second, consulting firms offer an independent, objective perspective, providing solutions to organizational challenges.
Additionally, hiring consultants can be more cost-effective than recruiting in-house experts. Often, organizations simply don't have the capacity to manage their change initiatives, so they turn to external consultants.
Professionals in this field are known as ‘consultants’ or ‘advisors,’ with titles reflecting their specific expertise, like strategy consultant, healthcare consultant, or procurement consultant.
Fields of expertise
The consulting industry consists of six main functional areas: Strategy Consulting, Management Consulting, Operations Consulting, HR Consulting, Financial Advisory and IT Consulting. In total, these six advisory areas combine with other service areas to create more than 200 different fields of expertise and propositions.
Strategy Consulting:
Strategy consulting involves helping organizations define their long-term vision and strategic direction. Consultants in this field analyze market trends, competitive landscapes, and internal capabilities to recommend high-level strategies for achieving sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
Management Consulting:
Management consulting focuses on improving organizational performance through the analysis of existing business problems and the development of improvement plans.
Operations Consulting:
Consultants in this area work on optimizing supply chains, streamlining manufacturing processes, improving operational workflows, and reducing costs to increase productivity and operational performance.
HR Consulting:
Their work includes developing talent management strategies, designing compensation and benefits programs, improving recruitment processes, and implementing HR technologies to support organizational goals.
Financial Advisory:
They provide expert advice on financial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, risk management, tax strategies, and financial planning. Consultants help organizations make informed decisions to optimize their financial health and achieve fiscal objectives.
IT Consulting:
They focus on leveraging technology to improve business performance. Consultants in this domain assess and implement IT systems, develop digital transformation strategies, and ensure cybersecurity to align technology with business goals.
Different Tiers of Consulting firms
Tier 1 (MBB) consulting firms are the most prestigious and well-established consulting firms in the industry. Some examples of tier one consulting firms include McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Bain & Company.
Tier 2 consulting firms are also reputable consulting firms but may not have the same global recognition or brand reputation as tier one firms. They operate in a highly competitive market and offer a range of consulting services to clients. Examples of tier two consulting firms include firms like Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman, and Kearney.
Tier 3 firms are generally smaller or more specialized consulting firms. They may focus on specific industries, niches, or regions. Examples include ZEB, Simon Kucher and Horvath.
How much Consultants earn ?
The average salary for Consultant is ₹14,50,000 per year in India. Entry-level positions start at ₹ 408,750 per year, while most experienced workers make up to ₹ 3,206,923 per year. Entry level positions in MBB usually pay around Rs 15-25 lakhs.
Why join consulting?
For the money :
Consulting is one of the highest paying jobs that someone from an undergraduate college can get into. Base salaries at top tier firms for entry level positions might range from 15-25 lakhs.
For the exposure and connections:
Consultants get to directly work with top management of various companies, giving them an opportunity to make good connections in the industry. The work they do has a very steep learning curve, giving them direct exposure to numerous fields over a very short period of time.
For the lavish lifestyle:
Consultants usually get to travel a lot, staying at the best hotels with all costs covered by their clients. These perks come with the downside of being overworked most of the time.
For the exit options:
Having a 2-3 year experience in consulting opens doors for many high-paying jobs such as Investment banking, Private Equity etc.
A lot of consultants also prefer to go for an MBA and the chances of you getting into a top B-school increase by a lot if you are from a MBB firm.
What can you do to pursue a career in consulting?
Usually what Consulting firms look for is spikes in your resume. These could be academic achievements, extra curricular activities, leadership positions etc.
Creating a good resume is extremely important for pursuing a career in consulting, make sure you strictly follow a format and clearly mention “what you did” i.e what your role in the project was. Usually the STAR(Situation, task, action, result) method is followed for creating resumes.
Grades do matter to these types of employers, especially the top consulting firms. An 8+ CGPA is ideal.
Start making connections with people who are working for those organizations, beginning with alumni from college. Develop a relationship with them when you start and follow up with them regularly. Try getting connections from alums on LinkedIn.
Soft skills like leadership, communication, and teamwork are coveted by consulting firms, and you need to show these to the recruiters.
Several clubs such as BITS Pilani Consulting Club (BPCC), SHARE, IFSA, 180 DC align the student towards a consulting career. Also, having a POR in different clubs matters a lot to recruiters and helps in building your resume/CV.
The application process mostly consists of Resume shortlisting and Case Interviews.
To prepare for Case interviews you can refer to slides made by Placement Unit Consulting Committee, SRCC Case Compendium, Case Interviews Cracked Book and Youtube channel , Aditya Agarwal on Youtube , Crafting cases, BITSoM casebook , IIM Ahmedabad Casebook