Consulting at LBS | London Business School

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Consulting at LBS

A number of our students join London Business School with consulting experience, and even more join the School with the ambition to pivot their careers towards a relevant consulting role. The sector is fast-paced, growing and lucrative, as global organisations look for the tools and insights to transform their businesses and thrive in challenging economic circumstances.

88,000

Management Consultants employed across the UK sector

MCA Annual Industry Report 2022

London's advantage

A cosmopolitan centre of trade, finance and culture in a time zone that overlaps with most world cities. Our neighbours include the world’s biggest businesses, most unusual start-ups and top consulting firms. Studying, interning and working in one of the world’s most vibrant cities will give you access to global businesses, recruiters and experiences that pave the way for your future success.

UK consulting industry revenues in 2021

MCA Annual Industry Report 2022

of the MBA2022 class pursued a consulting role upon graduation

of the MiM2022 class pursued a consulting role upon graduation

Tailor your learning experience and gain relevant exposure

London Projects

Experience first-hand the real benefit of our London location, home to major multinationals, tech start-ups, luxury and high fashion retail and NGOs – a dynamic city where you can apply your skills. Our innovative LondonCAP, LondonLAB and Business Challenge Week courses capitalise on our connections with the London business community.

Our London Projects courses enable Graduate Masters and MBA students to apply and integrate their learning with real-world impact. In groups, you’ll consult for London-based companies, working with clients to address a live strategic business problem and develop implementable solutions. Previous students have worked on projects with leading organisations such as the BBC, Nike, McLaren F1, the Football Association, AB InBev and the British Fashion Council.

Digital for Impact

Created during the pandemic, Digital for Impact connects London Business School students virtually with SMEs operating in emerging economies such as Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria. This cross-programme elective partners student groups with clients who need to innovate in order to remain competitive and contribute to the recovery of their local economies. Working remotely, you’ll support clients by generating tangible business recommendations for specific business challenges. With support from faculty, regional on-the-ground contacts, and our extensive alumni network, you’ll have the opportunity to harness the power of digital to have a profound impact.

Project Aasha

Aasha means “hope” in Hindi. A fitting name for an initiative where MiM, MAM and MFA students can bring hope and positive impact. These students collaborate with social entrepreneurs in India through impact consulting projects. Project Aasha is led and run by Graduate Masters students in partnership with Head Held High (HHH), an incubator for social changemakers who help households in rural India move out of poverty. This student-led initiative is run with the support of the Experiential Learning team and the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development.

Global Experiences

Be exposed to new perspectives and global connections. Our Global Experiences take you out of your comfort zone to examine different business approaches and cultures in international settings like Johannesburg, Paris and Lima.

Led by expert faculty, each Global Experience follows one of the following themes: Sustainability & Social Impact, Luxury, Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Strategy or Finance. You will spend an intensive, immersive week, gaining an in-depth view of a country’s business culture via company visits, expert panels, workshops and guest speakers. You’ll interact meaningfully with major corporations, micro-entrepreneurs, faculty, alumni and others in the LBS global community. Debate the risks of doing business in a frontier market, support a micro-entrepreneur with a business plan or help a tech start-up tackle a pressing business issue.

Student-led Learning

There are over 80+ clubs to be found at LBS, and between them over 1000+ initiatives are hosted annually. Two of the most active are the Consulting Club and The Impact Consulting Club.

The Consulting Club creates opportunities for students to engage in real life consulting projects and case competitions, provides interview support alongside the Career Centre, and coordinates a mentorship programme with LBS alumni.

The Impact Consulting Club is one of the fastest growing clubs at London Business School. Its mission is to provide opportunities for students to create genuine social impact through strategy consulting projects for non-profits and NGOs around the world. Notable events in their annual calendar include the IMPACTathon, Social Impact Week and Speaker Series.

We also collaborate with major recruiters on diversity initiatives. These top consulting firms work with our Women in Business, Out in Business, Black in Business and FLII (First generation, Low or Intermediate Income) clubs to promote opportunities such as the Belong@Bain and BCG Diversity Fellowship.

Electives and Internships

Electives are a key part of the learning experience across all of our Masters programmes. They allow you to tailor your learning across subject areas such as Economics, Management Science and Operations, Marketing, Organisational Behaviour and Strategy and Entrepreneurship. We have an extensive elective offering and recent courses on offer have included:

Managing Change
Crisis Leadership and Human Behaviour
Corporate Strategy
Managing Corporate Turnarounds
Strategies for Growth and Transformation
Advanced Business Analytics
Employee Engagement and Positive Psychology
Product Management

Many of our MBA students also use their summer break to undertake internships in roles or organisations that they are keen to pursue upon graduation.

"LondonCAP was a great experiential learning opportunity that I value today in my work as a consultant."

Madeline McCloughan, MBA2020

Consultant, BCG

Career Centre

Daniel Lay

Head of Consulting Careers at London Business School

Experience

“

Consulting careers at London Business School have always been a popular choice. You will see from the School’s employment reports that the 5-year average for total % of MBA students joining consulting firms is 39%, and 45% for Masters in Management students. In times of economic downturn as well as boom years, LBS remains a strong source of talent for internationally recognised consulting firms.

If you are keen to explore opportunities in consulting, then undertaking a masters degree at London Business School is a wise decision. We collaborate with all the major firms, all of whom specifically target LBS talent. The strength of these relationships puts LBS students at an advantage over others in what is a very competitive sector. By joining LBS, your opportunities to engage in networking and recruitment activities are second-to-none.

In 2021/22, we welcomed over 30 consulting companies to campus to host company presentations, skills workshops and coffee chats. In addition, we run an annual consulting careers fair that attracts ~30 additional organisations. As well as major recruiters such as McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Co., we also have strong relationships with a number of smaller, boutique firms. This allows our students the opportunity to broadly explore the sector and target recruiters that have a good fit with their profile and aspirations. Many will focus on the big brands but we ensure that you can meet with a variety of potential employers so you can decide who is right for you.

Naturally, consulting is a competitive sector to enter. Companies are looking for high-achieving applicants who exhibit a problem-solving mind-set, along with the ‘client ready’ skills required to perform in what is an extremely pressurised, client-facing career. The Career Centre at LBS invest a lot of time and energy in helping prepare students for applications and interviews. In addition, we receive an enormous amount of support from partner firms who run numerous workshops and provide networking opportunities to allow students to get all the insight they need on a particular firm.

Looking forward into 2023 and beyond, there is of course economic uncertainty; however, consulting firms recognise the need to continue hiring junior talent, even during such periods. Firms will become more focused on the business schools they target, and as such, London Business School will continue to be a partner of choice.

The recruitment cycle

London Business School is a target school for many of the major, global, consulting firms, and you’ll find that the company interactions start very early in the year. Once you join us, you can expect to start meeting leading consulting companies both on and off campus from mid-September onwards.

Many of the firms run structured, LBS-specific on-campus recruitment campaigns. This happens for full-time recruitment in the autumn term, whilst internship recruitment commences in the spring. Beyond this, there are many opportunities to engage in off-cycle recruitment. London Business School graduates go on to work for a myriad of consulting firms, both here in London and the UK, and internationally.

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Employment reports

Download our employment reports to explore the industries and destinations of our most recent graduates, along with typical salary levels and the types of companies our graduates have gone on to work at.

Read the MBA employment report

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Download the MiF employment report

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Download the MAM employment report

Download the MFA employment report

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Download the MiM/GMiM employment report

Employer insights

Why do you recruit from London Business School?

"LBS is a world-class business school that attracts some of the most talented people from around the world. As a global firm, LBS has been an important partner for us as we continue to grow as a firm."

Keith Bevans, Executive Vice President, Global Recruiting

Bain & Company