Hi there,

Congratulations on your offer! In terms of your question:

Q: What would you advise me to do to enhance my consulting knowledge to pass probation?

I would recommend to consider the following.

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IT TOOLS

You are probably fine with 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:

▶ 11 New Consulting Trends You Should Know

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READING LIST

A good way to invest your extra time before starting is to… read. You probably won’t have much time to do this later and reading can help you substantially to accelerate your personal growth.

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 it might be useful to review the list just in case:

1. Take notes during meetings/discussions with your manager – this will help you to remember details and will show the team that you care.
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 will create a good reputation. 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. You want to identify the most important activities and prioritize them, applying the 80-20 rule. Align with your manager to define them at the start of the project whenever possible.
4. Socialize with your colleagues and start to build a network. A good start is key to develop good relationships long-term. Try to build connections in your first weeks with your peers to build a network.
5. Align with your team on your private life activities. You might want to organize some space for personal activities (sport/ friends/ family). 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 approachable and respectful to support staff – these people are generally great and influential in the company as well.

All the best for a great start!

Francesco