Assisting corporate executives with their toughest
decisions may not seem the most obvious career move for someone who
has just finished or is in the process of finishing a science Ph.D.
But many consultancies hire Ph.D.s to join multidisciplinary teams
to do exactly that, and new Ph.D.s are often thrilled to work in
such a novel and exciting environment, in which facts and analysis
play an important role.
If solving problems, using your analytical skills, exploring
unknown territory, and learning while you are working appeals to
you more than the science itself, management consultancy might be a
good choice for you. Here, we address a number of questions you
might have to help you decide whether you would like to become a
management consultant.
Solving a corporate problem is not much different from solving a
scientific problem.
What do management consultants do?
Management consultants help company managers deal with issues
and problems that arise within their businesses.
Of course, companies have internal resources to address their
problems. But corporate executives may decide that a certain issue
calls for a team of external, independent problem solvers working
full-time. (See box for an example.) Typically, consultancies send
in a small team of consultants to address the issue, supported by
partners and expertise from the company. Usually, the team includes
a leader responsible for running the daily operation, senior team
members with several years of experience, and some younger team
members, such as freshly minted Ph.D.s, who are learning on the
job.
Solving a corporate problem is not much different from solving a
scientific problem. It requires data, a thorough analysis of the
data, and a synthesis leading to the best possible solution.
Finally, the solution has to be reported in such a way that the
audience accepts the message and is willing and able to implement
it. Those challenges are familiar to most scientists fresh from
Ph.D. programs.
There is one big difference: time. Time is money in the
corporate world, particularly for the types of problems that
management consultants are usually asked to solve. So it is
essential to find the best possible solution within a given time
frame, rather than a completely correct "scientific" answer.
Do consultancies hire many Ph.D.s as management
consultants?
Having a Ph.D. is not a prerequisite to joining a consultancy,
but quite a few management consultants do have a Ph.D. track. For
example, the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey and Co. both have
special entry levels for Ph.D.s.Martin Danoesastro of the Boston
Consulting Group reports to us that 12% of its worldwide staff have
Ph.D.s. McKinsey and Co. has similar numbers: According to Teun
Hermsen, director of personnel at McKinsey, the company's Amsterdam
office hires three to five Ph.D.s every year.
Why hire you?
Because your Ph.D. research topic is probably of little value to
a consultancy, you might wonder why they are willing to hire you or
another science Ph.D. with similarly irrelevant graduate
experience. "Problem solving is a key asset that Ph.D.s have. Not
just the analytical skills but also the ability to structure a
problem top-down makes Ph.D.s well-suited for a consultancy
career," says Hermsen. Danoesastro adds, "To have the ability to
work independently and come to the heart of the problem is truly
helpful to do a good job as a consultant."
What skills do you need to develop to become a
management consultant?
Your analytical and quantitative skills are probably adequate.
But if like most science Ph.D.s you lack an economic or business
background, you may have to catch up on those skills. "They have to
acquire a business sense and learn to focus on the most important
issues," says Hermsen.
In addition, providing the best possible answer in a limited
time frame is new to many Ph.D.s, Danoesastro says, so Ph.D.
scientists may "have to learn to be somewhat pragmatic."
|
Your first assignment
Because management consultants deal with a variety of problems,
there are no "typical" assignments. But here's an example of the
type of assignment you might get as a new hire at a
consultancy:
The company HighTech is losing market share on its main product
because last year a competitor introduced a superior product. To
survive, your client needs to regain its market share by improving
the performance of its main product--its primary moneymaker. This
means expanding the company's research and development (R&D)
effort.
In addition to that, HighTech has a breakthrough technology in
the works, but it has to be launched in time for the 2009 holiday
sales. But the new product has big technology uncertainties, and
these, too, require a lot of R&D effort.
It is up to you and your team to analyze HighTech’s current
position, evaluate the major technology challenges, consider the
options, and decide whether and how to pull additional money from
the market (loans or stock issuance, for example) to finance these
options. You'd better hurry, because HighTech is losing money every
day and will be bankrupt by next spring if the recovery plan
doesn't succeed.
|
Is the "up or out"
system a threat to your career?
Top-tier consultancies generally have a fast career track; you
are expected to move up to the next role within 2 to 3 years. What
if you can’t, or don't want to, make the next step up? In that
case, most consultancies would advise you to look for opportunities
outside the company.
Is this something to worry about? Probably not. Most former
consultants say they learned a lot while on the fast track and
received good advice on how to move on in their careers and on what
to do next. "In the long run, you are better off learning fast and
moving on" when your progress slows, says one seasoned pro.
How can you learn more about management
consultancy?
Most consultancies organize business courses or master classes
for potential hires. In a program, typically lasting a few days,
you get to work on a real problem, supervised by consultants. It is
an excellent way to gain an appreciation of the thrill of the job
or to realize that it's just not your cup of tea.
How do consultancies select a new generation of
consultants?
Applying for a job at a management consultancy is not much
different from applying for a job anywhere else. Try approaching
someone in the company you know or someone one of your colleagues
or friends knows. Follow up with an application letter that states
your interest and willingness to work for the company. The initial
interviews, which usually are with recruiters, are likely to be
conventional interviews in which you talk about your skills, your
career history, and your ambitions and ask questions about the
company.
Your next round of interviews may include working on a case
study with one of the company's consultants. You receive
information about a particular problem and, with the help of the
interviewer, plan a problem-solving approach and try to crack the
problem on the spot. Interviewers are aware that you aren't an
expert, so they'll focus instead on general skills and the progress
you make on the case. Because this is quite different from a normal
interview, consider doing a practice case. Company Web sites often
provide examples of case studies. But "the best piece of advice I
can give candidates is to get a good night's sleep and be fresh,"
suggested one recruiter.
|
Patricia Gosling and Bart Noordam are the authors ofMastering
Your Ph.D.: Survival and Success in the Doctoral Years and
Beyond(
Springer, 2006 ). Gosling is a senior medical writer at
Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics in Germany and a freelance
science writer. Noordam is a professor of physics at the University
of Amsterdam , the Netherlands, and director of development and
engineering at ASML . He has
also worked for McKinsey and Co.
|
Comments, suggestions? Please send your feedback to our editor .
|
|
Image (top): courtesy, Springer Publishing
|
DOI: 10.1126/science.caredit.a0800077
|