Consulting Careers

Consultants are problem-solvers.

Consultants advise companies, nonprofits, and government agencies on how to solve their most important challenges. Consultants work with organizations in nearly all industries across functional areas, including health care, technology, energy and environment, consumer packaged goods, education, operations, marketing and sales, human resources, and more.

The critical thinking and analytic skills that students develop through their liberal arts education at Bowdoin make them adept problem-solvers, well suited for careers in consulting. In addition, Bowdoin’s focus on honing skills of persuasive writing, presentation, and teamwork ensures that students develop the tools needed to effectively communicate recommendations to colleagues and clients in consulting.

Sample Career Paths

Management and strategy: Consultants help organizations boost their performance, anticipate risks and opportunities, expand their reach into new markets, and increase profits. This requires closely examining an organization’s core strategy, operations, and structure and developing actionable plans for improvement. Bowdoin graduates have joined firms such as Accenture Strategy, McKinsey & Company, Booz Allen Hamilton, Kaiser Associates, The Beacon Group, Huron, and Vista Consulting Group.

Health care: Consultants tackle similar problems as general management and strategy consultants, but with a focus on the unique challenges and considerations faced by clients in the health care industry, specifically pharmaceutical, medical device, and insurance firms or healthcare providers. Demonstrating a genuine interest in the health care industry is key to successfully pursuing this career path. Employers including Artisan Healthcare Consulting, Putnam Associates, Trinity Partners, ClearView Healthcare Partners, and bioStrategies Group have recently recruited Bowdoin graduates.

Economic: Consultants play a key role in high-profile legal cases involving Fortune 500 corporations and governments. They produce research and analysis on complex financial or economic aspects of litigation, such as antitrust, securities, intellectual property damages, and general commercial damages, providing their clients with expert testimony to be leveraged in court. Bowdoin graduates work at economic consulting firms including The Analysis Group, Cornerstone Research, and Compass Lexecon.

Executive Search/Knowledge Search: Executive search consultants (informally called headhunters) find and recruit highly qualified candidates for senior-level and executive jobs for their clients. They perform research to identify suitable candidates, contact potential candidates to gauge interest, carry out preliminary screenings, assist with compensation negotiations, and prepare employment contracts. Knowledge search consultants connect business decision-makers to industry experts who may provide market insights, industry expertise, and execution support. Bowdoin alum work at companies including Dinte Executive Search, Russell Reynolds Associates, Isaacson, Miller, and AlphaSights.

Do Well in School

A strong GPA is often an important differentiator in the consulting hiring process.

Pursue Leadership Roles and Transferrable Internships

Consulting firms screen for students who have demonstrated a track record of leading initiatives that have driven impactful change. Quality is much more important than quantity. Leadership roles are readily available at Bowdoin, including involvement with clubs, volunteering, residential life, internships, sports, campus/summer jobs, etc.

In addition, candidates who have shown an ability to perform data-driven, problem solving in a business or professional environment often have an advantage. Aside from consulting internships, interning at a brand name company in sales, marketing, operations, strategy or finance, can set a candidate apart. Gaining industry or function-specific experience is also valuable when pursuing related consulting paths (e.g. healthcare, education, technology, recruiting).

Prepare for Case Interviews

Many consulting firms utilize “case interviews” to gauge a candidate’s natural affinity for the work. The case interview format is new to most Bowdoin students but can be mastered with research and practice.

Bowdoin students are offered free access to several resources that can assist with preparing for case interviews:

Vault Guides: The “Vault Guide to the Case Interview” and “Vault Case Interview Practice Guide 2” outline skills assessed during a case interview, case strategies, frameworks and concepts, and numerous practice case examples. In addition, the “Vault Career Guide to Consulting” and “The Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management & Strategy Consulting Firms” provide a comprehensive overview of the industry.
Crack the Case Workshop: The Bowdoin Consulting Group and the CXD collaborate each year to offer a full day case interview prep workshop led by a former management consultant from MBACase.
Mock Case Interview Week: Each year, Bowdoin alum working in consulting volunteer to lead interested students through one-on-one mock case interviews, and provide individualized feedback.

Attend Employer Information Sessions

Each year, Bowdoin welcomes numerous consulting companies to campus such as Kaiser Associates, Artisan Healthcare Consulting, Cornerstone Research, Putnam Associates, and the Beacon Group. Students are encouraged to participate in employer information sessions as early as the first year to learn about the career path, and to connect with alumni and recruiters.

Network Proactively

Every Bowdoin student benefits from the expertise and generosity of the Bowdoin network to learn about and succeed in landing jobs that interest them. Over 200 alumni have volunteered to serve as contacts on the Bowdoin Alumni in Consulting Contact List. Students interested in consulting are encouraged to leverage this list, as well as other resources, to build connections in the industry.