M&A to MBB Associate Consultant, What do you wish you knew?

Question

Context: I'm in my mid-20s and recently graduated. For the last 3 years, I've worked exclusively in M&A / Corporate Development. I'm now joining Bain's South America office as an Associate Consultant.

One of my biggest insecurities is being staffed on projects far outside my M&A experience, like logistics or supply chain. My immediate reaction is to dive into technical books and try to learn as much as possible beforehand.

A few questions:

What hard skills or technical topics would you recommend studying early on?
What are the biggest mistakes people make during their first year in consulting?
How do you get up to speed quickly in an industry or function you know very little about?
How should I think about performance, staffing, role models, and networking within the firm?
Any other career or life advice you'd give someone at this stage of their career?

Feel free to answer any of the questions above or share anything else you wish someone had told you when you were starting out

Answer 1

Hi,

First of all congratulations on the move.

Honestly, I would not spend time studying technical topics before joining. The range of industries and functions you could be staffed on in an MBB is so broad that trying to prepare in advance is a bit like throwing a dice.

Instead, I would invest in skills that are transferable across every project:

PowerPoint/storylining (if not already at a very high level)
Structured communication
Being top-down and hypothesis-driven
Synthesizing complex information into a few key messages

Given your M&A background, I assume your Excel skills are already strong enough, so I wouldn't prioritize that.

Once you're staffed on a specific project, then spend time learning the industry and function. The good news is that MBB firms have a huge amount of internal knowledge and you'll usually be given plenty of material to get up to speed quickly. Don't worry about becoming an expert beforehand.

Regarding staffing, unless you already have a very specific long-term career goal (e.g., PE, banking, a particular industry), I would initially optimize for learning rather than specialization. Work with different managers, different partners, different industries, and different types of clients. Early in your career, breadth is usually more valuable than trying to curate the perfect staffing portfolio.

One mistake I see many new consultants make is focusing too much on the content and not enough on communication. Your success will depend less on knowing the answer and more on how clearly and confidently you communicate your thinking.

As for networking, my view is that it becomes particularly important when you're one or two years away from your project leader promotion. Performance is necessary, but eventually it is not sufficient. At that point, having senior people who know your work, trust you, and are willing to advocate for you becomes increasingly important.

Finally, don't underestimate how much of consulting is apprenticeship. The fastest way to improve is not by reading books but by observing strong consultants and asking yourself: "What are they doing differently from me?"

Good luck with Bain. Coming from M&A, you'll probably find that the business judgment side comes naturally; the biggest adjustment will be learning how to communicate and influence effectively in a consulting environment.

Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions. I've been through that stage myself and I'm happy to share additional thoughts.

Best,
Franco