Have you ever wondered how businesses excel in what they do? Whereas management consultants solve problems that they find within the company, strategy consultants provide strategic advice on specific topics in order to accomplish and sustain a company’s future success. Essentially, strategic consulting is a subset of management consulting that focuses on not merely overcoming problems but achieving prosperity. We have partnered up with EY to help you establish your career’s success in consulting!
Check out our short guide in strategic consulting below to determine whether the role is fit for your entry-level career path:
Career Requirements
In order to become a strategic consultant, there are several key requirements that you must qualify for:
- People skills. You surround yourself with people who rely on you to make improvements to their work. You must establish good communication and understanding between you and your clients.
- Problem-solving skills. You must be able to recognize a problem, define it and analyze it before even taking action to resolve it. You should know how to identify problems that are not easily traceable or acknowledged by the company itself.
- Time management skills. As a consultant, you are required to set objectives within a specific time frame and work around to achieving them by then.
Experience
While experience can be a primary factor in acquiring a consulting position, it is not always a defining one. With international and multilingual recruitment on the rise, experience is not always the determining factor to getting a job. EY Czechia acknowledges that you are only just starting your career and offers a consultant strategy & transactions position without requiring any prior work experience in the field.
Consultant Case Study at EY
Ian, a second-year graduate consultant at EY, describes his experience working as a consultant and highlights 3 top skills that he learned in the field:
- Networking: open doors to future opportunities.
- Relationship management: maintain good relations between himself and clients as well as himself and his colleagues.
- Helping out: assist busy peers and be acknowledged for his efforts.
Excelling as a Strategic Consultant
It goes without saying that, in order to help one's business and brand excel, you must, in turn, be the best advisor you can be. Consultants at EY highlight the importance of delivering high value. And, it is through seeking ways to best help your client perform exceptionally well. Hence, look out for three key aspects that make for a good strategic consultant:
- Maintain a Good Client Relationship. Communication is key in this job position. You must aim to develop a good partnership with the company you are consulting and establish trust.
- Pay Attention to Detail. Listen attentively to your client and be mindful of problems that aren’t transparent. Be rigorous when you identify problems and solutions for the betterment of the company.
- Ask Good Questions. Your attention to detail will prevail by positing the right questions that will help you trace the right path to your client’s success.
