Hello all, Having recently graduated from University, I am struggling to get on a graduate training scheme at any consulting firms; the majority appear to want some form of commerciall experience. I am determined that this is the career I want to follow.Having given this some thought of the past few weeks, would it be advisable to gain some commercial experience for a couple of years with the view to re-applying?I am considering applying to the Aldi (area management) graduate scheme, it is well paid and gives management opportunities with great responsibility. I don't want a career in retail, however, thought this may teach me some of the skills needed to be successful in the consulting industry.Please provide your views on this.Thank you

Life is a lot more competitive than you think.There are probably more applicants per place for consulting than any other graduate entry position. The only ones more competitive would be places that offer salaries well above average market rate such as Investment Banks....or Aldi.Keep trying but if you get nowhere with consultancies then take a role in industry for 2-3 years, do an MBA and reapply.

Aldi - DON'T DO IT!I'd better not libel them but suffice to say I have a friend on the scheme and would not recommend it - do give some thought as to why and how they pay so much.

Thanks for your replies.Can you please expand on your friends troubles with the scheme, I have to admit they do seem to be offering a rather generous package compared to most other companies and assumed it was because they can't attract the candidates the bigger companies will be able to.JJ- Thanks, what would you advise for somebody in my situation. I have a degree from a reputable university and average a-level grades. Ideally I would like to get onto a graduate scheme at a big company, however, I am perhaps aiming too high.Thanks.

Some time spent in industry is a great way to get into consulting, but you might want to consider exactly which industry you choose to gain experience in.The FMCG is a notoriously difficult sector in whcih to sell consultancy. If you really want to gain skills that you can transfer over (and eventual sell work to), you would be much better off gaining experience in one of the industries that traditionally buy a lot of consultancy.If I were you, I would consider energy (particularly oil & gas), pharma, financial services, telecoms and maybe even public sector (but you'll need to be in central government and on the civil service fast track if you really want to move back into consulting).I'm certain there are industries I've missed and others will point you in the right direction, but FMCG wouldn't be my first choice if I were looking to move into consultancy.