The bulk of our Consultants come to us straight from an undergraduate program or are recent graduates transitioning to the consulting industry. We welcome all educational and work backgrounds. Some of our most successful people joined Monitor as Consultants with little business experience and majors ranging from English literature to chemistry.
Role and Responsibility
The day-to-day tasks and responsibilities of Consultants are as varied and diverse as Monitor’s clients and projects, but the work often boils down to this: finding, creating, and conveying the data a client needs to make strategic decisions. This might mean sizing a market, interviewing customers, or profiling competitors. It could also mean understanding client or external data and presenting an analysis of it to the case team. Regardless of the form it takes, the work of a Consultant is critical to informing the strategic advice we provide for our clients.
Consultants work closely with their experienced team members to conduct research, interpret results, and make recommendations for next steps. Their responsibilities often include:
- Interacting with case teams and clients at multiple levels
- Designing qualitative and quantitative research tools
- Managing and overseeing the primary research process
- Analyzing market and client data sets to create insight
- Creating presentations, workshop materials, and final reports
Your Development
The Consultant role at Monitor is most appropriate for undergraduates and non-MBA advanced degree holders entering the consulting industry for the first time. From increasing your knowledge of the business world to developing analytical and interpersonal skills, the program prepares you for a rich, diverse, and fulfilling career.
Your time as a Consultant is designed to be a foundation-building experience. One of the ways we help build that foundation is by exposing Consultants to the breadth of our expertise early on. We are also more directive about the types of projects you join in the beginning, to help you begin the process of discerning where your passions lie.
Your foundation as a Consultant also rests upon a core set of skills. Given the mix of backgrounds in the program, we invest heavily in equipping our Consultants with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. The training programs you’ll encounter during your time as a Consultant include:
As a firm, we are dedicated to the development of every employee. As individuals, we are committed to delivering on that promise. Your managers at Monitor—many of them former Consultants themselves—will be a great resource for feedback, mentorship, and career advice.
For an overview of our approach to training and development, click here.
What’s Next?
Consultants who perform well are given the opportunity to take on new responsibilities and, upon promotion, receive further professional development opportunities as Senior Consultants. Our meritocratic approach to promotion means your time frame for advancement is determined by the skills you demonstrate and the value you create for our clients—it’s customized to where you are in your career, not your entering class. Consultants can advance to Senior Consultant, and beyond, without pursuing an MBA.
Opportunities abound for those looking outside Monitor as well. Many of our undergraduate consultants do choose to pursue a graduate degree, typically an MBA at a top-tier business school. This year, Monitor will send consultants to such schools as Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government, INSEAD, Kellogg, London Business School, Stanford, Tuck, and Wharton to pursue their MBAs. Monitor actively invests in supporting our alumni who leave to pursue a graduate degree through our EXTEND training program, designed to help our departing alumni make the most of their graduate school experience. We frequently sponsor high-performing Consultants and Senior Consultants in their pursuit of an MBA—and other advanced degrees—should they return to the firm upon graduation. Those who opt for a different industry or job function often report that their time with us was invaluable in developing the analytical and interpersonal skills needed to succeed in today’s competitive business environment.