There are two things to remember about international consulting firms. First, they are as varied as different types of bread. There are engineering, economic, planning, architectural and a host of other types of firms offering specialized services, for example, energy planning, urban development, agriculture, transport planning, remote sensing, etc. While some of the larger firms in the U.S. may cover the whole range of consulting services, most firms consist of just a few experts in a narrow discipline. In fact, expertise is what consulting is about; anyone with detailed knowledge of a particular field or topic is a potential consultant.
Second, consulting firms for the most part do client research. That is, they provide individuals and services in response to what a client, such as the World Bank or the government of Bangladesh, already has determined to bethe requirements. As a result, consulting firms by and large are limited in whom they select to work on any given international assignments. A consulting firm may propose a specific individual, but in the final analysis staff selection is approved or vetoed by the client.
Overseas Experience: Catch 22
Individuals seeking entry-level positions with consulting firms are often told that they cannot work overseas until they have worked overseas. This variant of catch-22 has been faced by all of us who now work for international consulting firms, and somehow we managed to overcome it. Some of us went to work initially for the U.S. government or an international organization like UN, while others spent two years in the Peace Corps. Many had to spend time-two to three years-in the home office of a consulting firm working on proposals or doing backstopping work until an appropriate overseas opportunity presented itself.
Most people in consulting have advanced degrees, but employers are reluctant to send them on an overseas assignment until they have learned to apply their theoretical knowledge of, say, economic development to the firm's projects. Most consultants serve an apprenticeship of at least two to three years before they are considered qualified to work overseas in a position of responsibility.
Qualifications
Many entry-level opportunities in international consulting are biased toward individuals with advanced degrees and foreign-language capabilities. A master's degree is almost always required by most firms now, even for entry-level employees, although experience can be substituted for a degree in some cases. Common fields of academic specialization include engineering, economics, planning, public administration, agriculture, sociology and anthropology. Since most consulting firms do not specialize regionally, language capability in French or Spanish is often felt to be more useful than, say, Thai or Urdu. In general, fluency in at least one foreign language is considered a requirement.
In screening and hiring, especially for entry-level positions, consulting firms, like any business, are looking for intelligent persons who possess good common sense, flexibility in the areas or countries they are willing to work in and an appreciation that they must serve time in the home office before being assigned overseas. Writing skills, quantitative skills and, increasingly, hands-on-computer experience are also basic requirements.
You should not consider international consulting firms if high starting salaries and 9-5 workdays are important factors. Starting salaries are typically low, and the work load, particularly in the field, can at times exceed 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. As you take on more responsibility, you will have to travel as well. Individuals generally choose careers with consulting firms because they believe their efforts can make a difference in the quality of life for people in developing countries, and they are interested in job variety and exposure to different cultures.
Unlike entry-level applicants, experienced professionals usually have an established track record in a fairly well-defined area of expertise. For such persons finding the right project may be more important than finding the right firm. Their salaries will be higher than those of entry-level persons and will normally be in line with what they earned in their previous job.
Entry-level consulting staff start as research assistants, collecting and interpreting data and working on teams with more-senior staff. Training programs for new personnel are rare. The next step up is research associate, who begins to do some traveling. Associates may take long-term overseas positions and, upon return, be promoted to senior staff and may own shares in the company. In general, the more senior the staff, the more client contacts they have and the more they are expected to bring in new business. More-senior staff oversee parts of projects and eventually entire projects.
Finding a Consulting Job
For either entry-level applicants or experienced professionals who are seeking opportunities with international consulting firms, the critical requirement is a good resume and a list of appropriate firms to contact. If you lack overseas experience, your resume must highlight academic courses and areas of interest. Your resume-or cover letter-should indicate that you have the ability to undertake a variety of assignments in order to gain the requisite experience for overseas work. For experienced professionals succinct summaries of past experience and areas of expertise are most important. Although you must be prepared for rejections, individuals interested in an overseas career with a consulting firm should not get discouraged. It is the nature of the business that staffing needs arise frequently and unpredictably as new projects emerge. The fact that there is no opening today does not mean that there may not be one tomorrow.
Professional women have overcome most of the barriers that previously existed to their employment overseas. Still, there are some countries, principally Arab countries, where opportunities for women are limited. Offsetting this limitation is an increased emphasis by development finance institutions on the need to address the role of women in developing countries, and hence more projects are being undertaken in areas that should favor the involvement of female professionals.
The demand for international consultants continues to grow in the Third World. However, opportunities in Asia and Latin America for outside consultants can be expected to decline as indigenous personnel become qualified and take over the work done previously by international consulting firms.
The life blood of any consulting firm is good people, both at entry-levels and at professional levels. Probably no other industry is so dependent for its reputation on the individual performance of its employees as is the consulting business.
