Impact Consulting
How to leverage your time in consulting to maximize your chances of making a difference
Working at a consulting firm is a great opportunity to explore many different sectors and types of work without sacrificing job stability. In practice, most consultants work at a firm for two to three years and use their experience as a launchpad into something different. Even if you plan to stay longer, it’s likely that the greatest opportunities to have an impact in the world will come after you leave consulting.
We think it’s best to take a page from Stephen Covey and “begin with the end in mind." Before you accept an offer – or even earlier – try to consider your time in consulting as a career capital phase where the main values come from building skills, relationships, and business context that will serve you for the rest of your career. To make the most of your time in consulting, we recommend exploring what types of work you’d be excited to do post-consulting.
At Consultants for Impact, we’re here to provide the tools, connections, and healthy peer pressure to enable you to have an impact now and into the future. We can support you in starting initiatives, building skills, finding mentors, and increasing your knowledge on topics that matter to you. Our members support one another in staying true to our values, steering clear of lifestyle pitfalls and burnout, and continually pursuing personal growth.
Once you know what you want to do after consulting, selecting the right experiences, skills, and relationships to prioritize becomes straightforward.
Here's our advice on how to best optimize your experience in consulting:
Often, the fastest way to meet smart, values-driven, and ambitious colleagues is to launch an initiative and ask others to join. You may soon find yourself swimming in offers for coffee chats, collaborations, or project invites. The more value-aligned your initiative is, the more likely it is to draw support from colleagues who share your passion for impact.
At its core, consulting is a business model based on people. Firms compete to hire individuals from a wide-range of backgrounds who are smart, flexible, thoughtful, and hard workers: MBAs, but also scientists, entrepreneurs, authors, and community leaders.
This creates an especially ripe environment for finding friends, role models, and managers who can prove valuable allies and collaborators throughout your career.
Don’t miss the chance to build relationships! Getting to know your colleagues can lead to life-changing friendships or mentorships.
We recommend:
- Ask for direct feedback
- Build informal mentorship relationships with senior colleagues
- Support your peers
- Seek out inspiring managers
If you’re looking for some inspiration on which skills to prioritize developing, with an eye for your next step professionally, look no further.
McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and 7+ other firms have active CFI-affiliated workplace groups where colleagues launch initiatives, get feedback on their career plans, and build lasting relationships. Members report that these groups can feel like an oasis in hectic environments that aren’t always value-aligned, and that they frequently meet future hires or project collaborators. If your firm doesn’t have a workplace group yet, we can help you get started.
”Consultants for Impact will show you what options exist that you hadn't considered before and open the door to fantastic new relationships."
"It is very difficult to balance a demanding work schedule and volunteering commitments while trying to be strategic about having a positive impact on the world but Consultants for Impact has been instrumental to my motivation and continued level of engagement.”
“I estimate my new career path has multiplied my personal impact over 1,000X – and I wouldn’t have done it without Consultants for Impact.”
“Possibly one of the best assets of Consultants for Impact is their newsletter. I frequently explore ideas and opportunities presented in them to expand my professional outlook."
"Consultants for Impact is a fantastic source of high-impact career introductions and information. It’s truly a community of altruistic and bright people that accompany and motivate you to achieve high impact in your career and life."
"I am impressed by the continuous nature of the relationships I developed through Consultants for Impact. These connections have legs beyond a first meeting, with continuous communication over months and even years."
Our career advisors are former consultants who have worked 1:1 with over 500 consultants to clarify and achieve their goals.
We are here to help you stay true to your values and connect you with the resources to unlock your career’s potential!
