Consulting Companies Look for MBA Graduates with Technical Expertise

This article is sponsored by Imperial College Business School.

Learn more about its MBA programs.

A growing number of consulting companies are recruiting MBA graduates with specialist expertise in order to fill job vacancies, according to Mark Davies, Corporate Relations Manager at Imperial College Business School in London.

“The consulting companies range from top strategy houses, through full service firms and the Big Four, right down to boutiques,” says Davies. 

Clients are demanding functional or sector experts who can add real value in addition to the generic consulting skills and frameworks, he claims.

“People with deep exposure to industries such as pharma and oil and gas are in more demand than ever. MBA graduates can combine this sector knowledge with the understanding of how business works and consulting tools which an MBA brings, giving them an advantage in the job market.

“The appeal of starting your career in consulting after the MBA is that you apply your new knowledge immediately and can make a career change more quickly than in other industries.”        

Carlos Vitoria, 30, an Imperial MBA graduate in 2013 with a civil engineering background, says: “The program’s so diverse – in terms of gender, age, nationalities, religions, political signs, first degrees and working experience  – it’s difficult to identify a group that you could call ‘the core’.

“We had a number of classmates that did not come from finance or consulting industries – from a university lecturer to several entrepreneurs, an architect, a couple of lawyers, a few people with strong technical IT background, a mechanical engineer coming straight from an oil rig, and so on.”

An MBA to fulfill career potential

Carlos (pictured right) identifies his father-in-law as his greatest inspiration, describing him as a “very successful entrepreneur with humble origins – a sharp, self-made man and an example of rectitude, honesty and uprightness”.

Following in these footsteps, Carlos wanted to pursue a career with strong managerial and strategic focus but realized “something was missing” in his education in order to fulfill his career potential.

“I had gaps that might have prevented me achieving my career potential and objectives. That is when I decided to do an MBA,” he says. “I see the MBA as an enabler to progress my career further and faster.

“I wanted an MBA in a major English-speaking country and I’d heard of Imperial College from several colleagues at work. They all remarked on the excellent quality of teaching, students, facilities and the amazing location,” he adds.

London business school: location, location, location

“An MBA is like real estate, it’s all about location, location, location,” says Carlos. “Being in London opened so many doors, such as the speakers that came to Imperial, the number and quality of events you can attend, London business networking and the jobs and recruiters you have access to.”

Away from the world of London business and consulting companies, Carlos cites the Palace of Westminster as his favorite London landmark, describing it as a “tribute to democracy – magnificent and truly inspiring as an example of the wonders humans can create when working together”.

Having lived in London for just 20 months, he reveals his ongoing passion for exploring the historic capital: “I am still discovering the city, which is probably my favorite thing about this place.”

MBA advice

Carlos claims the Imperial MBA provided him with exposure to “complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty”, and the program teaches the best approaches and tools to navigate these issues.

“Very few questions during the MBA had one unique answer,” he adds. “There was a joke in the MBA, that you can answer all the questions during the year with just two words: ‘It depends’.”

For Carlos, one sentence from his MBA resonates more than any other: ’At the end of the day, it is all about people.’

“Being a civil engineer, a profession that puts so much emphasis in more tangible and quantitative aspects, this sentence and the MBA helped me to realize and understand the relevance of the human and behavioral dimensions in doing business,” he explains.

MBA graduates for consulting companies’ job vacancies

Job vacancies with consulting companies are on the up – consultancy divisions among the Big Four have been growing in double digits for a few years, according to Carlos. “They are covering more and more industries, meaning that people with ‘industry experience’ plus business and management acumen such as MBA graduates are in demand to fill job vacancies.”

He describes his Imperial MBA experience as “absolutely amazing”. “It was really intense and hard work, but it was worth the time and the last penny, since I got what I came for in terms of knowledge, contacts and career change.”

More than 90% of Imperial MBA graduates are employed within six months. Imperial MBA graduates also receive an average salary increase of 88%.

“I am now a Management Consultant at Deloitte and, in terms of base salary, I earn more or less twice what I used to,” he adds. 

This article is sponsored by Imperial College Business School.