I was just wondering what people's thoughts are on the upcoming careers fair? I am thinking about getting into MC at some point (maybe 6-12 months) and would like to find out more about the industry i.e. what level I could expect to go in at, what the key skills required are, what type of working conditions I could expect. My concern is that with everyone effectively job hunting will it look bad if I ask potenitally quite niaive questions? Do people think it would be worth a trip from the north west just to scope out MC in general?

Pistol - I'd suggest reading the careers fair guide cover to cover before you attend (which you could do on the train down) and then attending one or two of the presentations before visiting the exhibitors at their stands. That way you'll have learnt enough about the sector by the time you interact with them that you sound like someone who's tried to find out about the industry rather than someone who's totally wet behind the ears.Hope that helps - and if you do come along, feel free to come to the Top-Consultant Q&A area where I'll be fielding candidate questions live and can hopefully also help to bring you up to speed on the industry.Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com

What Tony means is that if you can read a marketing brochure on something that you know nothing about, then sit quietly and absorb two conference powerpoint presentations, then pass yourself off as being knowledgeable on the subject, then you are ideally suited to be a consultant.To be a senior consultant you need to get to the point where you can read the powerpoint on your laptop on the train on the way to the client.To make partner you need to read a précis prepared by a senior consultant on your i-phone on the plane on the way to the client.If you find the idea of passing yourself off in this way abhorent, then do not consider consultancy

Good observations as ever Mr Cool!I had been coming at this from the angle that it's not great to come across as totally naive about the industry when a modicum of research can prevent a newbie from asking the most obvious of questions. Consulting isn't easy and makes demands of people that aren't the norm in some other walks of life. Giving the impression that you don't have a grasp of what consulting might involve is a big turn off to most would-be employers. Hence my pointers for how one could do the bare essential research to avoid this.Your observations are of course valid too though Mr Cool. We often find ourselves in these situations of having to swat up on a situation or industry we know little about and having precious little time in which to assimilate the information. So this is also a good taster of one aspect of consulting life as you rightly say!Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com

I think Mr Cool may be onto something in terms of being put off consultancy. The more I read on these forums the less appealing the industry appears. I have had some exposure to Mck guys helping us on a project and they were working all the hours under the sun and proclaiming that this was an easy project for them. It also seems to me that a large part of MC is "blagging" (pardon the laymens language) i.e. appearing to be an expert in areas you are not and declaring benefits that you haven't actually realised. It also seems that MC is ultra-competitive. I'm not sure if thats the type of environment I would like to operate in. The main thing I want to learn more about at the fair is what the culture and day to day role involves. I fear that I would only get an airbrushed version from employers at the fair. Also the Mck guy said to me that if there is even a shadow of doubt that you could hack it as an MC then its not for you.

Pistol - it&apos;s more a reflection of the fact that for the early part of your consulting career you are a generalist (ie. could be staffed on a project in any sector) rather than a sector specialist. So one reality of consulting is being comfortable with getting up to speed on a new industry and getting to grips with a new client organisation several times in the first couple of years on the job.In terms of getting a better feel for consulting, have a read of the editorials that appear in our (free) Definitive Guide to UK Consulting Firms which you can <a href=http://news.top-consultant.com/guide_to_consulting_firms.aspx>download from here</a>Agree with your McK contact though - if having got a good understanding of the industry you have doubts in your mind about whether it is for you then you should definitely look elsewhere.Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com