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Will be starting my first job out of school at an MBB, wondering what should I include in my elevator pitch when introducing myself to people in the firm?
I had an awful start in the firm, so I can share lots of experiences. I also put most of these learnings into the following two guides you might want to check out:
In terms of your question, don't worry about the pitch.
Realistically, if you are just starting, you have no value proposition. So just aim to be a nice guy, be open to feedback and open to learning.
If people ask about you, just tell them what you'd tell a friend. With time, your value prop will improve and then you can say you're the ‘guy who does digital transformations in banking’.
Until then, here's the advice I received from the Partner who called to give me the call for the offer:
BCG 1st & Final Round interviewer | Personalized prep with >95% success rate | 7yrs coaching | Experienced Hires
Hi there,
in general, would try to keep it as natural as possible. Here a few points to consider
Be natural - try to not “sell” them something with a rehearsed pitch. Casually get to know them and build natural conversation instead of forcing business talk and “interesting” topics just for the sake of it.
Stay humble - Don't boast too much, especially at the beginning. As a new joiner, you won't really have any relevant experience on your scorecard yet. Your reputation in the firm will not come from you pitching but from the quality of the work you do. Don't really have to self-promote that.
Be curious - show genuine interest in what your colleagues do and who they are. They will automatically like you more. Invest time in the relationships with your colleagues rather than acting in a transactional way just to get something you need. People see through that very quickly and will start to share less, once they get that feeling.
Ex-BCG Principal | 8+ years consulting experience in SEA | BCG top interviewer & top performer
Hi there,
As a new joiner (at both Kearney and then later at BCG), this was what I said to people I met:
“Hi, I'm Benjamin. I just joined [current firm/office] from [previous location/experience]. Nice to meet you”.
If they were working in something I really was interested in, or perhaps was very personable/seemed like a great person to work with, then I added “hope to be able to work with you sometime".
I didnt feel the need to say more than that - rather, if someone was curious on more details (e.g. further details on background) etc, I figured they would have asked and then I would have responded accordingly. Based on my experience, I never felt the need to ‘sell’ myself especially right when I just joined.
Be yourself - ultimately your work/performance will do the strongest ‘selling’ for you :)
Congratulations on your new job! You already have the job secured, so no need to stress too much about selling yourself via the elevator pitch. I'd say the introduction depends on who you're introducing yourself to.
I would start with something like “Hi, my name is Sofia, I'm a [business analyst/junior consultant] in the XYZ office”. Depending on who you are talking to, you could mention that you are interested in a particular practice, industry, or type of work. For instance, if I were reaching out to set up a coffee chat with a partner in the retail practice, I'd say something like “I'm particularly passionate about the retail sector”, possibly mention a past experience to do with retail, then say something along the lines of “I've heard you work with a lot of clients in retail, and would love to learn more”.
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