Editor’s note: This post is a part of a series with alumnae guest blog posts. Enjoy!

India Mullady ’11

When I got an offer to join a consulting firm my senior year at Scripps I was ecstatic. I put my resume in the archives of my computer a thought I wouldn’t be looking at it again until grad school. However my first week on the job I needed to fill out an internal resume, so people would know my skills and proficiencies. No problem, I pulled out my trusty resume and put it into their format.

Then I learned that in consulting you aren’t just given work to do. You need to be ‘staffed’ on a project. And if you don’t get staffed you sit ‘on the beach’ which is nothing like an actual beach. When a consultant is on the beach they do ad-hoc tasks and are on call to every manager in the practice. Imagine feeding time at the zoo only you are responsible for feeding every single animal…and they are all very hungry. So getting staffed on a project is very important.

Projects can last from a week to several years and the type of work, frequency of travel, and the personalities of your colleagues can vary. So how do I get on a good project? What was a good project for me? How do I become someone’s go-to-consultant? After 16 months of working I’d say I finally have some answers.

To get on a good project I had to promote myself. Filling out a resume wasn’t enough, I had to schedule time with managers, sit in their office, and talk about what I have done, and what I could do to ensure their projects were successful. To get on a good project in consulting you need a perfect storm of perfection: you need a great team, a great client, stimulating work, and a simple travel schedule. What I learned quickly was that some of these things are in my control and some aren’t. The people are the most important component to me. One of our leaders likes to say, “we hunt in packs” and for me the people I ‘hunt’ with are my teachers and mentors. When I got an opportunity to work for a woman who inspired me I found a colleague as well as a friend who would mentor me and teach me the ropes for several projects. In return I learn all I can and work hard not to let her down. Once you find someone who ‘gets you’ and you can move from project to project with the only beach you’ll see is on your vacation!

PS–Check this out for some insight into a Tumblr that make consultants laugh.