Transitioning from Industry to Consulting

Industry to Consulting - Moving from an industry position into consulting is usually a rather difficult transition. The culture and organizational aspects of the consulting profession are unique and definitely require an adjustment period, varying in length, for individuals coming straight out of industry. For many, the adjustment period exceeds the expectations of either the individual or the hiring firm, and early termination, either voluntary or involuntary, frequently results. Accordingly, the track record for such hires reflects a much higher than normal attrition rate and consulting firms are very aware of this high turnover rate for industry hires.

Given the generally poor track record for industry hires, consulting firms are very wary of hires who have had no previous external management consulting experience.

So what are the cultural and organizational characteristics of the consulting profession that require such an adjustment for industry veterans? The following are some of the factors most commonly mentioned as reasons industry hires terminate employment at consulting firms earlier than normal:

- Significant Monday through Friday business travel

- Inability to adjust to the matrix structure of consulting firms (multiple "bosses", unclear lines of authority, fluid organizational dynamics)

- No fixed office or "place to call 'home' ". Much or most of the work is performed at client sites- The feeling of loss of control over your work schedule

- Inability to adjust to the "billable hours" culture, where all of your time and expenses must be recorded and accounted for

- Inability to adjust to the "virtual teams" culture where you are continually working with new and different colleagues

- Inability to adjust to the very high expectations for learning new things and being put into situations where you have the feeling of being "over your head"

- Inability, particularly at more experienced levels, to adjust to not only doing and managing the work required, but also contributing effectively to new business development

There are, however, success stories for individuals transitioning from industry into a position at a consulting firm. The following factors, when present for an individual, tend to help facilitate a smoother than normal transition. The more of these factors that are present for an individual, the higher the likelihood of a smoother transition from industry into consulting:

- Length of career in industry - only position has been relatively short

- Accustomed to extensive business travel and have effectively structured your personal life to accommodate extensive travel

- Accustomed to project-oriented work, where you are continuously moving on to new things, working with virtual teams, and working under time and expense budget pressures

- Experience in an internal consulting role in industry or part of a formal internal consulting group or practice are at a company (more common in Fortune 500 companies)- Experience is making group presentations to senior management, facilitating "workshops," making external technical presentations, and leading training efforts

- Recent attainment of an MBA from a well-respected university and MBA program- Superior communications skills

If after consideration of all of the above, you STRONGLY believe that you can effectively make the transition from industry to consulting, I would definitely encourage you to go for it. The better prepared you are to give evidence of your ability to overcome the adjustment factors noted above for transitioning from Industry to consulting, the better your chances of mitigating the common concerns held by consulting firms.

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