Switching firms

Hey there,

Many people I coach prepare for MBB while working long hours in a full-time job.

I think there are four key elements in your preparation.

1. Stretch out your preparation. While I usually recommend candidates to prepare for 1 month with a few hours every day and some off-days in-between, in your case you might want to take out 3-5 months to spend a few hours every weekend. There is no rush.
2. Establish a baseline quickly, prioritize and be effective with your prep. This is arguably the part where coaching can help the most. The quicker you have established an objective baseline on where you stand with cases, personal fit interviews, and aptitude tests, the quicker you can start preparing properly, tailor your schedule to train your weaknesses, and improve on your strengths. Also, it pays off big time to learn the key habits needed for MBB early on.
3. Learn on the job. Don't underestimate how the exposure in your current job will help you with MBB interviews. You will learn more about the consultant's mind and the consultant's communication in your current role, which will benefit you in MBB interviews. Soak everything up in your new job and apply it in your case and fit interview prep and mock interviews!
4. Don''t burn out. It can be very stressful to prepare for MBB interviews while working long hours in parallel. You want to make sure that you have enough off-time every now and then to relax, focus on your friends / family / hobbies, etc. Don't make the MBB prep your only focus 

Let me know if you have specific questions per DM!

Cheers,
Florian

Hi there,

If you are in consulting already you will probably be able to practice just over weekends or days off.

In terms of general tips, there was a similar question recently - you can find some answers at the link below:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/switching-firms-10544

Best,

Francesco

Some more tips here- https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/preparing-during-working-full-time-10527

Hi there,

Well, the best way to minimize burnout is to not go too hard too fast right!

So, you want to make sure you have a long runway. This means you should give yourself at least 3 months to prepare, with 5-6 months better given how little free time you'll have.

I also recommend you make sure to pace yourself in the sense that you should always make sure to have one full rest day per week. The job itself is hard enough!

Additionally, consider hiring a coach. You need to optimize your study/prep time, since you don't have much. A good coach is a time lever. Meaning, with their guidance 1 hour of prep should be worth what 3-5 hours would have been without them.

Finally, leverage bench time, vacation time, etc to gain additional prep. Being able to fully focus on one thing (prep) for a bit will allow you progress a lot further.

Good luck!