Why Should You Consider Moving to Management Consulting From Industry?

If you have over three years experience in consulting, you might have considered working within industry at some point (most likely while working until the crack of dawn for the 2nd time that week).

Having previously recruited within industry, for businesses ranging from FTSE 100 companies to SME’s for 5 years and focusing on consultancy, we have heard all the highs and lows and can reveal how it actually compares to consulting!

Culture

Every corporation I’ve recruited for states they have a great culture on their website, but in reality, that’s not true! I am not sure I would have a job otherwise... What I’ve noticed is that there’s a direct correlation between culture and profitability. When a company is operating on low margins, they try to squeeze everything they can out of staff and in return the culture suffers. This is why consulting is desirable, due to the culture vs work balance & compensation.

Brand

When working in industry, the brand significantly impacts your interest in the work, due to the potentially monotonous nature of the work, which isn’t the case with consulting. Boutique consultancies can still provide long-term interesting work, while within industry things can get stale pretty quickly!

Progression

When it comes to progression, nothing can top consulting; it really is a meritocratic environment. When interviewing within industry, be sure to see how large the teams are, check career progression on Linkedin vs what you’ve been told, and how long people stayed before moving to a rival business. 

Colleagues

One thing you might not have noticed is that consultants all seem to get along well with their colleagues. Typically they are all career-driven, incredibly motivated, have strong communication skills and are able to adapt to a variety of scenarios which reduces workplace friction. This isn’t always the case in industry, sometimes you find ‘Barry’ has been doing the same job for 20 years and won’t change unless you can prove he’s wrong, but is always too busy.

So, before you think industry is the answer to all your woes, feel free to get in touch and tell us what you're looking for to see if Ascent Professional Services have a consultancy that works for you! You can also view our latest management consultancy roles or submit your CV.