There’s no doubt that the competition for life sciences talent is stronger than ever among the top strategy consulting firms. Because these firms are growing at a rapid pace and because the pool of traditional MBAs has remained constant, top tier consulting firms have been making concerted efforts to recruit PhDs and MDs into their ranks. These candidates, often recruited straight out of graduate or medical school, represent a potent combination of scientific knowledge, business sense, and sheer intellectual horsepower and are among the most competitively sought after candidates. What happens then to PhDs and MDs who have been in the workforce for a number of years? With greater experience, would they be brought into the firm at the same level as a freshly minted MBA?

An examination of the structure of a typical strategy consulting firm might help provide an answer. While consulting firms have multiple levels that go by multiple names, in general, there are three types of staff: consultants, managers, and partners. Consultants are responsible for discrete pieces of analysis, managers are responsible for coordinating consultants and running the day-to-day operations of an engagement, and partners are responsible for coordinating projects and managing the overall relationship with the client. With each level, the span of control broadens and the responsibilities change: Consultants lead analysis, managers lead projects, and partners lead relationships. It’s practically impossible to reach the next level without being proficient at the prior.

Because experienced individuals apply to consulting firms with different levels of skills, the placement of lateral hires needs to be handled on a case-by-case basis. While I cannot speak about other consulting firms, at The Boston Consulting Group, we have a single guiding principle that determines the level of a lateral hire: We place people at a level that maximizes their chances of long-term success.

Most of our lateral hires find the first few assignments to be especially challenging. The role of a second-year consultant, the least senior lateral hire position, is a heavy one that requires balancing advanced analysis with increasing client responsibilities and often management and teaching responsibilities toward more junior consultants. When this is combined with the need to adjust to firm culture, the task becomes even more daunting. Because of the increased leadership responsibilities, coming in at a more senior leadership position allows even less time to adjust.

Being a bright and capable problem solver gets you in the door as a consultant but to be considered for management level, you need to have a track record of success in solving problems, leading teams, working under tight deadlines, and relating to clients. The easiest way to demonstrate this is through prior experience in consulting or closely related fields, so if you have this experience, you could reasonably expect a higher placement as a lateral hire. Without it, it’s more likely that you’ll be brought in as a senior consultant.

Because we believe in long-term success at the firm, we tend to be more conservative with our lateral hire placement. We feel that it’s better to enter and have the chance to be at the top of your class than to always be trying to catch up. Lateral hires do get greater consideration for fast promotion, as we understand our conservatism in initial placement. If you come in and knock it out of the park, you’ll be promoted quickly to the next level.

It’s important to realize that promotion is performance-driven. An emphasis on title is the wrong goal post. At BCG, we hire talented individuals not just for their skills and backgrounds but because we believe that they stand a good chance of becoming a partner in the firm. Because promotion is linked closely with performance, we think it’s best to come in and get grounded to get off on a strong start. This increases the chances of future promotion more than struggling at a higher level and having a slow start. Lastly, the rate of promotion at a consulting firm is far faster than in other industries. It’s rare to find an industry where one can go from an entry-level employee to a partner in a decade, but it’s a regular occurrence in strategy consulting. Coming in a level or two below where you might otherwise be has far less impact than in other industries.

As for the best way of approaching firms, I’d suggest that you contact the recruiting department at the consulting firm, either through the main office number or through the website. With the market for life sciences individuals being what it is, you can be assured that all the top management consultancies will be on the lookout for experienced talent.