Foundation · Getting in
Your situation: switching careers, adjustments, and support programmes
For career switchers, disabled and neurodivergent candidates, women and underrepresented candidates: how to answer "why leave", how to ask for adjustments, and which programmes firms and nonprofits publish.
Key takeaways
- Give a pull toward consulting, not a push away from your job. Then show that your depth makes you faster at cases, not narrower.
- A short request works best: what makes a standard format hard for you, and the specific change that removes the problem.
- Check deadlines in autumn and winter: many programmes close months before the main recruiting season.
- Answer "why consulting, why now" with a pull, not a push
- Ask for an adjustment early, in writing, with a specific change
- Find and use programmes for women and underrepresented candidates
Lessons
Switching careers: why leave, and how to turn industry depth into case strength
Answer the "why leave a good career" question with a pull, not a push, and use what you know about an industry without letting it take over the case.
Asking for adjustments: extra time and other accommodations
What three large firms say publicly about accommodations, what to ask for, when and how to ask, and general information on the law in the UK and the US.
Support and programmes for women and underrepresented candidates
Programmes firms and nonprofits publish for women and underrepresented candidates, who they are for, and how to use them, with dates and no promises about outcomes.