How to "learn fast and efficiently" and "survive" in the first 3 months of probation?

Hi there,

I don't think there is a need to overthink the situation - what I expect from a new joiner are 3 key things:

• Ability to listen carefully - understand the tasks, ask your clarifying question early on in the process and avoid having to hear the same feedback multiple times
• Ability to think for yourself and own your analysis/task - Owning your slides/analysis is critical, this means don't rely that someone else would fill the gaps that you couldn't fill - even if your manager would have to change it, it is best to see that you are putting the effort into learning (example: new joiners sometime focus so much on the graph on the slide and forget to put an action title...)
• Drive to work hard and deliver - remember, that if you really want this job, then work hard for it. nothing is free. So apply yourself, don't think that the task is too complicated or too boring, just do it and learn from it. Have the right mindset.

I hope this helps

Khaled

Think about your job as you do a case (hey, they weren't created for nothing)

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)

Hi,
maintain high your enthusiasm and your willingness to learn from everybody. In particular, try to carefully observe your most senior and successful peers to understand their way of communicating and presenting their achievements and try yo leverage it. Meanwhile, build solid relationships with colleagues to better understand the company culture, what works and tips&tricks.

Best,
Antonello

Hi Anonymous,

On top of wht was already said, the single most critical point in consulting is around feedback. This will be intense... very intense.

Take your feedback seriously.

Accept it, if you like it or not.

Keep track of all feedback and tackle your weak spots.

Review and assess yourself regularly.

And: make sure people around you notice your improvements :-)

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Dear A,

First of all, my congratulations to your MBB offer, I wish you best of luck in your career.

For candidates like you, who have already secured the offer with a leading consulting firm, I have designed my program "Get ready for the first 100 days " as well as long-term career planning. This program touches all the important aspects: the mindset, the skills, knowledge, networking and ,managing yourself as well, your bosses and clients - everything that is important in your successful career.

In fact, I'm sharing my knowledge of 6 years career experience in consulting, where I was able to land on the fast track promotion and to be promoted from consultant to a project manager just within 3 years, which is extremely fast.

Happy to share these insights with you, feel free to reach out directly to me.

Good luck,

André

Hello!

To add on top of what´s been said before:

Something that I found particularly helpful was to have multiple feedback touchpoints.

For sure they´re great to:

1. See improvement areas
2. See amazing points about yourself that you were not aware of!

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hello,

At the b&eginning, you have to look at the others, listen carefully to both trainings and advices from your managers.

You should also try to intercept weak signals as much as possible.

As it is not always simple, plan regular periods of feedback and come out of these sessions with an action plan. At each session, go back from this action plan and explain what you have done to progress and therefore make sure you go in the right direction.

Best, David