Management consultant : Employers and vacancy sources

Consultancy firms can be divided into the following areas:

• Generalist, which are the larger firms offering a wide range of services from strategy consulting and human resources to IT and outsourcing on a global basis. Many of these firms grew out of audit firms or IT companies.
• Strategy consultants, who offer strategic advice to companies on a project-by-project basis e.g. new market entry, long-range planning and rationalisation of goods/services.
• Human resource consultants who offer specialist HR advice, e.g. in organisational restructuring, talent and rewards strategies.
• Information technology consultancy firms, which offer specialist IT advice such as defining information needs, systems analysis and design, and applications consulting, which involves the implementation of large scale data software applications such as SAP and Oracle.
• Financial consultants, offering specialist advice including the installation of budgetary control systems, profit planning and capital and revenue budgeting.
• Outsourcing, management of outsourcing of projects such as IT, Finance and HR.
• Niche firms, the result of consultants leaving the larger firms and setting up their own consultancy firms in a particular sector or offering specialist service.

Consultants operate across a whole range of industries and sectors, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, media and telecommunications, utilities including gas and renewable energy providers, public sector and government, charities and educational institutions, retail, hospitality and leisure.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Inside Careers: Management Consultancy 
• Vault Guides - guide to top European consulting firms.
• Target Jobs - Management Consulting
• The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers
• Best Companies Guide
• Consulting Magazine
• Personnel Today
• Companies’ own websites.

There are also a number of recruitment agencies and useful websites for management consultancy jobs:

• BLT (Beament Leslie Thomas)
• Top Consultant
• Harvey Nash
• Hays
• Michael Page International
• Robert Walters
• Mindbench
• Management Consultancies Association (MCA)
• eFinancialCareers
• National newspapers e.g. The Times and The Guardian
• Your own university careers service vacancy listings.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.