Hello all, I have accepted an offer to start at an MBB firm and will start in February.
Wanted to hear from the experts/ex or current consultants on things I can do to prepare better for the job.
I know its a big question but feel free to suggest ways/materials etc.
Thank you
Hi there,
First, congratulations on the offer! And, fantastic question. The journey isn't over once you get past interviews...it has only just begun :)
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Know that no-one can perfectly prepare for the job and that's the point: You will mess up, you will learn, you will be trained and supported. That's OK!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First: Read the 25 tips in my consulting handbook here: https://www.spencertom.com/2018/01/14/consulting-survival-guide/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second: Attend an academy
There are so many great training programs that prepare new graduates for the consulting world! I'm part of a few myself. Feel free to shoot me a message and I can point you in the right direction!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Third: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:
1) Daily Reading
2) Industry deep-dives
3) Analytics tools
4) Excel
5) Powerpoint
6) Presentation skills / sharp communication
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fourth: In terms of doing well in your role when you're there:
1) Understand the context/prompt (what role are you in, what company, who's watching, etc.)
2) Understand the objective (what, specifically, is expected from you...both day to day, and in your overall career progression)
3) Quickly process information, and focus on what's important - Take a lot of information and the unknown, find the most logical path, and focus on that.
4) Be comfortable with the unknown, and learn to brainstorm - think/speak like an expert without being one
In summary, there will always be a flood of information, expectations, competition etc. and not enough time. Find out which ones matter when. (i.e. be visibile and focus efforts on the things that people care about)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fifth: Here are some great prior Q&As for you!
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-makes-a-good-consultant-how-to-get-a-good-review-6790
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-hard-is-it-to-excel-in-top-consulting-firms-6762
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-become-an-engagement-manager-and-partner-quickly-6722
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/need-to-learn-skills-in-the-ample-free-time-before-starting-at-an-mbb-what-should-i-do-6774
Hello there!
Congratulations on your offer!
The first thing to do is take some time to celebrate and rest :)
To perform well at MBB you need to focus on improving different skills that will help you become a top performer:
Think about your weak points and how you can fix them. You could also find courses online to improve some of them.
Some other useful pieces of advice you can find here:
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-be-prepared-to-start-new-role-in-one-month-6947
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/job-at-mbb-now-what-5993
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/books-related-to-management-consulting-5208
Was it helpful?
GB
Hello!
Congrats of that offer!
If there is one thing I wish I had done before joining McKinsey, that would have been Excel. It can really be a game changer, so I would really focus on that (more than pptx, industry knowledge, etc., that are nice-to-have, but not deal breakers).
Excel skills are part of the core skill-set of consultants, and it´s great that you want to practice them. PFB a list of the most popular commands:
Basic operations: SUM, SUMPRODUCT
Text transformations: CONCATENATE, LEFT, RIGHT, & operator,
Connecting different datasets: VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, INDEX(MATCH(),MATCH())
Conditional-based operations: SUMIF, COUNTIF, SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, COUNTA
Learn how to analyze data using Pivot Tables
There are plenty of online materials:
Microsoft Support: https://support.office.com/en-us/excel
Kubicle: https://kubicle.com/personal (go for the 7 days free trial - Excel for Business Analytics)
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Nice one congrats! Must be super excited..
This question has been answered many times in the Q&A forum and there are tons of threads with plenty of tips. So please search.
Take the time to relax and energise as well please. You are going to get very busy :)
Hi,
Congrats! You'll have a lot of fun!!!
Although I agree with other coaches in the forum, I also believe that you should relax now.
Things in consulting move very very fast. You'll learn hands-on how to manage your day-to-day activities. You can never prepare to do this before you are actually doing this.
Hope it helps.
Best,
Antonello
Expert case by