Prep for Consulting Gig Post Offer

Hi there,

Congrats on your offer! To hit the ground running at McKinsey, consider upskilling in these areas:
    •    Data Analytics & Excel: Advanced Excel (PivotTables, INDEX/MATCH, Power Query), SQL basics.
    •    Financial & Business Acumen: Financial modeling courses (Wall Street Prep, Breaking Into Wall Street), Financial Intelligence (HBR).
    •    Industry-Specific Knowledge: Review McKinsey reports, HBR, and key trends in your expected sector.
    •    Soft Skills & Communication: The Pyramid Principle (Barbara Minto), The Trusted Advisor (David Maister).
    •    McKinsey-Specific: Check if you have access to McKinsey Academy for internal training.

That said, don’t overdo it—make sure to enjoy your time before starting!

Best of luck!
Evelina

Hi,

Like you are saying, there is no upfront preparation required as you will learn on the job. Enjoy your free time an be mentally ready to work long hours on the job. If you are still keen to start preparing, you can work on your Excel, Powerpoint and communication skills. 

Mattijs

Hey!

I’d suggest focusing on courses that boost your strategic thinking, quantitative analysis, and communication skills—think along the lines of business strategy, financial modeling, or data analysis classes available on platforms like Coursera or edX, as well as specialized consulting courses that cover frameworks and problem-solving techniques; ultimately, your best choice will depend on which skills you’d like to refine before starting, and if you want an assessment or further guidance, feel free to get in touch.

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 McKinsey 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

Hi there,

Congratulations on your new role at McKinsey! It's fantastic that you're eager to hit the ground running and proactively prepare for your new position.

While it’s true that McKinsey provides extensive training and on-the-job learning, gearing up in advance can definitely give you a head start. Here are a few courses and resources that I’d recommend to help you upskill:

1. Core Consulting Skills: Consider online courses that cover consulting basics, such as problem-solving frameworks, data analysis, and effective communication. Platforms like Coursera or LinkedIn Learning have many relevant offerings.

2. Excel and Data Analysis: Mastery of Excel is crucial, as you'll often use it for data analysis and modeling. Courses on platforms like Udemy can enhance your skills in this area.

3. Business Strategy: Understanding various business strategies is essential. Look for courses that explore strategic thinking and competitive analysis to deepen your insights. Here as well, I would recommend browsing on Edx, Coursera, and Udemy.

4. Industry-Specific Knowledge: Since you’re coming from an industry background, it might be beneficial to dive into resources about other industries McKinsey serves, broadening your perspective. I would read McKinsey studies which are available on their website.

5. Soft Skills: Improve skills like leadership, negotiation, and time management. These are incredibly valuable in client-facing roles and team collaborations. Here are some book recommendations: 

• "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie,
• "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves,
• "Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It" by Chris Voss,
• "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey,
• "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler

Additionally, I recommend reading books like "The McKinsey Mind" and "The Pyramid Principle" to better understand the firm’s methodologies and communication techniques.

While it’s important to relax and take time for yourself before starting, preparing in these ways can help you feel more confident and ready to make an impact from day one. Best of luck, and welcome to McKinsey!

Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions or need further guidance.

Best,

Margot

Hello there!

Congratulations on the offer :-)

When I was in this position, I’ve heard the same thing: relax because you will learn everything on the job. While it is true that many skills will only be developed empirically, there are others that you could learn in advance … and allow you to sleep more 😅

I took the advice to relax and regretted not having spent some hours learning how to create models on excel after starting my consulting job with a very demanding quant-heavy diagnostic. 

Rather than stating what you should learn, I’ll list some most common problems you’ll have to solve, so you can think about how to prepare for them as there are a lot of good resources out there:

0. Find ways to add value beyond your scope. I’m including as “zero”, because this is something you should do across all your tasks. It can be translated as being the most competent as possible, anticipating issues and over delivering. 

1. Create advanced models on excel. That’s pretty basic, you will have to learn it either now or during the job.

2. Deal with difficult people, figuring their agenda, triggers and expectations. Make them commit / buy your ideas.

3. Manage up your EM, AP and Partners. 

4. Find leaders that can be your sponsors/mentors. That is very important in consulting career, as it open doors to projects and opportunities.

+ Also, I would read about the company’s culture. Search for Reddit and Quora questions on that, be mindful and take the negative ones with a grain of salt.
+ There are courses focused on people who have been accepted into consulting that cover the basics. I can’t include the link here, but maybe it is worth googling it.

I wish you luck in this beginning! If you struggle, remember: everybody does, despite the appearances.
If you have any questions regarding your first days there, count on this community to help you!

Best,

Mari

Hi there,

Congratulations on your Associate position at McKinsey! Honestly, the best advice is to relax and enjoy your free time—most of the steep learning begins on the job. That said, if you’d like to boost your confidence and get a head start, here are a few ideas:

• Connect with Alumni: Reach out to alumni or coaches on PrepLounge who’ve worked at McKinsey to get firsthand insights into the firm’s ways of working and culture. You might also learn some McK-specific phrases or expressions—just familiarize yourself with what they mean (rather than feeling pressured to use them on day one).
• Learn the Ways of Working: If you really want to prepare, familiarize yourself with general approaches such as a hypothesis-driven mindset and rigorous problem-solving. This can give you a clearer picture of how challenges are tackled at McKinsey.
• Reflect on Your Experience: Consider how your industry background aligns with McKinsey’s approach, and think about potential challenges you might face during your transition.

Remember, over-prepping isn’t necessary—your real growth starts once you begin. Drop me a DM if I can help further or offer additional support!

Best of luck, and enjoy your downtime before the exciting journey ahead!

Johannes

Hi there, 

hope you are doing well and CONGRATULATIONS on your offer. I can very much relate to your feeling as I have been in your shoes back in the days, switching from Investment Banking to Consulting. 

My message to you would be two-fold: (A) Yes, you can relax a bit as McK and other Consultancies as well will teach you a lot of what you need to know on the job. (B) It never hurts to prepare yourself and it will make you feel more comfortable too, ultimately resulting in better performance. 

Hence, here is what I would recommend: You first need to understand what will make you successful at your new job and then think backwards about how you can prep this in advance. Below my thoughts: 

1. Excel and Powerpoint: These are the bread and butter tools for every Consultant. Not being familiar with them will slow you down and make you unnecessarily nervous on the job. You do not need to become proficient prior to joining but you should get yourself familiar with the programs. There are excellent educational videos on the Internet that show you how a Consultant would build a presentation or model. Try to emulate that. 

2. Realistic expectation of what a New Joiner needs to do: Rather than memorizing frameworks or looking at hypothetical ways to solve problem settings, I would recommend you reach out to your network and try to speak to people that are currently working in Consulting or have worked there before. They will be able to give you a realistic picture of what your first tasks will be like, what expectations towards your performance are and what to do/avoid. You will find see that consulting companies have their very unique ways of measuring performance and the sooner you understand those, the easier it is to get ahead of the curve. Of course, myself and my fellow coaches on this platform can help you do that as well given our own experience in those companies.  

3. Mental math: If there is a thing worth prepping it is a bit of mental math. Especially after years of having Excel do this work for you, people tend to get rusty at it. During my different projects, I have always felt this to be an important skill because clients love to throw around numbers and showcase their fast thinking. Keeping up with them and being able to formulate a reply on the spot can prove to be of great value. 

I hope the above has been insightful. Please reach out anytime in case of questions. 

All the best, 
Sebastian

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offer from McKinsey!

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 upcoming career start, 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.
• Moreover, if you still want to prepare on your own, I would advise you to focus on learning common MS Excel functions as well as MS Excel and PowerPoint shortcuts.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

The reason why many post advise you to relax is because what you are trying to do now will never mimic the intensity and complexity of what happens on the job. 

Just relax. Take it from someone with 8+ years of experience and has managed countless new associates on the job. :)

Hi There!

I know alot of people have already answered but you were me 2 and a bit years ago. So these are the only two things I wish I had known:

1. Reach out to the leadership e.g. Associate parnters, Partners on Linkedin and say that you're interested in their work, you're joining in XXX and you are interested in doing xyz.

> Why: You want to create a pathway of work for yourself as soon as you land. This way people will know who you are already. Most people I know sit on the beach for a month just getting to know people.

2. Learn SHORTCUTS on PPT and Excel:

> If you don't know shortcuts, learn now. I took a screenshot of the shortcut keys and printed it out and literally stuck it to my laptop to learn in my first couple of months. It will make your life infinitly better and faster. 

...and then relax and have fun!