How did you build and keep relationships at your firm ?

1. Building relationships with managers and higher-ups at the MBB firm was something I really enjoyed! I made it a point to be friendly and proactive, always looking for ways to connect. Whether it was grabbing coffee, asking for advice, or just chatting after meetings, I took every opportunity to get to know them better. Plus, I jumped at chances to work on projects where I could collaborate closely with them—nothing builds trust like showing you’re eager and reliable!

2. Staying connected with my internship and full-time cohorts was one of the highlights of my time at the firm! We organized monthly drinks, spontaneous dinners, and even some unforgettable weekend trips. These gatherings weren’t just about networking—they were a blast and really solidified our friendships. I’d totally recommend keeping things light and fun—people are way more likely to stay connected when they’re genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

Great question and an important one. There's basically two ways this happens

1. Organically when you work together

• Deliver Quality Work: Excel in your projects and ensure that your work is consistently high quality. Senior managers take notice of individuals who deliver results and show strong problem-solving skills. They are also more likely to want to keep in touch with you if they think you will be a good addition to the firm.
• Leverage Your Work: If you work on high-visibility projects or are involved in high-impact initiatives, senior managers will likely take notice of your contributions. Ensure you are proactive in sharing updates and insights from your work, which can naturally foster relationships others on the team.

Inorganically - where you seek to do this outside of your regular work

• Participate in Office Activities: Engage in social and professional events organized by the firm, such as happy hours, team-building activities, or company-wide meetings. These informal settings can be great opportunities to connect with people in a more relaxed environment.
• Identifying potential mentors and asking for their time: Reach out to potential mentors with a thoughtful and respectful message. Express your admiration for their work and your desire to learn from their experiences. Typically you will then meet them for a coffee chat and see if you can leverage that to build a relationship.

Ultimately this requires effort - you could be the one to set up a mailing list of all the interns or organize meetups every once in a while. Most people do not realize how difficult it can be to stay in touch after the internship ends.

All the best,

Udayan

Hi PT,

First of all, congrats! :-)

I wrote a book exactly on this topic. It's called Consulting Career Secrets and you can find it on Amazon.

1. There are many opportunities here:

Your main goal should be that people want to work with you in the future. They will then either pull you on their studies or recommend you and open doors for you with others.

• Be visible on the team and in discussions
• Make sure your work is top-notch
• Become the go-to-person for certain topics on the team and within the firm (e.g., holder of knowledge nugget or model)
• Make the life of your EMs easier
• Establish strong client relationships and stay in touch even after the project ends
• Organize team events
• Offer help to partners on your team for client work and outside of your team on other things (e.g., knowledge development, proposals)
• …

2. Staying connected

You will run into them many times as there are always tons of events going on (starting from training to get2gethers). You could also take the initiative and create a regular event for the cohort (potentially even asking for a budget from the office manager).

Such initiatives are always welcome and can impact your standing and progression as well.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi,

Great question. Sharing some perspective from my 8+ years in consulting.

I think for #1 (relationships with higher ups), this is something that you often have to be alot more deliberate with, because you are not relating to them most of the time as “Friends” or peers. I found that scheduling regular (though not necessarily frequent) coffees or short catch ups were effective for me. 

For #2, i found this to be alot more organic, you would naturally want to hang out with peers and there would arise different occasions or events or reasons to hang out - you just have to show up. 

Have fun!