Differentiate Yourself to Be a More Attractive Candidate

With a stagnant economy, many consultants may opt to just weather the storm—and some MBAs may start making other plans. But there are some things those who are currently in the profession—and those who hope to be—can do now to position themselves for a better position down the road.

"The best thing to do is work your business school alumni network from years past, the second is to quietly build a relationship with a half dozen or so executive recruiting firms that are known to have a large practice in professional services," says Bob Damon, president, North America, of Korn/Ferry International.

Those new to the consulting world need to open their eyes—and ears, says Jonathan Phillips, founder of Magellan International. "The best thing you can do as an MBA, or a new person at McKinsey is not sit behind a cubicle and crunch numbers. It's to sit behind your cubicle, crunch numbers but get out and talk to the other partners. Engage with clients. Don't be intimidated to sit behind a desk in a client's office. Walk those halls. Get to know the other young people at the client site. Ask them what's going on."

Knowing as much as possible about their client industry is key for young consultants, he says. "You need to broaden yourself immediately. And I mean broaden yourself in terms of developing early trusted adviser skills. If you want you walk into a room full of really smart people in a particular industry, you better know what's going on in the industry."

Carla Edelston, senior associate director at Northwestern University's Kellogg Career Management Center, works with consulting-bound MBAs every day and advises students to say focused and hone those skills. They need a "strong analytical background," she says, adding that previous consulting experience and technical backgrounds like engineering are especially attractive to employers right now. And conformity is more likely to be rewarded in a shaky economy. "They're not going to take the nontraditional MBA candidates—[or] they're less likely to—who came from the Peace Corps or education or something much more random. They want more traditional business experience with strong evidence of analytics, either in the work they did or in their undergraduate degree."

Damon says taking on the right projects is essential. "I think that having experience helping develop a strategy that required a turnaround would be helpful experience for consultants to have given what's going to take place over the next couple years."

And if you want to be on the partner track, start taking every opportunity to demonstrate your skills. "Obviously taking on leadership roles in their firms would be helpful," he adds. —J.D.

The Hiring Freeze

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