McK starting advice - Junior Associate

Hi candidate,

I had a pretty similar start to my consulting career, coming from a non-finance background too. 

First of all, do not worry too much about prepping ahead of your first few weeks at McK. They have a couple of weeks of training which should give you a solid base on the tools the firm uses in-house, as well as a sense of how cases should be tackled as a JA.

If you really have some time, I would suggest working on two fronts:

1. Remain sharp on your problem solving skills. Try to continue solving case studies and thinking of approaches you might take, perhaps even more from a analysis perspective (where you would source your data, what tools you would use to solve it, how you would present it)
2. Familiarise with certain tools a little bit. McK like all other firms, use ppt and excel, so would suggest getting a little bit of familiarity with these, just makes the first few months of ramp-up smoother. You should also in theory receive some material to familiarise with Tableau and Alteryx at some point. However, I think these are more of a second priority

Congratulations on the offer and hopefully you can enjoy your R&R a bit longer before starting!

Adil

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offer!

I listed some suggestions below.

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IT TOOLS

You are probably ok with the basics of Excel and PowerPoint, if not you can take a quick course to review the basics. You can check in advance with your office if they recommend training on any other tool, such as Alteryx or Tableau and if so, do some prep on that.

One of the most important things you can learn with any IT tool is shortcuts – they will increase substantially your productivity.

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INDUSTRIES

If your office specializes in specific industries where you would like to work, it would be good to get a minimum knowledge of them in advance. You will still learn the most during the job so this is not strictly necessary.

You can find some tips on recent consulting trends here:

▶ https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/consulting-industry-trends-2022

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READING LIST

To me, the best way to invest the free time you have now is to… read. You won’t have much time to do this later and reading is one of the most undervalued growth opportunities available today.

Personally I don’t have much time to read, so I listen to books – Audible is great for this. You can easily listen to a book per week with minimum effort. You absorb books differently when you listen, so you have to check if this works for you.

The following are some books I would highly recommend to develop a growth mindset – key in any industry with high pressure. You can expand the list with anything you want to learn – just try to find a few really good books on that topic.

• The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy (great book on long-term planning)
• Tiny Habits – BJ Fogg (excellent, science-based book on habits formation)
• The Mediations – Marcus Aurelius (written ~ 2000 years ago but incredibly actual – the personal diary of the most powerful man in the world at the time)
• The 80–20 Principle – Richard Koch (very smart life tips from one of the founders of LEK)
• Peaks and Valleys – Spencer Johnson (crisis management tale – from the same author of the famous “Who moved my Cheese”, I personally found this book a lot more interesting and applicable)
• The Gap and the Gain – Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy (excellent book in terms of mindset for happiness)

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FIRST WEEKS

Below you can also find some tips for the first weeks I usually recommend – you are probably familiar with most of them, but could be good to review:

1. Take notes during meetings/discussions with your manager – this will help you to remember details and will show you care about them to the team.
2. Always double-check. The first impression is very important when you join a new company: if you show you are reliable from the beginning, you create a reputation of a reliable person. Double checks should be done on expectations for your job, your Excel analysis, your slides – basically everything.
3. Define priorities before starting any set of tasks. The majority of the results usually come from a subset of activities – this is true also for your tasks in consulting. You have to identify which they are and prioritize them – the application of the so-called 80-20 rule or Pareto Principle. Alignment on priorities and expectations is particularly important with your manager at the beginning of the project.
4. Socialize with your colleagues and start to build a network. You should build a good network within the company. A good start is key to develop good relationships long-term. More difficult to do during COVID – but there may still be opportunities for virtual gatherings. Try to take advantage of as many as possible to build connections.
5. Organize your private life activities. You want to organize your calendar to leave some space for personal activities (sport/ friends/ family). This is not easy but can be managed if you organize well, and long-term will be critical to keep a balance between work and private life. Also, it is better to align with your manager/teammates from the beginning on your core needs, so that there are no surprises later­ on.
6. Ask for feedback every two-three weeks – this will show you are proactive and willing to learn.
7. Ask for help when you don't know what to do – better to let know you are in trouble with meeting a deadline than missing the deadline.
8. Be social and respectful with the support staff – these people are great and influential as well in the company.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

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!

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First: I have a consulting survival guide handbook with 25 key tips for surviving the consulting world. Feel free to message me for it!

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Second: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:

1) Daily Reading

• The Economist, The Financial Times, BCG/Mskinsey Insights

2) Industry deep-dives

• Learn, in-depth, how the industries/companies your office advises, work. (PM me for an industry overview template)

3) Analytics tools

• Alteryx, Tableau, etc.

4) Excel

5) Powerpoint

• Best practices/standards
• Different layouts
• Quickly editing/updating slides
• Thinking in PowerPoint

6) Presentation skills / sharp communication

• There are some online/virtual classes for this

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Third: 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)

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Fourth: 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

Honestly, other than knowing the very basics of excel, powerpoint, and understanding a financial statement… what you really need is plenty of sleep, exercise, relax. You'll learn so much faster once you're in, and your learning will always be directly tied to what you are doing and with great resources, so it's not really worth it to spend a lot of time before hand. Better to make sure you are physically and mentally at 100% when you start.

Congratulations!!! How did you revise to obtain the offer? :) 

Hi there, 

congrats to your offer - great achievement!

I'm with Pedro & Ian on this one - don't overdo it, don't over-prepare. You will learn all the critical skills & tools on the job. Consulting will be intense enough, esp in Year 1, hence use the time you have to relax, as long as you have it ;)

Few things worthwhile picking up in advance though, esp given your background ...

• Powerpoint & Excel - agree with the other coaches, this is the bread and butter of every consultant! Get familiar with using these tools to smoothen the ramp up in the firm. There should be many free resources online that give you the basics.
• Fundamentals in accounting (esp. understanding a P&L) - yes, you will go through detailed training on that, esp coming from non-biz background. However, it takes a bit of time to properly absorb these concepts, while new joiner trainings are very packed, so you won't spend sufficient time on this to properly internalize it. However, a solid understanding will be a MUST to be taken seriously by more senior clients. 

If you really want to walk the extra mile, the reading list provided by Francesco is quite good - I'd particularly recommend “The Pyramid Principle” by Barbara Minto. While admittedly a bit of a dry read, it is an all-time classic that pretty much sums up how we approach problem solving, storylining & verbal comms in consulting. If you internalize that approach, you'll be set for a good stint with MBB!

Wish you the best of luck!

Regards, Andi