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Management consulting is a great option for people who are truly passionate about business and want to help organisations reach their objectives. It is a very exciting job where you can enjoy the security of working for a firm or the autonomy of working as your own person. It is a rather competitive field, however, and it’s not for everyone. You’ll first need to put in the work necessary to get your credentials and be ready for the challenges new consultants with limited experience have to face. Here’s how you can become a management consultant in five steps.
Learn the Skills Needed
The first thing you have to do before you think of entering the management consulting field is look at yourself and see if you have the skills needed to be a consultant in the first place. One of the most important skills for a management consultant is creative thinking. Anyone can give generic management advice, and this is not what businesses hire consultants for. They are looking for people who can come up with creative ways to solve their problems. You may have to find more effective ways to complete tasks or solutions for problems you or the company you’re working with has never faced before. This demands a certain level of creative and mental flexibility that only a few people possess.
Consultants need great communication skills and great people skills in general. They also need to be able to explain complex subjects to complete laymen. Patience will be very important too as you may have to repeat certain concepts again and again until the people you work with understand them. All great consultants have great organisation skills as well and are great at multitasking. They also have good leadership skills. This is what allows them to direct discussions and command the attention of large groups of people.
