This week orthopaedic surgeon and management consultant Aroon Baskaradas gives us the low down on his career in Management Consulting…

What is management consultancy?

Management consultancy describes a wide spectrum of what is termed ‘professional services’. If you are a management consultant, this essentially means that clients hire you to analyse how effectively their business is running. They might ask you to solve a particular problem, oversee a specific task or project, or give advice and recommendations as to how to improve.

A typical day

Coffee. Always start the day with the right wake up call. Something rich, dark and smooth will be just right. If they make decent coffee then even better..ahem 😉 Monday to Thursday you’ll probably work near the client’s site so chances are you’ll be waking up in a hotel. This novelty won’t last forever though!

Inevitably you will have checked your phone by 8am to check that there isn’t a meeting cancellation or that the client doesn’t need something urgently. You’ll arrive shortly before 9 to catch up with pressing emails and check the day’s schedule before sitting down with the team for an hour to catch up about the project’s progress. Another cup of coffee.

You might have a brainstorm or reflect on a particularly challenging issue then head off to a briefing meeting with the clients. You’ll share some data ahead of the presentation early afternoon and make some tweaks to the PowerPoint then dash back to the office to put the presentation together with the team.

Conference call at lunch is not ideal as you have so much to cram in, but you switch video off and get on with other tasks while keeping one ear open.

You grab a sandwich from Pret on way to the boardroom but decide against eating it as the CEO is there and you don’t want crumbs everywhere. Presentation goes well. There were some difficult questions but the partner on the project chimed in to save the day. You dial a cab and make a mad dash to the station in time for a train to an evening meeting. A quick coffee on the train to recharge.

Once done, you head home and perch on your bed with your laptop. Just a few more excel sheets to crunch through ahead of tomorrow. Hmm. What’s for dinner. Damn - didn’t have lunch! Hands trembling from the excess coffee. The Pret sandwich still looks edible. You sink your teeth into it and you get a call from an unknown number….

What are the hours and official salary brackets?

Officially you are contracted to work around 7/8 hours per day, weekdays only. Unlike another employer we know about, Saturday is not classed as a working day and nor is 10pm.

You actually end up working a fair bit more but on some days you can work from home, which saves travelling time and evens things out. How long you work depends very much on the project and how close you are to a deadline. People have been known to be up till midnight or 1am working on projects but this is not that common and there is a move in the industry to respect people’s personal hours.

Wages can range from anywhere in the early 30’s to mid 60’s for the first 4 - 6 years and then start increasing significantly once you reach the competitive heights of the pyramid. I’ll explain more in my book.

Websites like glassdoor.co.uk can also give you a more accurate representation of how wages vary by firm.

Why did you want to do it?

I wanted to see the how the NHS runs ‘from the other side’ and whilst I loved helping individual patients, I wanted to help more people at the same time on bigger projects.

What were the keys to you succeeding as an applicant?

Two main things. Firstly, the right time and place. I’ll explain in my book the importance of doing your research to target your application appropriately. Secondly, the task of amalgamating all my previous experience and making it relevant to consulting. This is not as difficult as you think and I’ll share some tips on this too.

What transferable skills did you bring from your medical training and experience?

Everything you do as a medic is transferable. Ok everything except PR examinations. That’s not transferable. Transfer that and you’ll get a criminal record! Apart from that, we are masters at people skills: leading teams; inspiring people; educating them; solving problems for them and don’t forget the most important one of all: listening.

Top 3 tips for others wanting to get into the field?

1. Make sure you have a clear idea of what you’re getting yourself into and why you want to do it. This is important both for the application but even more so for yourself. If you don’t know enough, do more research.
2. Talk to lots of people in the field. As a minimum 2 people at every firm you want to apply to. You’ll glean some insights about the firm’s culture and working practices that will set you apart from other applicants.
3. Commit to it. Do leave the back door open to get back into your medical career if need be (I even recommend that) but demonstrate that you are whole-heartedly willing to take the plunge. Believe it and it will show.

In my book I’ll give you more tips about preparing for the interview and application process, the top 7 reasons why people fail, the top 10 reasons to management consulting and for those of you who are unsure – I’ll also give you a reality check to help you understand even more about it and whether it’s right for you. Happy reading!

Aroon Baskaradas

For step-by-step guidance, expert advice, and ‘insider’ info on getting into Management Consulting as a doctor, pre-order your copy of Aroon’s book ‘Management Consulting for Medics’.