Struggling at 10 months in MBB

Hey there, I’m really sorry you’re going through this! Being on PIP, especially coming straight from academia, can be emotionally draining and can make you question everything. You’re not alone in this, even if it feels that way right now.

MBB can be particularly tough if your first projects don’t go well or you don’t immediately “find your tribe.” A few unlucky cases or misaligned managers early on can disproportionately shape perceptions, and many strong consultants don’t have a smooth first year.

A few thoughts that may help you navigate this:

First, reduce the mental pressure.
As prestigious as MBB is, it’s still just a job. It should be challenging and push you out of your comfort zone, but it shouldn’t feel like a constant threat to your self-worth. Taking some pressure off yourself often improves performance.

Second, make the feedback concrete and actionable.
“Independent thinking” and “hypothesis-driven insights” are vague labels. Try to translate them into specific behaviors:

• In which situations did this feedback come up?
• Was it about structuring upfront, prioritization, or drawing conclusions without being told? Speak with former managers or someone you trust to understand exactly what triggered the feedback.

Third, be very deliberate about your next staffing.
Work closely with your PD / staffing manager. Be transparent about needing a project where you can clearly demonstrate progress on this feedback. Before the project starts, align with your next manager on what success should look like by the end, framed as development goals, not as a PIP situation. 

Fourth, optimize for exposure and sponsorship.
Try to understand the workstream, end product, and level of partner exposure upfront. Strong partner feedback is critical to get you out of this situation. Ideally, you find a partner who knows you well and is willing to vouch for you, that will make a real difference.

Fifth, do your diligence on teams.
This is always important, but especially now. Talk to people who’ve worked with the manager/partner before. Are they supportive? Do they invest in junior team members? Will they give you room to grow?

And finally: if after honest reflection you realize you don’t enjoy the work, environment, or lifestyle, it’s not a failure to step away. While 2 years is often ideal, leaving earlier after genuinely trying is far from career-ending. No job is worth sacrificing your health or happiness, especially if your long-term goal is entrepreneurship anyway.

If you want to talk this through in more detail, feel free to reach out. Sometimes having an outside perspective helps cut through the noise :)

hey there :)

This is more common than it feels, especially coming straight from academia, and being on PIP at 10 months does not define your potential or your future. The feedback you mention is very coachable, but it usually takes time, reps, and the right managers, and bad case staffing can really skew outcomes early on. If your long term goal is entrepreneurship or startups, MBB is not the only nor the necessary path, and leaving does not mean failure, it can be a smart re optimization. I would use the PIP period to honestly assess whether you want to adapt to this job or simply extract the brand and move on intentionally, both are valid. Happy to chat if you want to think through next steps calmly.

best,
Alessa :)

Hi there,

What you’re experiencing is more common than it feels especially for people coming straight from academia into MBB. The learning curve is steep early staffing and manager fit matter a lot and being on PIP at 10 months doesn’t automatically mean you’re not capable it often means the transition hasn’t clicked yet. That said the feedback you’re getting independent thinking hypothesis driven insights and prioritization is core consulting muscle and if your long term goal is entrepreneurship or startups those skills are valuable but not strictly necessary to develop inside MBB at all costs. If you feel you can realistically course correct with better staffing and targeted effort it can be worth pushing through short term. If the role is draining you and hurting confidence it’s also completely reasonable to explore exits earlier especially given your stated goals. 

Best,
Evelina

Do you enjoy the actual job? 

If not, then it might make sense to already think about switching. But do press your thinking to figure out whether you really don't enjoy it, or whether you don't enjoy it now because things are just not going according to expectations. 

If you do enjoy it and want to turn the situation around, there are a few things you can do. 

First, find a mentor internally OR a coach externally. 

Diagnose with them what is going on and HOW to work on improving on those areas. 

Then you likely need to make some changes internally, re your expectations. One of the things I see often with new consultants, and I had the same experience starting, is that they overdo it. And as a consequence of this, they perform worse. Meaning, they try to push too hard, too many late nights, too few boundaries. That sets off a negative spiral. 

I'm happy to help. Feel free to reach out directly. I've worked with multiple existing consultants on similar situations.

Best,
Cristian

Hello friend!

Happy to mentor and guide you until we turn this around for you! 

Can share a wealth of experience, having been with McKinsey for seven years. This is something you can 100% turnaround (if you feel that's the right thing to do)

All the best!