Consultancy

Consultants provide organisations with independent advice and objective perspectives to help solve problems and improve performance. Consultancy is a large and diverse industry, with over 300,000 consulting firms in the UK offering services across a wide range of sectors and disciplines. This page provides an overview of consultancy careers, including the different types of consultancy, employers, entry routes, and useful resources.

What do management consultants do?

There are six main functional areas: Strategy Consulting, Management Consulting, Operations Consulting, HR Consulting, Financial Advisory and Technology Consulting, although the features 16 industry sectors, and 15 types of specialist work. The largest firms will offer services in all categories, whilst niche and boutique consultancies specialise in only one or a limited number of areas, for example, brand, education, economic, life-science, health, sustainability and technology.

Although consultancy is an industry comprised of a variety of firms and specialisms, many students at Oxford are drawn to the larger, more general firms, whereby the most sought-after have application success rates between 1-3%. When deciding which firms to apply to, consider not only the type and scope of their practice but also the size, culture and working style.

Competition for graduate entry-level roles is fierce and applying to a range of firms may increase your chances of success. The following questions can be useful to help you consider where within this broad sector you would like to work and have impact:

What type of clients would you like to work with? Large multinational corporations, SMEs, start-ups, public sector organisations, charities, or international organisations?
Is there a sector or industry that interests you? Technology, healthcare, marketing, sustainability, life sciences, etc? Are there industries where you already have knowledge or experience?

Sector information

Expand all

The main types of consultancy firms are:

Large, generalist firms

Large, generalist firms offer a wide range of services from strategy consulting and human resources to IT and outsourcing on a global basis. The biggest firms have grown out of audit firms or IT companies and include Accenture, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC.

Strategy Consultancy firms

Strategy Consultancy firms offer strategic advice to companies on a project-by-project basis. 'Strategy consulting' includes global firms (e.g. Bain, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Kearney, McKinsey, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger), strategy firms within the Big 4 firms (EY-Parthenon, Monitor Deloitte and Strategy& at PwC), and smaller strategy firms (e.g. Eden McCallum, Elixirr, Mars & Co, White Space Strategy).

Human Resource Consultancy firms

Human Resource Consultancy firms offer specialist HR advice on areas such as personnel policy, job evaluation and industrial relations, e.g. Korn Ferry, Mercer, Gallup and Willis Towers Watson.

TMT (Telecoms, Media and Technology) firms

TMT (Telecoms, Media and Technology) firms offer specialist advice on a range of areas, from defining information needs to implementing computer applications, e.g. Accenture, Altman Solon, Capgemini, IBM Business Consulting, Infosys, PA Consulting.

Financial Consultancy firms

Financial Consultancy firms offer specialist advice in areas such as private equity, M&A or investment markets (e.g. CIL Management Consultants, NMG Consulting) or the installation of budgetary control systems for office reorganisation and administrative arrangements, e.g. advisory groups within the Big 4 accountancy firms, CapCo and more. Economic consultancy firms: evaluate, model and forecast market trends, and advise clients on the impact of government policy and regulatory issues, including in the fields of international development, e.g. Compass Lexecon, Oxera, NERA, RBB Economics

Niche - or boutique - firms

Niche - or boutique - firms have a specific area of expertise in a specific industry or sector.

Across the sector there are outstanding ’boutique firms’ (typically fewer than 250 employees) gaining recognition for expertise and excellence in many different areas.

The Financial Times’ annual survey of the UK's Leading Management Consultants recognises smaller, boutique firms wining ‘gold medals’ in their fields for the quality and value of the services delivered to clients. Examples of boutique consulting firms hiring graduates include CMG Consulting (focused on change management and technology-led change) and White Space Strategy (an Oxford based consulting firm focused on growth strategies).

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) also recognise the quality among boutique firms. 50% of finalists shortlisted for the 2025 Management Consultancies Association Annual Awards were SMEs. Since 2024, the MCA has annually Awarded the ‘Best New Consultancy’ award, celebrating consulting firms which have been operating for fewer than 7 years.

How to find boutique firms

Searching the Management Consultancies Association and Consultancy.UK directory by industry or service line.

Boutique firms also advertise throughout the year on CareerConnect and attend the Finance and Management Consultancy Fair.

Careers offers exclusive consulting opportunities with boutique firms through the Micro-internship and Summer Internship Programmes.

Example Specialisms

Brand: firms work with organisations to strategically define, articulate, and strengthen their brand ensuring it succeeds in competitive markets. The role sits at the intersection of strategy, business problem solving and creativity. It includes responsibilities such as conducting research, analysing customer and market insights, and developing strategic recommendations that shape brand positioning, messaging, and identity. This involves working closely with senior stakeholders, designers, and marketing teams to build impactful brands. It is ideal for analytically and strategically minded individuals who are also creative and excel at storytelling. Work is fast-paced, project-based and varied. Example organisations include Lippincott, Brandpie, FutureBrand, Accenture Song, Landor and Brand Opus.

Economic: firms generally hire students studying economics and are particularly interested in masters and DPhil candidates who combine a strong foundation in economic theory with good research and analytical skills. For some positions, knowledge of Stata, R, Python or Excel can be helpful. Projects may include analysing market share, pricing and potential consumer harm relating to large corporate mergers, modelling the economic effects of new infrastructure and using economic models to guide clients expanding into emerging markets. There are Oxford based firms such as Oxera (also in London and Europe). Specialist firms include Cornerstone Research, Frontier Economics, NERA, RBB Economics. Larger firms with a strong economic consulting practice include FTI Consulting and Charles River Associates.

Education: firms may work with education providers to design and develop curriculum and new strategies. Alternatively, freelance consultants may deliver training to organisations to help cultivate talent. International based consultancies may work with families and pupils to advise students through admissions processes. Strategy consultancies may provide strategic advice to education institutions, sometimes partnering with foundations or international charities. Projects could include transformation programmes, funding strategies, and overcoming educational disruptions. You can read examples of education-related consultancy projects on McKinsey’s education and BCG’s education pages. Examples of specialist firms include SUMS Consulting, which delivers projects around strategy and transformation, and Optimus Education, which supports clients with reviews of safeguarding, curriculum, pupil premium, school culture, leadership and SEND.

Energy: this is a growing area and a number of firms do not require specific degree disciplines or experience for their graduate programmes. Read the Energy sector page and consider your interests in the global energy transition and renewables sector. Learn more about example energy consulting graduate schemes such as those offered by Aurora Energy Research and EON. The latter has its own in-house consulting team, ECON, of around 115 consultants, involved in key projects and strategy challenges.

Health and life sciences: healthcare consultancies may provide expertise to healthcare organisations to improve services and efficiencies whilst reducing cost. This could involve digital transformation across a range of areas including programme and project management, data, analytics, communication and engagement. Life science clients are typically pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic and healthcare technology companies. Projects may include the development and launch of medicines and technology whilst navigating complex regulations. Roles exist across global and specialist firms, and NHS consultancy teams. Example firms include ClearView Healthcare Partners, Carnall Farrar, IQVIA and Trinity.

Technology: firms specialise in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, digital transformation and data science and consultants will often possess deep technical expertise. Clients have growing concerns around cyber security, particularly after high profile attacks on organisations like Co-op and Jaguar Land Rover. Market growth of the cyber security consulting market is predicted to double in 2025/26. The fast-paced change in AI has also led to a surge in demand. Example firms include Kubrick Group, Infinity Works (part of Accenture), Netcompany and Equal Experts.

Larger vs smaller firms

A large firm might offer a broader range of opportunities in terms of projects, team size, and location however this is not always the case, and in some instances, new recruits may be constrained to one area for some time. Smaller firms will perhaps have more localised opportunities and a more specific field of expertise. New recruits are usually involved in a broader range of tasks in each project and may get to work closely with senior consultants from the start. It is common to move between smaller and larger firms and vice versa, and for consultants to later join a client they have worked with.

Dynamic and fast-paced

Students may consider a career in consulting because of the fast-paced nature of the work and the variety of projects they will work on. There is scope to gain experience quickly across a wide range of sectors and organisations. Graduates may work with high-profile clients and interact with staff at all levels, including senior management. Consultants also frequently mention that working with intelligent and dynamic colleagues in high-performance teams is a significant benefit of this sector.

Chartered Management Consultant status

Since the Chartered Management Consultant (ChMC) award was formally launched in 2021, a growing number of individual consultants are seeking Chartered status, and leading firms, including EY, KPMG, PwC and IBM Consulting, have signed up to get their in-house training programmes accredited. Smaller firms have also adopted the accreditation, including Alba Partners, Cadence Innova, Clarity and Mason Advisory. There is recognition that it can give consultants a competitive edge. While the ChMC is not currently compulsory, it is likely to become increasingly important as clients look for ways to differentiate firms and individuals in a crowded market.

Renumeration

Remuneration can vary enormously depending on the size of the practice, the level and experience of the applicant, the location and so on. However, new entrants can earn anything between £28,000-£45,000 – often rising to over £60,000 within a few years. For those who choose to stay in consultancy long enough to become a partner (the estimate is about 1 in 10), the pay can be expected to rise to six figures, and the senior partners can earn a seven-figure salary.

Lifestyle

You can expect to work long hours and spend a lot of time working on the client’s site. Travel can be extensive within the UK and abroad. At the start of your career, expect to spend a lot of your time on research, Excel analysis and modelling and building presentation decks rather than strategising with the CEO in the Board Room.

AI

Traditional consulting firms, whether pure strategy houses or large multi-functional groups, are implementing AI to take on much of the raw analysis work. It’s early days and firms seem to be still evaluating how much analyst capacity is needed, so entry-level graduate hiring is stalling in places.

According to the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Member Survey 2025, 66% of members are planning significant internal investments in AI over the next two years.

The top consulting trend identified by Consultancy.uk for the latter half of 2025 onwards is AI and data-driven transformation, whilst also noting that many consultancies are expanding into AI ethics and governance. Recent cyber security threats will also likely increase client demand for data, technology and cyber security expertise and advice. For boutique firms and start-ups, this may bring an opportunity to specialise whereas larger firms may need to invest considerably to adapt.

The emerging power of AI to produce foundational analyses for any consulting assignment, e.g. a strategic review, an operational improvement programme, or a product evaluation, is also available to the client organisations themselves at low/no cost. We may see organisations start to manage their “consulting” programmes in-house, avoiding high fees and developing in-house capability by people who know the businesses and who will stay to implement recommendations.

Hiring

For many consultancy firms, the years during the pandemic led to a rise in demand for advisory services. However, since the “pandemic boom”, recent years have presented challenges. Many clients have reduced their budgets for external services (often bringing those services in-house), and have greater expectations placed on value for money. Geopolitical and economic uncertainty has also made it harder for consultancies to secure work from clients.

In a challenging market environment, it’s likely that competition for graduate entry-level roles will be even more fierce than in the past. With comprehensive research, relevant work experience and diligent preparation for applications and interviews/assessment centres, you can increase your chances of securing a job in the sector.

There are plenty of careers beyond consulting which involve problem-solving, working with clients, building and maintaining strong stakeholder relationships and business development. Given the competitive nature of the consulting job market, it is certainly worth exploring. Remember, many professionals enter consultancy after building up their skills and experience from other industries.

Graduate schemes in business and strategy

Management training programmes: consider other avenues to gain key business skills – such as rotational graduate schemes across supply chain management/operations, marketing, HR, finance, client management and customer service, such as the NHS Graduate Management Training Programme. Schemes in Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies (FMCGs) and the TMT sector (technology, media and telecomms), offer experience across a number of these key areas and, ultimately, these are the clients for consultants bidding for projects! There are lots of examples of these and many offer fast track progression into leadership opportunities, and/or international placements too, such as the Business Strategy Rotational Graduate programme at Sky, the Samsung Rotational graduate programme, the Management Trainee programme at Kraft Heinz and the Swire Management programme, with frequent job rotations and extensive training.

Strategy: roles exist internally in some ‘blue chip’ companies. Working as an internal consultant you might find yourself in a business, general management, procurement or other commercial team. Nearly all graduate schemes in commercial organisations with a rotational element or ‘leadership’ focus will require you to think strategically to grow their business. Websites such as TARGETjobs, Milkround and Bright Network may help your search. Read this FT article about in-house consulting which was written in 2015 but remains highly relevant.

Advertising: many advertising agencies and brand consultancies look for creative, strategic thinkers (job titles include ‘Account Planner’, ‘Account Manager’ or ‘Strategic Planner’), and a number of ad agencies often run graduate schemes e.g. Ogilvy, Karmarama (part of Accenture), Wunderman Thompson Catalyst Academy (18 month rotation in UK, German and the Netherlands). Read the Advertising careers sector page for more information about jobs and experience needed for a career in advertising.

HR: you could contribute to a company’s learning and development transformation, resourcing and recruitment strategies, performance management and recognition models. Prospects offers advice on top schemes in these areas, many of which are based in large businesses and well-known organisations, e.g. Nestlé and BAE Systems.

Industry experience

Consider gaining other industry experience before moving into a boutique consultancy or specialist area in a larger consulting firm - not all consultants have been hired straight from University. Who are the clients that ultimately support the top strategy firms? Read the case examples on consultancy websites and you’ll see everything from financial services to retail to healthcare.

Look at senior consultants' profiles on LinkedIn and talk to alumni to see where people have worked before and map your own career path, e.g. Financial Analyst at P&G and now Senior Consultant at BCG, Nokia trainee and now Consultant at McKinsey, Sustainability Officer at a university, and now Consultant at 3Keel.

To generate more graduate scheme ideas, visit Milkround‘s website and read the Guardian Top 300

Consultants work on projects in small teams. New entrants will usually work as analysts and be managed through each project by a ‘Job’ or ‘Engagement’ Manager (someone with two to three years' experience). A partner (around seven+ years' experience) will have overall responsibility for the project and client relationship.

Do your research

It is important to remember that each firm recruits differently, so creating a spreadsheet of the firms you are applying to, along with their deadlines, can be helpful to keep track of your applications. Check each website carefully and attend employer events.

Timelines

For full-time entry-level positions, firms will start accepting applications from the 1st of September or earlier, and deadlines can be in October.

Some firms, particularly the Big 4 professional service firms (EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC), assess applications as they are received, on a ‘rolling basis’. In this situation, it is a good idea to apply early as positions may fill before the final deadline is even reached – especially for the most popular locations, such as capital cities.
Some firms keep their application process open all year round. However, as with ‘rolling recruitment’, the most popular roles (such as strategy roles) and locations (London & New York) will fill first, so it is advisable to apply early.

Smaller firms may sometimes respond to a speculative approach so this can be worth trying, particularly if you have a strong interest in their niche or a good lead into the organisation.

Selection process

A typical selection process may consist of:

Written application (CV and cover letter and/or application form)
Online tests (for many but not all firms)
First interview(s) via telephone, video and/or in person
Case study interview(s) – possibly three or more at an assessment event – so practice is essential!
Assessment centre (which may include case studies, behaviour/fit interviews, virtual reality exercises, group tasks, written tests, presentations etc)

Refer to the Job Search and Applications advice to underpin your preparation. In addition, Careers runs workshops to help you. Browse the term planner and look for:

The Finance and Management Consulting Career Fair
Information and panel sessions, e.g Introduction to Consulting
Skill and case study sessions
Company-led events targeting Oxford students, usually listed on the events calendar on CareerConnect or run in collaboration with student societies.

Case Interviews

Start with our Case Study Interview Advice. It is particularly important to practice out loud with an audience so that you become comfortable working through cases in front of someone else. Connect with others who have some experience and those who are also preparing to interview.

Using AI in applications

While firms and their clients continue to invest in AI and digital technology, they expect you to use AI ethically and appropriately. Research by LexisNexis found that 80% of management consultants are using Gen AI-based tools in their daily tasks. But before you are tempted to do the same in the application process, we advise that you:

Check the stance of companies you are targeting. Many have published their policies on AI on their websites or you can ask them.
No firm is the same. Some firms strictly prohibit the use of AI in applications and others may allow you to use it to help explain concepts or frameworks as part of your preparation.
Remember that firms hire individuals with good communication skills – have faith in your own skills.

Keep in mind that recruitment teams want you to be honest and authentic in your applications and it is difficult to achieve that if you use AI to draft your answers. In using AI, you risk sounding generic and uninteresting.

Read our Use of AI in Job Applications & Assessments webpage for further guidance. We also recommend that you read the University’s position around AI in teaching and assessment.

Skills needed

The typical skills that consultancy firms look for are:

A high level of academic achievement; usually, a 2:1 is the minimum requirement
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, the capacity to work effectively in teams and to build relationships
Numeracy, you need to be comfortable with numbers, mental arithmetic and statistical analysis – but note that a numerate background/degree subject is not necessary
Leadership, often displayed through extra-curriculars
Analytical problem-solving and quantitative skills
Ability to both think in a logical, structured way and be open to new interpretations
Creativity to generate ideas and options and an entrepreneurial business sense
Drive and motivation for the sector
Commercial awareness and business acumen

Getting experience

Insight into Consulting

Careers has launched a pathway which offers term-by-term resources, activities and events on careers in consulting, all in one place. You can work at your own pace and in any order. It tracks your progress, helping you make sure that you haven’t missed any of the essential information or ways to build your knowledge of the sector. Read more about the pathway, with highlights included below:

Events (open to all students, alumni and researchers at Oxford)

Introduction to careers in consulting (Michaelmas term)
Realities of being a consultant and panel event (Hilary term)
Employer led sessions including case study sessions throughout the year
Careers Fair

Client consulting challenge (application required, matriculated students only)

Taking place at the end of Trinity term, this client challenge will provide students the opportunity to learn key consulting concepts and frameworks. Students will then implement their learning with a team of fellow-student consultants to advise a real client on their business challenge.

Consulting internships

Although internships are becoming more common in the sector, it is certainly not essential for securing a graduate consulting role. Compared to some sectors, the number of ‘work experience’ opportunities and insight programmes is low compared to the overall number of full-time positions. If you are looking for paid work experience with consulting firms, you need to be well organised and understand each company’s recruitment timeline: expect to be making applications for internships during Michaelmas term, although some firms will have deadlines that fall in late January/early February.

Business and client (or customer) experience

Because consulting is a very wide field, you can broaden your experience in many ways, and experience in any field can be beneficial - especially if it has a commercial or client and stakeholder element. Micro-internships, longer-term work experience, leadership roles in student societies, volunteering and Oxford employability programmes all offer valuable and relevant personal development opportunities.

Societies

There are many relevant student-led societies at Oxford. As well as company events and training opportunities, many societies undertake consultancy-type projects for external firms and organisations, providing more hands-on consulting experience. Societies include:

CapitOx
Enactus
Oxford Consulting Initiative
Oxford Development Consulting
180 degrees (social enterprises and non-profits consulting)
Oxford Guild
Six Degrees (sustainability)
Oxford Strategy Group (OSG) and OSG (Digital)

Virtual experience

You may also consider undertaking a ‘virtual internship’ posted by leading companies in law, consulting and finance on The Forage. These are free, short (6-8 hours), virtual programmes that allow students to develop skills and test their interest in the industry.

Extra-curriculars

In addition to work experience, firms will be interested in extra-curricular activities where you have taken a position of responsibility, developed your leadership style or demonstrated the teamwork and communication skills needed for consulting. Perhaps you could improve a society’s marketing strategy, streamline a process or find a way to make a profit?

Stay up to date

Keep abreast of current events and their commercial impact through the business pages of newspapers like The Financial Times and The Economist. Oxford University has a subscription to the Financial Times Online, which is available to staff and students with an Oxford University email address.