When I transitioned out of the lab into a strategic planning role and ultimately into strategy consulting, I was confident my depth of knowledge in pharmaceutical R&D would be the key to my success in the commercial world. Boy, was I wrong.

Now that I sit on the other side of the recruiting process, I have come to realize that the strongest candidates bring together an uncommon blend of attributes - including industry expertise, technical and analytical skills, and an attitude truly focused on learning, collaboration and growth. I'll touch on each one of these but first, let's set the appropriate context.

Face it, you have been pursuing an advanced degree program in science over the past several years while wondering "what will I actually be doing for a living when I graduate?" Your passion for science hasn't gone away, but it has been supplemented by an interest in the business side of things (I'm making this assumption based on the fact that you're reading this article). But most of you don't have as much business experience as your business school peers and consulting looks like a great way to get up the learning curve fast - which is absolutely correct.

You have two options for making this transition to consulting - the first is focused on using your scientific training to advise client teams on business challenges that have technical components, while the second is focused on building your general manager skill set to position you for business leadership roles in the healthcare industry.

It is those people in the second group that are of greatest interest to strategy consulting firms. They bring together raw smarts, technical expertise, industry knowledge and a desire to solve complex business problems across functional areas. Our goal is make sure that an MD or PhD consultant can add value for our clients beyond the technical side - by solving problems in marketing, finance, M&A and the executive suite.

The combination of general manager skills and scientific training serve as a powerful background for a broad range of leadership roles in healthcare. Our MD and PhD consultants are trained and developed alongside our business school graduates, and progress along the same career path. It is safe to say that there is only one constant in healthcare, and that is abrupt and unexpected change. In this environment, we are focused on developing true business leaders that have both a broad strategic perspective, and deep industry experience.

Most MD and PhD candidates have the intellectual horsepower to address complex problems. The real challenge is flexibility, attitude and fit. Can you jump into a new environment and learn from a broad range of colleagues and clients? Are you the kind of person that prefers to solve problems by working with others? Are you flexible in your approach and open to alternative ideas and hypotheses? Do your supervisors tend to be active promoters of your professional development, and feel like they have a stake in your success? Are you constantly challenging yourself with new goals and aspirations?

The good news is that, as medical and scientific experts, you are well suited to address complex problems and are constantly on the lookout for innovative solutions. In many cases, you have succeeded primarily by collaborating with others within and outside your field of expertise. These same skills will serve you well in management consulting and executive leadership roles.

In hindsight, I suppose my R&D expertise wasn't the main driver of my career progression in consulting. I wish I could tell you I was good at all (or even some) of the attributes described above but, at the end of the day, I think it comes down to a desire to work on intellectually challenging business problems through other people, be they fellow consultants or clients. We don't succeed as individuals unless we succeed as a team - a team that includes our consulting colleagues and our clients.