Joanna I'll be blunt with you, not least as that's what I do anyway.If you go this niche strategy but not top boutique route this early in your career I suggest the next step will be to familiarise yourself with all the literature at your local jobcentre.Don't worry about specialising this early in your career - technically as a raw grad you don't have one yet. Instead worry anout where this role will leave you in 2 years time. If, in 2 years time, you sent me your CV and told me you are a strategy consultant in a non top tier boutique, my first reaction with be 'Eh?' or words to that effect. Strat consultants are a hard sell, and expensive, at the best of times, and frankly unless you are very senior you wont be learning much of any use. Couple this with a non brand company and a 2.1 from a non oxbridge uni and I dont see you differentiating yourself.If you want to trundle along, maybe entertain some MBA notions later on, which you probably wont be able to afford because credit will be drier than Gandhi's flip flop and this boutique wont be able to offer you steady progression anyway, then entertain yourself with them. But reality it sooner or later - and I suggest sooner - you will realise, in a cold sweat and sense of dread, that you need a name on your CV. It really wont matter what type of consulting if the brand is big enough, because in strat consulting most will leave after a period of time and go to industry or - wonder of wonders - process consulting. Go back to the milkround and get on the merry-go-round while you have the chance.
