Management Consultancy
Research careers and find opportunities in management consultancy.
About
A career in management consultancy can offer you variety, with the chance to work with a range of clients on different projects.
Today’s UK consulting industry is worth around £14.4 billion and contributes significantly to the UK economy.
The Management Consultancies Association reports that the UK exported £1.56 billion in consulting services in 2022 (rising from £4.2 billion in 2021) due to global demand. There was also a 35% increase in the number of graduates hired in 2022.
Consultancy is a popular option for graduates, so opportunities are competitive.
Roles, skills and salaries
There are no specific degree subjects required for a career in consultancy. Some employers prefer a degree related to business, economics or finance. Most employers will recruit graduates with a minimum of a 2:1.
Many graduates enter management consultancy through a graduate training scheme. It is common to start your career as an 'analyst' before moving on to a consultancy role once you have gained some experience.
It is likely that you will need to travel frequently to spend time on client sites.
Job profiles
Have a look at Prospects and targetjobs to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:
Salaries
Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can be high. According to Prospects, recent graduates could earn between £25,000 and £33,500. With a few years experience, this could increase to £50,000.
To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources:
- our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
- job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
- vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn
For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.
Inspiration from people working in the industry
- browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
- use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started, or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
- attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
- sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
- attend events, including recruitment events and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions
Online reviews
Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.
Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:
- RateMyPlacement placement year reviews written by students
- The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
- Glassdoor – company reviews from employees
Not sure what you want to do?
If you’re not sure exactly what you want to do, we can help. You can book a guidance appointment via MyCareer. Our careers consultants can help you explore your options or plan your career.
Career guides
Read career guides for this sector, such as:
- targetjobs: Management consulting, including What does a graduate consultant do? and The skills consulting recruiters are looking for
- Bright Network has a career path guide to consulting. This includes articles on different types of consulting and leading graduate employers
- Climb in Consulting is a series of podcasts which include advice on how to get into consulting. It also offers insights into a range of consultancy firms
- Guide to jobs in innovation
Industry news
Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews.
Examples include:
- Management Consultancies Association
- Financial Time's Special Report on the UK's leading management consultants
- Consultancy UK
- Top-consultant.com
- Consulting Magazine provides news on the industry in the US
Attend events
Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry.
Many large employers and the professional bodies in this sector run events and other opportunities, for example:
- PwC run a programme of events for undergraduates and graduates
- Accenture list recruitment events on their website
See also our events, including our recruitment events and employer & sector insights.
Student societies
Student societies are a way to make connections and share information. Some societies organise invite guest speakers to talk about their careers.
You could consider joining the Consulting Society.
Social media
Use social media to find industry insights
Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.
Find out more about how to use social media for your career.
Professional bodies
Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network
Professional bodies often:
- run networking events
- have specialist groups you could join
- post vacancies on behalf of their members
- have member directories, useful for speculative applications
Key organisations include:
- Management Consultancies Association
- Institute of Consulting
- International Council of Management Consultancy Institutes – national management consulting institutes
Finding professional bodies worldwide
GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.
Guide to finding opportunities
Getting into management consultancy is extremely competitive.
Relevant work experience will help you show your motivation for working in this sector. It will also help you to develop the skills employers are looking for.
There are various ways to find internships, placements and graduate opportunities. We’ve added some tips below to help you get started.
- search for advertised vacancies using the vacancy sites listed below
- look at the careers sections on company websites for student and graduate opportunities. Use Researching Employers to help you gain insights into companies
- attend events such as recruitment fairs and employer and sector insights
- contact employers speculatively. See non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs to help you find organisations to approach
- follow companies on social media for latest news and updates
- consider registering with a recruitment agency for graduate jobs
- register with EmployAbility if you are disabled, neurodivergent or have a mental health condition. They can offer advice and support on applications to Newcastle students. They also run first year, internship and graduate programmes with inclusive employer partners
- ask family and friends if they have any useful contacts who may be able to offer you work experience
- consider alternative ways to find relevant experience and develop your skills
- create your own opportunity by starting your own business or working freelance
When to apply
Applications for internships with larger consultancies generally open around August. Closing dates are as early as October and November. The majority of advertised internships are aimed at penultimate year students.
Some of the larger consultancies such as McKinsey, Accenture and EY offer insight days. These give you an insight into consulting and working for their organisation. These are often for first year students. Opportunities are usually advertised on their websites..
Smaller consultancies often don’t advertise opportunities. You may need to contact them with a speculative approach. You should do this early, as it can be competitive. See Non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs below, to help you search for consultancies.
Search for internships and placement years
Use the following resources to get started:
- MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
- Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites
- Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad
- targetjobs
- Prospects
- Bright Network – internships and placements
- RateMyPlacement
- Consultancy.UK
Individual consultancies will advertise internships on their own website. Use the resources in Non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs below to identify consultancies.
NCL internships
The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage and are a great way to develop relevant skills.
Search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box.
You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.
Worldwide experience
Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily.
Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:
- additional vacancy websites
- CV, application and interview advice
- advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world
Looking for ideas
If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory.
You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years.
To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.
Advertised Graduate opportunities
Competition is strong, particularly for entry-level positions. Vacancies aimed at graduates are often advertised as ‘analyst’ roles.
Employers will look for applicants with strong academic results (typically a 2.1 or above), work experience and relevant skills.
Bright Network have a guide on how to succeed in consulting applications. It includes typical interview questions and how to stand out to employers.
When to apply
The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.
For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible. Closing dates are usually early, around November to January.
A smaller number of consultancies will recruit for graduate jobs all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.
Vacancy sites
Use the following resources to get started:
- MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
- Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites
- targetjobs
- Milkround
- Prospects
- Consultancy.uk
- Bright Network
- Guardian Jobs - see also jobs in innovation
- Glassdoor
Worldwide vacancy sites
See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites.
Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:
- additional vacancy websites
- CV, application and interview advice
- advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world
Non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs
Not all internships, placements and graduate jobs are advertised. In fact, many people create opportunities through:
- networking and making contacts
- developing their own business ideas
A speculative approach is common for finding work experience and graduate jobs. This is where you approach a company directly to ask if they have any opportunities available.
How to access hidden opportunities
Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:
- Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.
- Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.
- Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
- If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!
How to find organisations
- find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
- use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
- search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
- browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
North East organisations
A high proportion of consultancy roles are London-based. Some of the larger firms have regional offices in cities such as Newcastle, eg KPMG, PwC, Accenture and Oliver Wyman
You can also try the following business directories to search for consultancies in the North East:
UK organisations
- targetjobs - search employers by sector
- Management Consultancies Association (MCA) – directory of members
- Consultancy.uk
- The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers - pick up a free hard copy in the Careers Service
- Financial Times: UK's Leading Management Consultants
- Board of Innovation: Top Innovation Consulting Firms
- LinkedIn: Alumni tool - see where Newcastle graduates are working across the world, for inspiration
Worldwide organisations
Search GoinGlobal’s employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.
Specialist recruitment agencies
Vacancies are advertised through recruitment agencies, though many are for experienced applicants. Examples include Mindbench, Ascent and Prism
See recruitment agencies to find more agencies. Contact them to see if they handle vacancies suitable for new graduates.
Finding overseas recruitment agencies
GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings:
- staffing agencies and temporary help firms
- executive recruiters and search firms
Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them.
Other ways to gain relevant experience
We've added some suggestions to help you develop your skills and gain relevant experience.
- complete a free virtual internship. For example, with Forage, you can filter by career interest to find virtual internships in consulting
- sign up for free online courses to develop new skills, such as FutureLearn courses in project management
- attend events and network to make contacts and connections
- enter business competitions to gain exposure to relevant companies. For example Wazoku & Jisc’s innovation challenges
- become an active member of a Students’ Union society or sports team, or volunteer. This can help you develop your team working, communication and problem-solving skills
Work for yourself
Our START UP team can help you explore working for yourself at any stage. Whether you want to explore an idea or have already launched a business or freelance career, you can access the following help:
- support with idea generation
- provide tailored advice
- help you develop your skills
- introduce you to like-minded peers
- refer you to further support from mentors
- award grant funding up to £3,000