Onboarding prep: 1 week left, how to use time wisely?

Hi there,

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

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

• First of all, while it is great to see how eager you are to prepare for your career start with your future employer, I would highly advise you not to worry about it. All major consulting firms will provide you with excellent onboarding and training that will prepare you for everything you need to know.
• Moreover, I would highly advise you not to worry about networking before joining. All major consulting firms will ensure you will have a smooth start and when you started, you will still have time to get to know everyone.

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

Best,

Hagen

Hey! I remember having the same questions when I was starting my career at MBB. From my experience, here’s how you can make the best use of your time:

1. Excel: Instead of diving into a full financial modeling course, focus on consulting-relevant Excel functions. Prioritize skills like:
   • Advanced formulas (e.g., VLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, IF statements)
   • Pivot tables, data analysis, and chart creation
   • Keyboard shortcuts for efficiency Resources like Chandoo.org or ExcelJet offer bite-sized tutorials to boost your skills quickly.
2. PowerPoint: Rather than taking a full course, focus on consulting-specific slide creation:
   • Practice structuring slides clearly (MECE: Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive)
   • Visual storytelling with charts and concise text
   • Review MBB-style slides for presentation insights Websites like SlideShare or Consulting.com can give you real-world examples.
3. Networking: Since you’re joining a small office, it’s helpful to start networking now. Reach out to colleagues for informal chats to get a feel for the office culture and upcoming projects. This will help you integrate smoothly when you start.

Don’t worry too much—MBB firms offer comprehensive onboarding and training programs when you begin, so you’ll receive plenty of guidance to refine your consulting skills!

Best, 

Alessa

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).

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

Hello there,

Congratulations on the new role!!

My advice to you is to spend this week relaxing in advance of the journey that lies ahead. Most of the learning (Excel, PPT et al) will happen on the job and you’ll have ample networking opportunities when you join especially considering it’s a small office.

You can also take this time to start thinking about what you want get out of your consulting career if you haven’t done so yet. Of course, this can evolve over time but having that North Star in the beginning will be helpful.

All the Best,

Fathu

One week in a MBB project is worth 3 months of previous trainings.

Any MBB has good onboarding training programs. On the ground job is the best learning field. 

Use the time to be ready physically, mentally and emotionally. Exercise. Socialize. Do whatever charges your batteries. MBBs are extremely demanding and you need to be in your best possible shape to absorb all learnings when you join.

Just make sure you know the basics of excel and powerpoint. If you know how to do the basic stuff... the rest you'll do on the job. After 1 month you'll have more experience in slides that you had in the previous 20 years :)

Hey, Congratulations on your achievement!

Would it be possible for you to connect I want to learn about your application and hirring process?

If yes, please drop me a message. Would really appreciate some guidance from you around this.