You can do everything right, ace the classes, land the internships, get the degree, and still feel shut out. In consulting, breaking in often depends less on talent than on knowing the unwritten rules. If you don’t have someone to show you how it’s really done, you’re left guessing and losing.
Ming Chang knows this problem from both sides. He once faced it himself.
Years ago, as an MBA student juggling a newborn, a career pivot, and a fiercely competitive recruiting cycle, Ming had no guidebook but just hustle. One night after a study group, a classmate whispered what many felt but rarely said aloud: “I just need someone to tell me what to do, what actually works.”
That moment stuck.
Now Ming wants to do precisely that. He aims to offer structured, affordable, and insider coaching to help others break into elite fields, especially those without elite connections.
He didn’t have a guide. So now, he’s becoming one.
The Real Problem: Hiring Systems Are Built for Insiders
Despite strong demand in consulting, tech, and product management, the U.S. still faces a significant workforce readiness gap. A recent Deloitte survey found that 70% of executives struggle to find talent with the right skills, even as thousands of young professionals enter the job market each year.
Part of the disconnect is structural.
If you come from a well-connected background, someone in your life probably walked you through how to pitch your case, or frame your personal story to align with your target firm’s values. But if you don’t, you’re often left to navigate a competitive system with no map, no playbook, and no idea how hiring decisions are made.
Career coaching exists, but it’s often too expensive or so generic that it's disconnected from what the industry requires.
That’s the gap Ming saw and found no one else is closing.
Meet Ming Chang: Product Manager, Consultant, Career Coach
Ming built a career grounded in strategic execution and practical empathy.
He began in tech as a product manager, leading a full-stack website overhaul for an energy data firm that boosted page views by 50% and modernized the platform. It was his first real experience building systems that worked better for people.
At Rice University, he earned his MBA a semester early while balancing fatherhood and a career pivot, solving real-world challenges beyond the classroom.
After graduating, he joined EY-Parthenon, a top-tier strategy consultancy, where he led high-stakes projects for Fortune 500 clients in healthcare, retail, and tech. His work often involves billion-dollar mergers and operations not only in the US, but Europe and Asia, bringing speed and clarity to complex transformations.
However, the most fulfilling part of Chang’s role has always been mentoring junior consultants. He genuinely enjoys the interaction—helping others think through challenges, weigh options, and take confident steps forward. He takes real pride in seeing someone apply his advice and grow into their next role, whether it's nailing a big interview or making a pivotal career decision. That blend of technical insight and personal guidance has become a cornerstone of how he coaches others today.
The Solution: Coaching from Someone Who Has Been There
Building upon his extensive recruiting, mentoring and interviewing experiences, Ming developed a structured and battle-tested coaching method for those who do not come from the traditional ‘elite’ backgrounds. He started his own company, Elevate Career Solutions, to push his method forward.
Here is the secret formula that makes his coaching work:
- Targeted Coaching: Personalized resume reviews, strategic storytelling, networking scripts, and industry-specific interview prep rooted in actual hiring practices.
- Focus on case interview: A big component in consulting and product management is the use of case interviews to test logic, math and business acumen, which is highly uncommon in other fields. Ming introduces a structured approach to efficiently practice case solving skills for fast improvements.
- Affordable Access: Candidates from underserved or underrepresented communities will receive free or subsidized coaching, with long-term business model blending philanthropic and private-sector support.
Behind what appears on the surface as career coaching, Ming is really building a system that replicates what elite candidates receive through informal privilege and makes it available to everyone.
Why It Works: Strategy Meets Empathy
Ming’s model works not just because he understands the frameworks, but because he understands the fear.
When a fresh associate, Madhuri, joined his team on a complex carve-out project at EY-Parthenon, she expected structure. She didn’t expect mentorship.
“From day one, Ming created a space where people could grow,” she said. “He knew the work, but he also protected people’s time, asked real questions, and gave feedback that changed how we showed up.”
That’s what his coaching is designed to do: build confidence and clarity in the exact moments people need it. Whether a student is confused by a case prompt or a working professional second-guesses a career shift.
A Model With National Relevance
America’s economic future depends on more than filling roles. It depends on building equitable access to those roles, especially in sectors that drive innovation and leadership.
Consulting sits at the center of this conversation. They require strategic thinking, clear communication, and cross-functional agility. But they’re among the least demystified fields for first-generation college students or those from nontraditional backgrounds.
That’s why his work matters. The methodology Ming developed is coachable, scalable, and measurable. It can scale into a model that universities and nonprofits seeking to close the access gap for their young job seekers can integrate.
Conclusion: A Different Kind of Access
Ming Chang isn’t offering quick tips or inspirational speeches. He’s offering a roadmap built from lived experience and delivered with real-world empathy.
If you’re a student or early-career professional trying to break into consulting or product management, know that you don’t have to go it alone. And if you’re an employer, nonprofit, or educator working to open doors, this is a model worth watching.
Like that classmate said years ago, “I just need someone to tell me what actually works.” Now, Ming is telling them — and showing them, too.
About the Author
Jessica Lin is a writer and strategist focused on career access, workforce equity, and leadership development. She has advised education startups, Fortune 500 talent teams, and mission-driven nonprofits on how to close opportunity gaps and build more inclusive hiring systems. A former consultant herself, Jessica brings a practical lens to the intersection of mentorship, strategy, and impact. She lives in Austin, Texas, where she hosts career workshops and reads MBA case studies for fun.
