Starting date | January/February vs September | Entry-level

Question

Dear Community,

I just received my MBB offer (entry-level). First of all, thank you for your help during the process.

Received the offer to join after my graduation (January 2022) and they gave me two options:

Join with the whole class in September 2022
Any other starting date before like January/February/March

What are the implications of both options in my evaluation, variable compensation, promotions, general experience?

Note from the recruiter: The entry-level program is 2-years and even if I join earlier only counts starting in September.

Super excited to join the company but still trying to figure out what is the "best month" to start. If I should go for the GMAT in the meanwhile for example.

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offer!

I would say it depends on the opportunity cost you have. Starting earlier could give you some time to adapt to the new job, but you won’t have time for much else.

Some possible skills/activities you may want to learn/do before joining are:

Improve your skills with Excel and PowerPoint
Freelance based on a skill you know/want to learn
Do an internship in a position that can help you long term (eg sales)
Learn a new language
Launch a website you can easily automate
Start a blog on a topic you know well
Support a local no-profit
Prepare for the GMAT (in case you want to go to B school in the future)
Travel to a top destination where you always wanted to go

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offer!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I'm happy to give you my perspective on that:

While I agree with what other coaches said about approaching the question from the perspective of opportunity costs, I would like to point out that several of those activities listed can be equally or even better performed on-the-job (e.g. improving skills in powerpoint/ excel, supporting a non-profit organization).
Moreover, you will get valuable, paid work experience both beneficial for the entry-level program (e.g. overall readiness, building up your network in the company) and potential future employers (i.e. it is still another 1-7 months you worked on projects).
I would advise you to approach the question with a list of potential activities you would like to do, and assess how important and how urgent it is for you to perform them (i.e. Eisenhower matrix).
- For important and urgent activities, you should make space to perform them before joining your company.
- For important but not urgent activities, think about the best possible time you would like to do them (e.g. the weather for some sought-after travel destinations might not be ideal Feb-Aug anyways). Keep in mind that you will also have the possibility to perform those acitivities on your vacation/ unpaid leave.
- For unimportant but urgent activities, think about if you could delegate them.
- For unimportant and not urgent activities, think about dropping them.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on the two options and the possible activities you would like to perform before your career entry, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Answer 3

Congrats! My advice will be to start early if you can. Given you are starting your career, clock some time & experience sooner rather than later.

You will learn plenty on the job anyway!

All the best.

Answer 4

Congrats on the offer!

I'll keep it simple for you:

If you don't have other alternative things to spend your time on, why not start early? You will get additional “mileage” to improve your core consulting skills. Your CV will also benefit from additional months of experience
If you have other important things to do (e.g., studying for GMAT, traveling etc.), you could start later of course

Answer 5

Hi!

The other coaches already gave you interesting insights.

I would focus on your priorities for those months. You might prepare for the GMAT… but also relax for some time :)

Best,

Anto

Answer 6

Hi there,

I honestly think you're missing the biggest point here: Joining with a cohort.

I cannot emphasize the important of starting with a group of people. You're “green” together. You're going through bootcamp and fighting in the trenches together.

The “hit rate” on deep/strong personal connections is no higher than in your starting cohort, and they are critical to your success (survival) in the first 6-18 months.

My honest opinion is you should prioritize starting in a cohort above all else.