How to increase confidence (on the job)?

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the upcoming consulting career start!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

• First of all, it is perfectly normal to feel nervous or even anxious about your consulting career start, although I would highly advise you not to worry about it. All major consulting firms provide you with excellent onboarding and training that will prepare you for everything you need to know. I'm sure these first few days and weeks will give you a lot of confidence.
• Moreover, actively seek feedback from your peers and superiors. This can provide you with a more realistic, positive perspective on your performance, which is key in building confidence.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming consulting career start, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi,

Congratulations, that's great!

Here are some practical, hands-on tips:

1. Prepare: Confidence in consulting often stems from knowing your stuff. Before meetings, client presentations, or discussions, make sure you're fully prepared. The more prepared you are, the more confident you’ll feel when speaking or presenting.
2. Exchange with Peers: Find some peers to regularly discuss challenges, progress, and any roadblocks. Consulting can be intense, and discussing the status quo with colleagues helps you realize you’re not alone - everyone faces similar struggles.
3. Practice Speaking Up: Confidence grows with participation. In meetings or discussions, aim to speak up at least once, even if it’s a small contribution. The more you engage, the more natural and confident it will feel over time.
4. Leverage Body Language: Even if you feel nervous, adopting confident body language can make a big difference. Stand tall, use open gestures, and maintain eye contact.
5. Address Weak Spots: If you notice a weak area, take action. For example, if you feel less confident with data analysis, set concrete steps like shadowing a more experienced colleague. You can also bring up these areas with your mentor to get their perspective on how to improve.
6. Focus on Learning, Not Perfection: Focus on learning and growing through experience rather than trying to be perfect from the start. Consulting is a journey, and no one expects perfection right out of the gate.
7. Create a “Success Drawer”: Create a physical or digital “success drawer” where you store reminders of your achievements - whether it’s a university medal, an award, a great (uni) project result, or positive feedback from a colleague. When you need a confidence boost, look at the drawer and remind yourself of what you’ve already accomplished. This might sound strange, but I guarantee it works!

All the best for your start!

Kairavee

hey! It's great that you bring up this topic here. It's completely normal to feel anxious or lack confidence before starting a new role at an MBB firm, especially given the high expectations. I experienced similar feelings myself when I joined, and many others do as well. It's important to recognize that this is a common phase, and it doesn’t define your ability to succeed.

One practical tip is to focus on preparation. The more you prepare and familiarize yourself with the firm’s tools, processes, and expectations, the more confident you’ll feel. You can start by brushing up on Excel, PowerPoint, or any core consulting skills—this preparation will help reduce anxiety once you’re on the job.

Another tip is to leverage mentorship. MBB firms often have strong mentoring cultures, so take advantage of this by building relationships with experienced consultants. Their guidance can give you a clearer perspective and help you navigate the steep learning curve more confidently.

Finally, don't be too hard on yourself. Confidence builds over time, and while self-criticism can be constructive, try to balance it with self-compassion. Remind yourself that you were selected for this role because you have the potential to succeed. Trust in your abilities, stay open to feedback, and take things one step at a time. Confidence will follow as you gain experience.

Good luck and have an amazing start! 
Alessa :)

Hi there,

First off, congratulations!!! It's not easy to crack into the MBBs — it takes a great amount of perseverance, critical thinking, and soft and hard skills to make it there, so you should be feeling pretty good about yourself.

Second, if there's a personality type that fits a good consultant, it's that of someone who believes in a growth mindset. By their very nature, consultants are generalists, which means that they are constantly dealing with situations and circumstances that are alien to them. So, be prepared to get uncomfortable and not know "everything". Go in with the attitude of a beginner who is willing to learn new things everyday. You're gonna make mistakes — everyone is. And the fact of the matter is that if you aren't making mistakes, you're not learning.

Ultimately, you should take pride not in getting everything right everyday but in learning something new everyday. Each morning you should ask yourself, "Am I better today than I was yesterday?" If the answer is "yes," nothing else matters.

Good luck!

Hey there,

Congrats on the achievement!

If you are interested in preparing for your new role, I'd suggest the following:

When I got the offer some years ago I did the same. I reached out to people I knew in McKinsey and people who interviewed me to ask: what can I do to make the start easier? how can I prepare?

The answer from everyone was: Relax! Enjoy your time before you start and don't think about it. You will figure it out on the job. I followed that advice and it made sense to me once I joined.

When you start at in top tier consulting there are 2 ways to learn:

1. Formal training. The formal training sessions/ weeks/ days in the beginning, are nice, however, they are more for networking and meeting your peers. You learn some interesting concepts and get some useful tips from more experienced consultants BUT
2. Constant and implicit learning on the job is where it's at. No matter if you are a newcomer or a veteran after 2 years, you will always find yourself on a steep learning curve. As soon as you barely mastered one skill or the skills needed for one level in the hierarchy, you will take care of things, which are expected from a more senior colleague. This cycle never ends. You are expected to learn on the job, learn from your colleagues, your mentors, sometimes even the client. So basically a newly promoted Engagement Manager has the same 'struggle' as a new-hire Business Analyst. They both need to work in a completely new environment and role.

Knowing that, if we now go back to square one in your MBB journey it makes perfect sense to enter the firm with a blank slate with a lot of curiosity and eagerness to soak it all up and quickly learn the ropes.

Nothing matches the experience and the learning and this is a good thing (also the reason why ex-MBBs are valued highly on the job market).

Also be mindful that the consulting life, especially in MBB, is a continuous stretch/marathon and as soon as you are halfway proficient at one thing, you are already thrown into the cold water with a completely different thing that you need to figure out.

The learning curve is extremely steep and never ends, hence, it feels like you are running and lagging behind all the time.

You will learn everything you need to master while doing it. You will be thrown in the cold water and need to swim. However, your colleagues will always be happy to help you and mentor you. And for the rest, you will figure everything out along the way. The key here is always to ask for tips, shortcuts, feedback, etc. Don't be quiet if you get stuck.

Lastly, if you have no domain knowledge about a certain industry or topic, read through the internal library of documentation (which is endless) and call some of the firm experts on the topic. Usually, they are happy to offer you a short call to get you up to speed.

But here’s something extra: Since the question came up ever so often with my clients, I've authored a book titled "Consulting Career Secrets," specifically to guide newcomers like you in navigating this journey. The goal of the book was to answer all typical questions of entry-level consultants and show them the way to make the entry and the transition as simple and painless as possible. 

While no book or training can entirely prep you for the unique experiences of your first day, week, or project, it offers comprehensive insights to mentally prepare you, suggests essential tools and skills to acquire, shows you the ways how to do that, and strategies to quickly adapt and excel in your new role. 

You can DM me if you want to know more.

In any case, don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy the ride!

Florian