Knowing When Not to Apply: A Critical Consultancy

Skill PhDs Rarely Talk About

When people think about consultancy, they often imagine the visible outputs: polished proposals, compelling methodologies, confident pitches. But one of the hardest consultancy skills has nothing to do with writing well or presenting convincingly. It’s deciding when not to apply.

This question sat at the heart of the first weeks of our PhD Accelerator, where participants began engaging more deeply with the realities of consultancy work rather than merely its surface features.

The Hidden Cost of Bidding

Writing a bid is rarely a neutral activity. It takes time, focus, and it often involves unpaid labour. Beyond the hours spent drafting, refining, and sense-checking proposals, there is also emotional effort involved: hope, uncertainty, anticipation, and, sometimes, rejection.

For early-career consultants, particularly PhDs transitioning out of academia, it can feel risky to turn down opportunities. There is a strong pressure to apply for everything, just in case. Scarcity thinking is common, and understandable. But this approach is rarely sustainable.

Professional Judgement, Not Pessimism

In our PhD Accelerator programme, participants spend time learning how to assess consultancy opportunities critically and realistically. This involved asking questions such as:

• Is the budget feasible for the work being asked?

• Is the proposed timeline realistic?

• Do we have the capacity to deliver this work well alongside existing commitments?

• Can we clearly articulate a methodology that answers the client’s question?

• Can we show relevant experience or transferable expertise?

Learning to ask these questions is not about being overly cautious or risk-averse. It is about developing professional judgement.

Knowing when a project is not viable, not aligned, or not well-scoped is a mark of maturity in consultancy. It protects both the consultant and the client from misaligned expectations and under-resourced work.

From Chasing Work to Choosing Work

A key shift for many participants is moving away from the belief that success in consultancy comes from chasing every opportunity, and instead embracing intentional decision‑making - knowing when to say 'yes', and learning to say no without guilt. This shift reframes consultancy as a long-term practice rather than a series of short-term wins. It encourages sustainability, clarity, and confidence, rather than constant urgency.

Importantly, it also helps PhDs recognise that their training has already equipped them with many of the skills required for this judg

ement. Designing a research project, assessing feasibility, working within constraints, and making trade-offs are not new activities. What is new is applying them in a client-facing, commercial context.

That recognition alone changes how people approach consultancy.

And it is exactly the kind of learning the PhD Accelerator is designed to support.