6 Reasons Business Consulting Experience is Now More Important in the Workforce Than Ever
Why is business consulting experience important in the workforce?
To help understand why consulting is so crucial to our business world, we asked successful Eller alumni for their insights. From how we see areas of opportunity, to how we adapt, there are several reasons why we agree on how critical the business consulting experience is to our growing commercial ecosystem.
Here are six reasons our alumni gave for why having a consulting background is necessary:
- Proves Your Expertise in Seeing Areas of Opportunity
- Shows Your Skill With Problem-Solving
- Allows for Growth in Communication and Risk Identification
- Provides a Well-Rounded, Professional Foundation
- Widens Your Perspective and Ability to Ask Questions
- Teaches You to Be Adaptable
Proves Your Expertise in Seeing Areas of Opportunity
Consulting experience is important in the workforce, whether you are in-house or at an outside firm working with a client. Having a consulting background truly enables you to positively impact the entire business. By asking the right consultative questions across various departments and teams, you can gain deeper insight into many areas of opportunity that can be improved at an organization. Having consulting experience also gives you knowledge and expertise across different industries and sizes of organizations, which is an incredible asset to any company.
Elyse Flynn Meyer, BSBA Marketing ‘07, Owner & Founder of Prism Global Marketing Solutions
Shows Your Skill With Problem-Solving
The running joke is "what do consultants even do?" and no one can answer it. Responses usually range from “creating spreadsheets no one will use” to “putting out fires.” Business consulting really breaks down to solving genuine problems for real people. Businesses wouldn't need a consultant if everything ran smoothly, so you usually walk into a hot mess—and therein lies the fun. Having business consulting experience is important because it shows you can solve problems and that's exactly what businesses need.
Mariam Nikola, MS Management Information Systems ‘17, Scrum Master of equipifi
Allows for Growth in Communication and Risk Identification
Understanding the various functions of an organization is key to identifying risks and opportunities. Communicating with people within each function is vital for providing recommendations. Consulting allows you to practice with both and become knowledgeable in all facets of a business. Each department is unique, and consulting gives you the tools to peel away pain points and provide solutions, which go a long way in any role.
Cole Thompson, BSBA Finance & Entrepreneurship ‘14, Business Development Associate of Chicago Atlantic Group
Provides a Well-Rounded, Professional Foundation
Business consulting is important in the workforce because it presents a different opportunity with every project. Each project requires novel solutions and ideas. You have to be adaptable and be able to communicate with a wide variety of people. It's never a one-size-fits-all answer and will refine your problem-solving abilities. Business consulting provides a great professional foundation.
Samuel Suffecool, BSBA Management Information Systems & Operations Management ‘20, Business Consultant of Blue Yonder
Widens Your Perspective and Ability to Ask Questions
Business consulting experience is important in the workplace for many reasons. Above all else, it widens your perspective. It enables you to approach a problem from 2 to 3 viewpoints rather than a singular understanding. Business consulting experience builds more resilient and robust problem-solving skills. One of the best ways to become a leader in your industry is through business consulting experience, and every question you ask will cause a more well-rounded perspective.
Alex Alwin, BSBA Management Information Systems & Operations Management ‘18, Account Manager of Presidio Networked Solutions
Teaches You to Be Adaptable
Business consulting builds an extremely broad base of both hard and soft skills because of the constant change in the environment from business to business. Because no two businesses are precisely the same, it challenges you to think fast, find unique solutions, and constantly develop your thought process to adapt to each situation. You learn to think and lead both laterally and vertically.
Challen Waychoff III, MBA ‘22, Senior Business Consultant of International Services Inc
The Eller graduate experience comes in many forms, including five MBA programs, 12 specialized master’s degrees and many more options for concentrations, specializations, dual degrees and certificates.
