That’s because after using a job simulation tool for a short time, I have a better sense of what working at the prestigious consulting firm might be like.
The free online tool I used is produced by a San Francisco company called Forage. It’s designed to give college students and others just starting out a sense of what they’d be doing if they landed a job at a consulting firm like BCG or KPMG, big banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, and retailers like Lululemon.
That could come in handy because the job market has slowed from the frenzied hiring we saw a couple of years ago. Now, given it might take longer to land a role, it makes sense to do what you can to ensure it’s a good fit.
Tom Brunskill is a cofounder of Forage and now serves as its VP and general manager after education company EAB acquired it in April. He told Business Insider that, growing up in a small town in Australia, he didn’t come from a line of bankers, lawyers, or accountants. That made his decision to become a corporate lawyer somewhat arbitrary, he said.
“I used ‘Boston Legal’ and ‘Suits’ as my main source of inspiration for choosing a career,” Brunskill said.
Forage, he said, is designed to address what he sees as a big problem: High schools and universities often don’t do an adequate job equipping young people with the skills, knowledge, resources, or confidence to find careers that align with their abilities and interests.
In the roughly 90 minutes I spent using Forage, the tool made me do some work. No surprise, given it was consulting, it involved producing slides. The tool also made me think like a consultant — or at least try to.
Instead of reading others’ reviews of what it’s like to work at the firm, I watched short videos from BCG consultants, read articles they’d written, and tackled those decks.
Here’s what it was like:
The course I took came in two parts.
The Forage training asked why I was completing the simulation on being a BCG consultant. theforage.com
It began by asking me to click at least one of several reasons I was taking the course. Those were: I’m not really sure what a consultant at BCG does; I’ve heard about BCG and want to know more; I want to build my skills in consulting to help my career; and I want to increase my chances of getting hired by BCG.
The first section was meant to help me think creatively, “like a BCG consultant,” by shifting my mental models. To help me get there, I watched a TED Talk by a BCG partner on fostering creativity in business. The nearly eight-minute video focused on how the key to creativity is doubt.
The system laid out the work I needed to do.
My BCG job simulation included doing work on generating ideas. theforage.com
Next, I read a BCG article on ideas for generating ideas. It highlighted the importance of effectively framing questions and drawing up “binding constraints and criteria for success” instead of so-called blue-sky thinking, which, the article contends, often doesn’t lead to useful ideas. I feel like I’m getting a good education so far in consultant jargon, at least.
From there, I downloaded some slides. My task was, in part, to show how a trend that might be perceived as a threat could be made into an opportunity. The example threat was about aging demographics. The possible opportunity was the emergence of a “silver market.”
I had to try to think like a consultant though I’m no BCG whiz.
One of the modules focused on how to reframe threats as opportunities. theforage.com
Now, it was my turn. I had to find the silver lining in urban congestion. I came up with the rather clumsy “opportunities for high-volume services in dense markets.” The example answer that a bona fide BCGer might give was “growth cluster of the future,” the simulation showed me.
From there, I explored how shifting our mental models can help us solve problems and uncover opportunities. One example included the French manufacturer Bic. The company went from only making pens to adding goods like razors and lighters by considering itself a producer of low-cost plastic goods rather than just ballpoints, according to the simulation.
I filled out some more slides about how budget airlines had disrupted the aviation industry. Once again, the BCG crew topped my answers. Regardless, I found it helpful to compare what I answered to what the pros came up with.
I finished one task and moved to another about a fictional clothing company.
I got props for completing part 1 of 2. theforage.com
In the second section, my job was to generate ideas to help a fictional luxury clothes producer boost sales. I watched another short video and read an article on how to conduct effective brainstorming sessions. It dismissed the idea of thinking outside the box in favor of using them as helpful constraints — the way a string doesn’t impede a kite but enables it to fly.
I filled in more slides on how to reframe the question, “How could we sell more outerwear this winter season?” I had to come up with three new approaches. One slide contained this tip: “A good question for brainstorming will be narrow and concrete, so that people feel they know how to begin answering it.”
I gave some less-than-stellar answers compared with the sample. The lesson then went into the value of “identifying and doubting one’s current boxes” and figuring out which ones need to be rethought or even trashed.
It turns out my reframed questions in this section weren’t as narrow as they should have been. So, my one-man brainstorm wasn’t as fruitful as what a well-trained consultant might produce. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the exercise, and it made me think.
The system gave me some ideas to talk about what I’d completed.
Ultimately, by giving me small tasks to work through, the intro to life at BCG made me sometimes forget that I was doing a simulation. I was focused on the work.
That’s why the effort felt like a reasonable way to get a sense of what working in such a role at BCG might be like. Of course, it could be off, but because Forage works with the employers to develop the courses, there are company insiders signing off on the content.
If I were new in my career, I could choose to share the results of the company whose job simulation I completed to signal to recruiters I’m interested.
Spending time on a simulation is a low-stakes way to help avoid taking the wrong job.
It felt good to have completed the tasks even though it’s unlikely I’ll become a consultant. theforage.com
The simulation I completed wasn’t that long; some Forage offers take several hours to complete. Brunskill said it’s all an effort to give students a view into what the work could be like.
The best news is that students who start one and aren’t into the work don’t have to go into the wrong field.
“It’s just as powerful telling a student a role that isn’t suited to them as it is telling them which careers do align with their skills and interests,” Brunskill said.
