Between Offer and Start Date - Networking

Hi there, congratulations on your offer! I am sure you will love your time in consulting! 

From here to your start date, I would do the following:

- Schedule a quick video chat or a fast coffee near the office with the point-of-reference contact that reached out to you: if you don't have any specific questions, it doesn't make sense to occupy that person's time unnecessarily, but it's still nice to quickly get to know one another. A colleague that's slightly more senior than you are is EXTREMELY valuable: they will be able to provide guidance and advice on a lot of matters down the line;

- Organise a get together with the fellow newcomers, to get to know them as well - this will give you a sense of belonging once you join, since you will already know some people at the office and will give you a chance to bounce off “silly” newbie questions (such as where to get cafeteria vouchers or where the IT office is);

- Reach out to some seniors (if you are affiliated to a specific practice, these will be the partners of that practice) to ask them how you could best prepare: whether they have any reading recommendations, whether there are any concepts you must be sure to master, etc.;

- Practice Excel and PPT (both functions and short-cuts) - I could not stress this enough - if you are comfortable with those from Day 1, you will avoid so much stress and save yourself hundreds of hours of work;

- Sharpen up your mental math and/or your communication skills, depending on which area you think needs some attention; 

- And finally, take care of personal business: get the doctors' appts, beauty appts, and other personal commitments out of the way before you begin, so that you could focus on your exciting new role without any distractions. 

Sorry I went beyond the original question, but I hope it's somewhat useful. Best of luck!

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offer. I would recommend to propose to have lunch together (or if not possible a quick call in a few weeks). The reasons for that are:

• You can create a personal connection with someone in the firm – an early ally is always useful
• You can get insider tips early on
• The consultants who act as points of contact are usually nice people. Even if you don’t have very specific questions you are probably going to have a good time anyway
• He/she (and you) needs to have lunch anyway – you are not taking much extra time

Bonus: pay for the lunch if possible, the other person will automatically remember you positively ;)

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there,

Congratulations on getting the offer! Reaching out to your contact to set up a short 20 min call seems like a good way forward.

It seems as though you don't have specific questions and instead wonder how to best prepare for day 1. Something like this is best discussed on the phone and will be well received by your contact.

However, they will probably tell you to not overthink and enjoy the free time while it lasts :)

Hope this helps a bit! Best of luck!

Hi there, 

Just see the fun in it and be curious! Offer to meet them for a coffee (even if it's a virtual one) and do think beforehand what you'd actually be curious to know more about. Don't think about it as having to impress anyone. You're already in. Instead, approach it with curiosity and try to learn more about the person you're connecting with. They might potentially turn into a mentor or at least a guide for your start in the firm. 

Best of luck and enjoy the ride!

Hi there,

Congrats on getting the offer!

The long and the short of it is - it doesn't matter! No head figure is watching to see what you do/don't do. Do what you want :) No one is checking if you're showing good initiative here etc.

I recommend you ask to meet for a coffee. Come with any questions you have about the firm etc. There's no “should” here.

Ask for you and just do what you think will help you :)

ah dont overthink and dont over engineer this. Just go with the flow and ask questions on how to prep for Day 1, things to watch out for. But really, just take it easy here. 

Congrats and all the best.

There's no downside on not networking in this case. But, there's a good deal of upside. If you already know someone when you get in, and that person is willing to help you navigate the company through the first few days/weeks, that's great. 

Having someone advising you on which projects to accept and to avoid can be really helpful, for example.

So yes, if I were you, I'd take the opportunity at least to have a quick chat. You can ask the usual - preparation tips, but also real value add stuff, such as who are the best people, partners or projects to work with, your staffing preferences and how to get the projects you'd prefer, and also the logistics stuff (how to get there, where to park the car, lunch options, etc.).

Hi there, 

Congrats to your offer, that's a great achievement!

From a networking standpoint, it's definitely a great idea to take up the opportunity. Take the colleague for lunch, coffee or whatever. Buddies like that will be able to share plenty of tips & tricks, do's vs don't, which will make your entry into the firm a lot smoother and easier. No need to come with a list of questions, asking for general advice is more than enough. Keep it natural.

From a visibility standpoint, honestly, it does not matter - it's not really about taking initiative here, as everyone in the firm is hungry and this does not feed into your evaluation nor will it be even noticed by any decision maker. Hence, don't over-estimate the impact.

Regards, Andi