January 5, 2026

Getting staffed on a project is one of the most important parts of consulting life.

There are two main ways this happens: you can staff yourself, or the firm can staff you.

Understanding how both approaches work helps you navigate your consulting career more effectively.

Self-Staffing

If you’re staffing yourself, you generally reach out to people you’ve worked with before or want to work with in the future.

You check if they have any projects available. Most firms also have internal tools that show all the opportunities coming down the pipeline.

This gives you visibility into what’s out there and lets you be proactive about finding your next engagement.

Firm Staffing

The second way is letting the firm staff you. Most large firms have entire staffing departments whose sole job is to make sure consultants are utilized and on projects.

Here’s how it works:

• You meet with a staffing manager
• You tell them what you’re looking for
• They balance your preferences against what’s available
• They help match you to a suitable project

When It Happens

Staffing is either something you do yourself a few weeks before an engagement ends, or someone from the firm meets with you and helps you get staffed to a new project.

Either way, the process typically starts before your current project wraps up to ensure there’s no gap in your utilization.

Conclusion

Consulting staffing works in two ways: self-staffing and firm staffing. With self-staffing, you take the lead by reaching out to your network and browsing internal opportunity lists. With firm staffing, dedicated staffing managers work with you to find the right fit based on your preferences and availability.

Both approaches have their advantages. Self-staffing gives you more control over who you work with and what projects you take on. Firm staffing leverages expertise from people whose job is to know every available opportunity.

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