The email below is one that has been in my Inbox for more than seven months now. I’ve looked at this reader’s message many times over the past few months, but the email was too long for me to want to tackle it any of those times. For some reason, I took a look at it again today and figured that I might as well knock this one out to get it over with. As you can see, this email is not only long but it also asks me hella questions, both of which are no-no’s that I’ve stated several times on here. I did my best to give him a decent enough response, but I doubt I gave him all that he was looking for.

For other people thinking of emailing me, PLEASE take a second to think about how long it takes me to respond to these emails before you send them. A lot of people hit me up asking for my help and it just wouldn’t feel right for me to spend forever and a day responding to one person’s dissertation of an email while others are also waiting to hear from me.

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HA wrote:

“Hi Marquis,

Well, I have begun to read your blog and catching up with Management Consulting think-tank. I really admire your artifacts and understanding on the overall perspective of bringing up the details, issues, solutions and factual information. My background expertise does have certain similar features with yours since we both are coming from Technical background and hence I think you are the apt person to be in touch with, in order to clarify and seek your valuable suggestions towards considering Management / Technology Consulting as a viable career option.

Having seven plus years of technical experience driving as Software Engineer, Team Leader and LEAD Engineer pertaining to Embedded Systems Wireless Technologies as domain expertize dealing with multi-culture / multi-site assignments etc, now I feel I might be a good fit for Consulting positions and with much of hardwork, pain and efforts, I have been trying to make an entry into Consulting firms as a Generalist / Associate position, though coming from mid-career Engineering / IT Technical working Professional background (so, its a sort of career-transition here) without MBA degree.

I am fascinated by this very aspect of Consulting and I really want to get into it, making as full-fledged career. The main reason behind opting for Consulting at this point of my mid-career period is because that the very fact about the Industry, people, personality, opportunities, different market, creating impact, bringing values and recognition and personal growth. So far in my IT / Embedded Semiconductor Systems Career, I have worked in five companies ( approx one company every year ), with four companies being served abroad ( Taiwan, China, Singapore ). Would this mean anything to the Company Recruiters. Now, at this point of time, is it the right choice / path of applying for Associate position ? Kindly extend your suggestion on this.

With this, let me admit that I have no networking contacts / references from Consulting Industry and possess no idea about how to make an entry into this field (apart from submitting online resume etc), apart from coming across valuable and resourceful links such as yours.

So, please suggest your opinion towards the path of attaining solid management consulting career. Does without having MBA degree play less chances here ? How should I go about getting into this field, apart from applying online in firms ? Is it a wise decision to switch over from Technical to Management roles after several years of Technical experience ? …. Technically, in what ways could I reflect my IT / Embedded Systems Technical background experience with Management / Technology Consulting areas so that large organizations such as McKinsey, LEK, Monitor, PRTM, Boston Consulting Group and others could identify my potential thereby switching from pure Technical position to Management consulting position ?

Further, what do you think about the skill-sets and points that must be incorporated in resume to strengthen and made suitable in relation with Organization interests ? And what are the implementation specific skills I need to possess [ both in Technical & Personality-wise] before embarking from my present field to Consulting / Strategy / Operations field in companies such as the above mentioned ? With your permission, I wish to send my profile for your reference to review and appreciate if you could pin-point certain ‘good’ & ‘to-be-improved’ points.

I am aware of your busy schedules. I appreciate your time in responding to my above queries for which I greatly admire your thoughts and look forward to receive your favorable response.”

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My response:

HA,

I hope this message finds you doing well. I know it’s been months since you first emailed me, but this is the first time that I’ve had a chance to sit down and tackle your message. Actually, that’s not 100% true…I probably could have tackled it a while ago, but didn’t have the time or energy to do so for several reasons. OK, I’m going to try to say this as kindly as possible, but, as I read your email, I picked out three big items that made me not want to deal with it earlier:

1. You sent me a LONG email, which I’ve stated a distaste for many times on my blog. Long emails take a long time for me to read through and address. –> Not good 2. You sent me a LOT of questions in your email. My quick count yielded a total of nine questions through your email and they aren’t quick ones to answer either. –> Not good 3. Some of your questions are ones that I’ve answered in past blog entries, which left me wondering if you even took the time to read through my archives before emailing me. –> Not good

I’m bringing these points up to you because I want you to understand why there’s NO WAY that I’m going to be able to touch all of the points that you raised in your message. Of course, I COULD answer all of those questions, but do you know how long it would take for me to give the kind of detailed insights that it sounds like you’re seeking?…let’s just say that it’s a non-trivial task that WOULD NOT take a short amount of time. I respond to questions from my readers in my off-time as my way to help people and I just don’t have time to spend hours on these responses (as yours would likely require). Basically, I do this to be kind to folks who are seeking the sort of guidance that I sought and never received years ago. And, situations like this make me feel like that kindness is being taken advantage of, which isn’t good at all. Just wanted to give you some food for thought to start this off right…

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I’ll give you a few pieces of advice that you might find helpful as you approach your desired transition from a hands-on career in Technology to a career in Management Consulting:

- Deciding whether this transition is right for you –> It sounds like you already know for sure that you want to move into Consulting, but I’d advise you to think deeply about whether this is the right move for you. You’ve already got several years in the Tech industry and, as such, I assume that you’ve progressed upward into a position with some sort of tenure and authority. When people in your position make a mid-career switch, they often have to enter their new industry at a lower level than they had in the industry that they’re leaving. Some folks are fine with that and others aren’t so cool with it…Take some time to determine which of these groups you fall into and then proceed from there.

- Preparing to make this transition –> You’ve already taken a good first step by applying to a few firms online, but I’d guess that there are a lot of potential career switchers taking the same approach to move into Consulting. A few other things you can do are to join some industry associations, network with people from your undergraduate institution who are in Consulting, and doing some pro-bono/volunteer consulting work for local businesses or non-profits (to gain experience that you can mention in your resume). Also, moving from your current hands-on technical role within Technology into an internal strategy/consulting role would be a good way to build strategy expertise that you can leverage when applying to Management Consulting firms.

- Do all you can to learn about business in general –> Your Tech background would give you some fantastic domain expertise, but, if you want to get into a Consulting firm, you’ll have to get through the case interview process, which will likely require basic understanding of business. If you have that basic understanding, then you could be in good shape. If not, you might want to start seeking resources to build that knowledge, including business-related magazines, books, TV/news telecasts, podcasts, and other online-sourced tools. Industry expertise is a good thing for you to have, but it can only get you to a certain point in the process.

- Consider pursuing a graduate degree of some kind –> I’m not sure if you have a grad degree already, but, if you don’t, it might be worth considering one. I only bring this up because it’s MUCH easier to make a mid-career transition following the completion of a grad program. It isn’t necessary to go into grad school to move into Consulting and I know several people who’ve done it outside of the campus recruiting process, but recruiting on campus makes things SO MUCH easier. If you need more info on that, feel free to check some of my archived entries for my past writings on that topic.

I have a feeling that my response above did not go into as much depth as you were seeking, but, as I stated earlier, you just asked too many questions and presented too much for me to read for me to have given you any more of a reply than I did. It just wouldn’t be fair for me to spend all afternoon fully addressing everything that you asked. I hope that you found some sort of insights from what I wrote above to guide your next steps in your career journey.

In the future, when you reach out to people for advice or assistance, you really should take the time to think about how much you ask of the person. If you’re thoughtful about that at the front end, you might be able to establish a sort of “mentor-to-mentee” relationship that would allow you to ask many questions over time. If you try to front-load everything like you did here, you could leave the person feeling like you just want to use him or her up, which might not only make the person not want to answer everything you’ve asked but also not want to entertain any questions you might have afterward…seriously, this is the sort of thing that will be a BIG DEAL as you move forward in your career. Take care and good luck with making your transition to a career in Management Consulting.

Marquis