Hi there,

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Know that no-one can perfectly prepare for the job and that's the point: You will mess up, you will learn, you will be trained and supported. That's OK!

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First: I have a consulting survival guide handbook with 25 key tips for surviving the consulting world. Feel free to message me for it!

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Second: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:

1) Daily Reading

• The Economist, The Financial Times, BCG/Mskinsey Insights

2) Industry deep-dives

• Learn, in-depth, how the industries/companies your office advises, work. (PM me for an industry overview template)

3) Analytics tools

• Alteryx, Tableau, etc.

4) Excel

5) Powerpoint

• Best practices/standards
• Different layouts
• Quickly editing/updating slides
• Thinking in PowerPoint

6) Presentation skills / sharp communication

• There are some online/virtual classes for this

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Third: In terms of doing well in your role when you're there:

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)

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Fourth: Here are some great prior Q&As for you!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-makes-a-good-consultant-how-to-get-a-good-review-6790

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-hard-is-it-to-excel-in-top-consulting-firms-6762

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-become-an-engagement-manager-and-partner-quickly-6722

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/need-to-learn-skills-in-the-ample-free-time-before-starting-at-an-mbb-what-should-i-do-6774

Hi there,

this sounds like a stressful situation to be in and it seems like you are somewhat overloaded very early on.

The exciting thing about working for a boutique consulting firm is that you get to wear many hats and you can play multiple roles and see all sorts of different facets of the business. On the flipside, it is exactly that which might make it especially challenging for a new joiner in consulting.

Larger firms have dedicated kick-off training camps for their new consultants as well as an established training curriculum throughout the different career levels to make sure that the employees are equipped with the essential consulting tool box (including how to best manage team members). 

As for industry expertise, this is typically obtained through different avenues, e.g.

• you already have background in it based on your university degree or prior work experience
• you get a 101 intro  from your colleagues/partners who are experienced in the space
• you access the internal intranet database where you find a lot of market reports, prior project documentations and general industry know-how
• you worked on a few consulting projects in a given space (leveraging the above) and thereby acquired the fundamental knowledge 

I think you need to schedule a dedicated discussion with your boss to set up a development plan for you that includes target setting for the next months but also provides you with a set of resources to leverage and tap into

• Who in your firm can give you material on the industry sector you are supposed to master?
• Who can give you an initial voice-over and point you towards the essentials so you can get up to speed?
• Can you propose a format (e.g. weekly coffee chats) in which you can have subject matter related Q&A sessions with the respective experts?

It sounds like there needs to be some expectation management with your boss and he/she is the one who has to give you some guidance - or nominate someone else in the firm to serve as a kind of mentor for you. After all, how are you supposed to effictively lead junior colleagues if you are still figuring out your own role?

Feel free to chat more if that would be helpful

Be pragmatic. There is no need to ask (and answer) your questions about the differences between your current situation and MBB, since the situation you are facing, requires a quick solution.

I have some recommendations to ramp up your consulting skills:

• Plan your work and your juniors' work in detail
• Ask yourself what is the most important thing you need to accomplish and go relentless for that
• Prioritize ruthlessly (as I have done ignoring your unnecessary question on MBB)
• Gain knowledge on your firm sector by talking with people on LinkedIn, reading MBB reports, watching YouTube videos, etc

All the rest is priority 2.

1) Leadership is not about having the technical skills. Leadership in this case is about “owning” the deliverable (i.e., you are the ultimate responsible for making sure it happens, it is zero-defect, it has good insights, making sure you communicate ofter with the manager on project status, etc.). This is about MINDSET. 

Of course, you are in the tought spot of having to acquire technical expertise from your juniors. Well, don't be shy and ask them for their help as well.

2) Regarding industry knowledge… it is usually not an issue. I learn new industries in record time. That's the skill you need to acquire (how to learn new industries in record time). And yes, that requires reading a lot. A lot of intelectual curiosity, good research skills, and putting the time and effort. 

Shortcuts? Talking to experts. That's the biggest accelerator out there. But please notice that experts can be within your own team and firm. Go and reach out to them, and have 30/60 min conversations to absorb as much as possible from the market.

Another shortcut is to read previous project work done by your firm (if they don't have other/better type of materials).

(editiert)