Can you juggle strategy consulting and high level sports ?

Question

Hi,

I’m new here, so I hope I’m not making a mistake in posting here.

I’m a student from a target French business school and I’m interested in strategy consulting.

I happen to train a lot of Muay Thai, and the lowest I could go to maintain my skill would be three times per week on weekdays, sometimes two. On those days, I would need to finish work at 8pm at the latest, maybe even a little earlier. I also plan and doing strength and conditioning on the early morning before heading to work. How feasible would it be ? In MBB / Tier 2, other firms maybe ? In that case, what would be the comp like ?

I don’t mind being told it is impossible, but I really need to know as it is a big part of my life.

Answer 1

Hey,

Former MMB-consultant in Paris here.

The short answer: it's tough but not impossible. You can usually align with your project manager to get one "early" night per week (finishing before 8pm) and it's uncommon to stay beyond 6pm on Fridays. That's twice on weekdays.

Getting an additional early finish is not guaranteed and depends a lot on the project you are on.

The other thing to keep in mind - even if you manage to get 3 slots per week, you will most likely have to give up on other activities during the week (e.g. meeting friends, etc.).

If you want to discuss this further and potentially prepare for consulting interviews, feel free to reach out to me

Best,

Oussama

Answer 2

Hi there,

3 times a week on weekdays to finish by 8pm is very tough. To be more realistic, 1 time during weekdays probably is manageable with your project team. Also, you'd need to be flexible on which day during the week you can do it. The night before a big client meeting is unlikely to work out.

Best,

Emily

Answer 3

Hey there :)

At MBB or most Tier 2 firms it will be very hard to keep a strict weekday training schedule, since projects often run long and you usually don’t control your evenings. Morning sessions are usually easier to keep up, but having three fixed evenings a week for Muay Thai would be unrealistic in most cases. Smaller boutiques or in-house strategy roles are usually much more predictable and could allow this balance. Compensation there is lower than MBB/Tier 2, but still attractive compared to most industries.

So if maintaining that level of sport is non-negotiable, I’d suggest looking more at boutiques or in-house teams.

best,
Alessa :)

Answer 4

There are ways to manage work smartly in MBB that can reduce unpredictability and working hours to a manageable level. Many people simply grind it out and end up woring far too many more hours than they should have needed to. Managing personal KPIs will be easier in MBB compared to other firms due to the institutionalised interventions for managing work-life-balance metrics. T2 and beyond would ideally care less about your L&D and WLB (exceptions will be there always)

That said, you will have to very strong-mindedly adjust your work & life schedules to be able to achieve your personal KPIs.

Often you might prefer relaxing over your sports. Other times, you might prefer lighter workouts over stronger ones to balance out the workload.

I think the first step for you at present is to apply and get that offer. Any of us coaches on PrepLounge can help you in that.

Once you have that sorted out, you and I can talk about my Pre-Joining Performance Programme to help you become a solid consultant from Day 1.