How to become a management consultant?

Not every business runs like a well-oiled machine. Do you want to help organizations streamline processes and eliminate inefficiencies? As a management consultant, you can.

Learn how to become a management consultant, and explore business administration courses on edX today.

What is management consulting?

Management consulting is a field that involves assessing and streamlining management processes within an organization to identify excess costs. Sometimes also called management analysts, workers in this field help businesses increase revenue.

What does a management consultant do?

Management consultants review an organization's processes to eliminate inefficiency and cut costs. These roles are often held by independent contractors who provide an outside perspective to help businesses become more efficient. They may also specialize in a particular industry, like manufacturing, healthcare, or public and nonprofit organizations.

Areas of focus for management consultants

Management consultants work across industries, using data collection, analytics, and reporting to inform their suggestions. Their main goal is to improve a business's revenue by eliminating excess spending, redundancies, and inefficiencies.

Their strategies may include:

• Eliminating redundancies
• Exploring alternative suppliers and technology
• Rerouting bottlenecked processes
• Streamlining workflow systems
• Collecting and interpreting crucial key performance indicators (KPIs)

Key skills

• Data analytics: Review data for insights into where a business can improve.
• Communication: Share results and strategies with your clients.
• Statistics: Understand statistics to review and interpret data.
• Problem-solving: Create solutions that address workplace problems.
• Accounting: Assess financials to identify ways to reduce costs.
• Management: Use management tactics that encourage employees to improve productivity.

Most common tasks

As a management consultant, your duties may include:

• Interviewing employees for insights
• Observing daily processes
• Reviewing budgets and revenue
• Visualizing data to spot trends and communicate findings
• Brainstorming new strategies based on findings
• Helping employees implement new strategies
• Following up with former clients to assess effectiveness

Steps to become a management consultant

Step 1: Earn a bachelor's degree

Earning a bachelor's degree is a common first step for those looking to become management consultants. Undergraduate business programs can help professionals build the skills required for a successful consulting career. Relevant bachelor's degree programs may include:

• Business management
• Entrepreneurship
• Accounting
• Finance

However, don't forget to assess your career goals when determining which bachelor's degree to pursue. While a business degree may make more sense for business positions, you may want a more specialized degree for industry-specific management analyst roles.

For example, if you're interested in becoming a healthcare management consultant, a management degree in health and social services could best suit your goals.

Step 2: Gain experience

During your degree program, seek opportunities to gain experience as a management consultant. You might start with an internship at a consulting firm before advancing into a full-time role as a management analyst. If you plan to get a professional certification later on, you will need proven experience with clients to qualify.

Many management consultants begin their careers in separate but related fields. If you have experience managing successful teams in a specific industry, you may become a management consultant for businesses in that industry.

Additionally, many firms and independent consultants offer full-service management analysis. Therefore, you may work with other types of specialized analysts to suggest improvements to each aspect of a business.

Step 3: Apply for a professional certification

Although a professional certification is not required to become a management consultant, it can bolster your credibility and offer networking and educational opportunities. Provided by the Institute of Management Consultants USA (IMC USA), the Certified Management Consultant (CMC) distinction aligns with the requirements of the International Institute of Management Consultants, making it globally recognized.

The CMC credential requires three years of continuous, full-time work as a management consultant. Depending on your certification track, you may also need to take oral and written ethics and consulting technique exams. Basic applicants must take all of the exams.

Pick your track

IMC USA offers three credential tracks for certification, all based on your experience level:

• Basic: This is the first CMC credential stage. Incoming Basic CMC applicants must take all oral and written exams, provide five client references, and have 3–9 years of full-time experience as a management consultant.
• Experienced Consultant: Professionals seeking this certification must have over 10 years of experience in management consulting. Their applications may have fewer requirements.
• Management: The final certification stage is for management consultants with over 20 years of experience.

You may also explore continuing education as you gain experience in the field. With business courses on edX, you can discover new opportunities to help clients eliminate unnecessary costs and inefficiencies in their organizations.

Get started on edX

Start your management consulting career by exploring online management programs. On edX, you can earn a degree, gain new skills, and network with like-minded professionals.