Andrew Allum, partner, LEK Consulting

Two factors prompted my career choice: speaking to friends who had already entered the sector and the desire to continue learning at work. It’s an exciting industry, where you must learn as fast as possible to sustain your competitive advantage. Apart from the variety and learning opportunities, I have stayed in the sector because of the integrity, intelligence and vitality of the people I work with.

Advice for graduates

Management consulting covers a broad range of work, so it’s important to establish what really interests you. Try to do an internship to find out what it’s really like and tap into networks to learn more about it. Once you have found a job, it’s worth sticking with it for at least three or four years. It will put you in a much better position to develop your career, whatever you decide to do.