Well...I graduated 4 years ago now and where am I now?I was not one of those grads who knew about consulting from the outset...all I knew is that i did not want to do more Engineering! Ended up getting picked up by a large FMCG, where I worked for 2 years. Great exp through which, I discovered IT/Business Consulting being on the client side.I applied and got into one of the big 7 full service consulting firm's GRAD scheme - over the moon - starting as a grad was fine.1st year...took my assignments and excelled, ended up being top rated. That was the peak!This year, year 2, so far has been poor. It is nearly June and I have been flexible, taking on 2 'monkey' admin grad roles. Fair enough but now I am looking for role which actually builds on my exp. There aren't any!! There are only v IT space roles...coding & testing etc. Not for me..i signed up and was sold I could get into the "Business" consulting side. This isn't happening..I was placed by default in the techy part of the consulting business and seem 'trapped' in it.So given it is now almost 2 years and i have networked and tried my best for opportunities within the business, I seriously want to move to another consulting company. I am doing well, but i'm simply not developing how i want to here....here is my anxiety:I have worked for 4 years so would be looking for exp hire jobs, however so far I don't have a specialism (I am a year 2 consultant), I am still a generalist...I have done some ERP, CHange, test and all in public sector so far but throughout a project lifecycle....I know I have picked up many core consulting skills and I would want to move to a 'business' consulting role. So far, job ads seem to be for senior specialists...--- AM I EMPLOYABLE?? Would a consultancy (say PWC) be prep to take on a top rated junior consultant who is looking to shift into the Business side of consulting. Could i leverage my 2 years in FMCG industry? I don't want to tread water this year any longer with my existing firm!! My reasons are genuine.Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. (I have been reading this forum for over 2.5 years...this is my 1st post!)

With 2 years consulting experience you should be ok to make a move. The attrition rates after 2 years from grad schemes in most of the full service consulting firms is quite high.What firm do you work for?

Hi,I completely sympathise with you. I'm in a similar boat. Although not gone through any grad scheme I'm find it challenging to move away from IT focused consulting and more into business side consulting. I have 3 years consulting experience. My advice would be to look at what skills/expertise you think is trasferrable to a business consulting role and make this appear on your CV more than the IT testing, software coding or anything else you have done. Being a generalist consultant is a very good thing in my opinion you just have to make sure you don't get labelled an IT consultant and forced into a systems integration type role (which seemingly is not what you want). Have you applied to any firms yet?Best of luck!

you are a prime candidate for an MBA. If you can possibly afford it. I know quite a few with technical backgrounds, who ended up doing this as a means of escaping the grasp of technical projects.

Your options - look to return to industry for a few years in a projects role and then look to return to consulting (this time on the business side); do an MBA (get a loan if you need to); or possibly you could find a junior role with a boutique where they need people with consulting experience and are prepared to train you from scratch. Moving from IT into business consultancy wont happen just because you want to and have 4 years of - sorry, but not relevant - IT experience.My advice as a headhunter who headhunts only business consultants? Go the MBA route - its the most guaranteed way in for you from here.

Thank you for the sincere responses.I have not yet started applying but will v soon.As for MBA, yes I have already decided to go ahead with that! However, the fact remains this will take time. Even if i manage to take GMAT and apply this year, it wouldn't start for over a year or maybe 2.I do not want to assume I will get into a top school and so must continue to focus my career correctly in the mean time.Conclusion: I still need to get out now for the reasons i stated originally. Yes as a year 2 grad ...I am still generalist and have managed to steer clear of coding, dev, just done a little testing but the rest is business consulting so I have some leverage.I am unsure where to start looking....recruitment consultants?? Ideally would like to go to another full service firm in business consulting. Suppose i should just approach them directly?? a little confused on how to proceed! Any juniors out there who shifted after 2 years??

A move will certainly be possible, although recognise that most pure bc firms will only give you a limited amount of creit/recognition for your 2 years. So say they will give you 50% credit for your generalist experience and you move into a more specialist area (and trust me unless you are in MBB, there really isnt a generalist), this would place you somewhere around analyst/senior analyst level - or whatever equivalent name they have. You will feel you are taking a step back, but in fact will be taking a step forwards, steeper learning curve etc. Give it another 2 or 3 years and then go for the MBA - use the interim to gain some experience and save some money so you can get into the best school you can afford.

Sound advise thanks.The most frustrating thing is that although I am a year 2 consultant, it is my 4rth year in full time employment, having worked in a big FMCG for 2 years prior. So, I am eager to progress but in the correct way hence I am preped for a slight step seemingly back. I was hoping I could capitalise on this FMCG industry experience (Sales & Supply Chain/Logistics) in my business case to new firms. Even happy to Consult in that sector. Would they give any '% credit' for that???Anyway, I am reassured from your replies that I can make something happen. Thx. (As for MBA, i have 4 years exp... so happy to go ASAP but maybe 1 more year is fine)Next step: some reccomended recruitment agencies?Cheerio