HiI have been working within the advertising industry for the past 5 1/2 years as a media planner but am getting increasingly frustrated. I'm therefore considering a change of career to management consultancy, but I'm not sure how to go about it.What level would I join at? Do you need specific qualifications? etc.Any thoughts much appreciated.

Hi Tony, It hard to say what level you should come in. It may help if you were to devulge more info about you. Qualifications for a start. Off the top of my head, id prob say you would come in just above around late analyst level. This may be a conservative guess but again it will depend on the type, level and quality of the specific experience you have.

thanksunfortunately, advertising does not necessitate the sitting of professional exams, so my qualifications are limited to a 2.1 from oxford (modern languages).the good thing about advertising is that it exposes you to a variety of businesses and sectors, as well as solving a host of marketing problems and helping businesses to improve their performance.are there some consultancies that are more likely to take on experienced professionals? would it be useful to gain a qualification before applying? if so, any suggestions?

Welcome to the world of qualifications! Aren’t you lean? Aren’t you six sigma? Aren’t you acca? I was thinking to do the city and guild qualification so I can prove I can use word and excel, and as I am a foreigner I should also take an English language exam (maybe Toefl?) to demonstrate I speak English. Advertising? Are you a creative or what? Sorry, no chance for you in the world of qualifications, clients have to pay for something, what do you think?

Tony, I would seriously disregard the comments of Jackie. To say you have no chance is total rubbish, a diminished one maybe, but still a chance at that. 2:1 from Oxford is better than what a majority of graduate analysts in consulting have, so thats a goos start. (Im assuming you mean Oxford not Oxford Brookes!!). As i said before, because of the type of your experience, you may be looking at starting lower down the ladder, perhaps even analyst level. If you are good and join the right organisation that doesnt have a glass ceiling (spelling?) then you should/will progrss in know time. Why not try Deloitte, PA, CGEY. I know PA have a strategy and marketing practice. Dont be fooled, its not that similar to advertising, but perhaps you may be suited. Best of luck

Sorry Anon, but Oxford Brookes was the best polytechnic of its day, and a damn sight harder to get into than most of the Universities at the time. Me? I went to a northern polytechnic, but am now a senior manager at a big 4 consultancy. Academic institutions do not count for everything - see the Harvard post below on this forum.

many thanksis it worth investing in any sort of qualification before applying?also, is it best to apply directly or go via a recruitment consultant? if a recruitment consultant, have you got any names?cheerstony

I think the only qualification that would be 100% useful would be an MBA otherwise most consultancies are far more interested in experience rather than qualifications. In terms of using recruitment consultants or direct approaches, I would recommend doing a bit of both. Use recruitment consultants upfront as they will give a good insight into the state of play in the job market and also give good advice about how you should pitch yourself (look on the recruitment pages on this site for names, BLT & Woodhurst would be a good start though). With this insight, then think about some direct approaches. But before any of this use your own network. I am sure as an Oxford graduate you must know at least a few people in consulting - you really cannot beat personal contacts for both advice and leads in the job market.

Depends on the type of consultancy you want to go into, but it's probably not worth going for a qualification at this stage (unless, say, you are keen on something like public sector project management, where it could be a big plus), unless you go the MBA route. Direct approaches are nice (not least as it saves us quite some cash if we hire you!), but the recruitment consultants should be able to give you a good steer on the types of firms and roles that might work for you. They *should* also be able to guide you with crafting your CV, but don't bank on it. As to names, just look on the front page of this site - those are the active ones (for general management consultancy at least). HTH

Please dont get in such a stew. I am sure everyone would recognise that Brookes is probably the best of the former polys. But surely you recognise that if you are trying to get into consulting a degree from Oxford will go far further than a degree from Oxford Brookes. And you are right, academic instutions do not count for everything, but they can meen your CV gets put in the interview pile rather than the rejection pile.

Oh come on! Fair enough if you got a managerial level role without a decent degree, but a proper Oxford college has more credibility. I'd rather someone didn't have a degree than a third rate one. Then you would not know whether they simply decided not to go.

Thank you for jumping in there before my response. You out it nicely. No offence to A and anybody who went to Oxford Brookes, but as you put it, with no experience, a degree from Oxford (whatever subject) is alot more credible than one from Oxford Brookes. For those who disagree, that is your opinion, but in te real world most firms would opt for an OXBRIDGE grad over an Oxford Brookes, not to say that students at Ox brookes are not as bright. Quite the contrary, but as my twin Anon stated, it could be the difference between 'have a closer look' pile and 'shred this please' pile. Best of luck

Likewise, am looking to change careers from Engineering to Pgm Management. Although I think I'm being overlooked for a couple of reasons i) I don't have a "traditional" consulting CV and ii) My degree is from an ex-poly, which although was the top rated course in the country at the time due to it's links with industry and personnel involved I think is being passed over because of the stigma attached with it.Personally, I've booked on the upcoming recruitment fair to speak directly with some firms and find out where I'd stand and if it is worth investing in some training/courses, talking to the firms first hand rather than chucking in a CV seems like the most logical approach to me.