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Business Analytics, Strategy and Consulting
The challenges of globalisation, new technology, evolving business trends and changes in regulation, have meant a rise in demand for consultancy and analyst services, particularly in the post-pandemic period. However,鈥痑ccording to Consultancy.uk, there has been a 3.4% contraction over the last year (to April 2025) leading to redundancies in some of the leading players including and .
Major consultancy firms include McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group as well as the big four (PwC, EY, KPMG & Deloitte). Other major consultancies include Accenture (tech-focused), Oliver Wyman, PA Consulting and OC & C Strategy Consultants among others. There are also lots of specialist and/or smaller consultants offering services to niche industries (e.g. Carnall Farrar – experts in healthcare). You might consider using the in the library to identify boutique consultancies by location and size.
A career as a business analyst or consultant can be intellectually challenging, lucrative, offer varied work and opportunities for travel both nationally and internationally. Work environments will vary between employers, but you are likely to be working long hours in a high-intensity environment at early career stage.
Recruitment is highly competitive, so you need to be knowledgeable about the sector and prepare well for selection assessments. These typically involve psychometric testing and case interviews (see links below), which are a key feature of most consulting recruitment. It is advisable to dedicate a good amount of time to research and prepare for these in advance, to increase your chances of success.
Search on Handshake for Introduction to Case Interview workshops which are run each term to support you. Other resources to look at include:
- – Secrets to a successful case-study interview
- - How to prepare for the case study in a private equity interview
- - case Interview examples from McKinsey, BCG, Bain etc.
- – 280 free case interview examples (with answers)
- – top tips on how to approach case interviews.
If you are interested in this area of work, this sector might also be of interest to you:
If you would like to do further research into this sector, the following webpages may be useful.鈥�
- (Consultancy UK)
- (Financial Times)
- (Consultancy UK)
- (MCA)
- with Young MCA Consultant
- (targetjobs)
- which shares individual narratives of careers in boutique consulting and offers opportunities to develop commercial awareness and gain insights
Sector News
- (Consultancy UK)
- (MCA)
- (Financial Times, February 2024)
- – news articles, events and career opportunities
Making contacts鈥痠s essential for success in this and other sectors. Many jobs in this field come鈥痶hrough networking and speculative applications. You could start by speaking with the experts – find out what they did after graduation鈥痑nd contact them for advice. You may also find it useful to read our Researching employers page.
Making contacts for work shadowing, informational interviews and speculative applications
To help grow your network of contacts who may also be able to suggest ways to gain experiences look at:
- Ask an Alum: A fuss-free鈥痺ay to connect with 樱花动漫 alumni to ask careers questions.鈥�
- Career Mentor Scheme:鈥疉 popular employability scheme which matches a student or graduate with an experienced professional, for sector insight and one-to-one careers advice and guidance, over a 6-month period.鈥�
- This video describes how to use the鈥�.鈥疻hy not see if there are any 樱花动漫 alumni working in this sector that you can connect with to gain insights and learn more.
- Start networking to make useful connections. Attend events,鈥痗omment on blogs, follow鈥痯rofessionals on X and join a professional body, such as the鈥� or the
Recruitment fairs, careers fairs, open days, talks, and events give insights and opportunities to make contacts. For details of future events visit . If you have not yet activated your account, select the Single Sign On (SSO) option and follow the onscreen instructions.
It is worthwhile registering your interest with key employers to receive notifications of forthcoming events.
Student societies at Exeter often also host employer events or presentations.
- (part of Business & Finance student society)
- Exeter (student society)
Many major graduate recruiters have policies and processes that are proactive in recruiting graduates from diverse backgrounds. To find out the policies and attitudes of employers that you are interested in, explore their equality and diversity policies and see if they offer or are recognised for their policy by such indicators as or as a .鈥�
The UK law protects you from discrimination due to your age, gender, race, religion or beliefs, disability or sexual orientation and more. For further information on the Equality Act and to find out where and how you are protected, as well as information on what you need to do if you feel you have been discriminated against, visit the
To learn more about how to share details of a disability with an employer and the support you can receive applying for jobs and work experience visit our equality and diversity page.
Further information
Schemes which aim to increase diversity in the sector include:
- – 3-day paid programme.
- – 3-day paid programme.
- – addresses the underrepresentation of disabled talent for students and graduates of all ethnicities.
- – paid internships for black students across a wide range of UK industries.
- - (2-day programme for Black Heritage in Business and Women in Leadership and Social Mobility in Business).
Action
Explore roles in the sector by visiting the areas of work below. Each profile covers typical duties and responsibilities, entry requirements, key skills required, professional development opportunities and links to finding both work experience and graduate roles.
