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Moving Out but no Experience

Career Advising career move Change Career
New answer on Nov 19, 2022
3 Answers
479 Views
Anonymous A asked on Nov 16, 2022

Hi, I am interested to find opportunities elsewhere as I am on the bench for about 6 months into my new role. 

I don't have any experience in my new role as I was from another role that is not totally related. What should I do if I want to move out?

The firm has plenty of learning materials around the role I am interested in. I can certainly brush up my technical knowledge but not sure how much this help. 

Any advice?

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Pedro
Expert
replied on Nov 19, 2022
30% off in April 2024 | Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

I think we've seen your story unfold in this forum for a while. 

At this point, you have to either:

1) ask to go back to former team

2) find a different job

By this time you probably exhausted every action you could take in order to get staffed, so I wouldn't consider this an opportunity anymore.

If you are on the bench you probably have plenty of time to look for a new job and network extensively (inside and outside the company). Just go for it.

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 16, 2022
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Here's my advise:

  1. Network a ton
  2. “Hide" this gap on your resume (put in anything you can under this role on your resume)
  3. Get proposal work
  4. Get on a project at the company ASAP
  5. Do pro bono consulting (lots of companies out there that you can volunteer there for 5-10 hours/week)
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Dennis
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 16, 2022
Ex-Roland Berger|Project Manager and Recruiter|7+ years of consulting experience in USA and Europe

Hi,

could you clarify a bit more? Are you in a consulting firm now? Did you have a non-consulting role prior? How is “the role you are now interested in” related to what you do now? Same firm?

In consulting it is not unusual to be on the beach for several months, especially if you are new. That often has to do with the project pipeline rather than the individual though. You should be proactive and have an open dialogue with your manager/mentor to better understand

  • why you are still not staffed
  • when you can expect staffing
  • where you can meaningfully support in the interim

To answer your question on how to best prepare for a potential switch, I'd have to understand more about the context (see questions above).

All the best

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Anonymous A on Nov 16, 2022

Hi Dennis, thank you for replying. I am currently with the big 4 and did a transfer between depts in the advisory practice in the same firm. My consulting previously was more on the qualitative side of things while now is more quantitative. I am with the firm for 3.5 years in total and am a senior associate. I did bring up the topic to my manager/mentor not once or twice but about 3-4 times in total. They shared cause the team is tied down with projects so it is hard to give me new projects since I have no background and no one to guide. Moreover, it is hard to bring me into the project cause of client knowledge and no one can brief or bring me up to speed since it is deep into the work. They said cause the start of my leave coincide with the project starting so they couldn't rope me in. One of the leave was sick leave as I had to undergo a procedure and it was only a week and another one is because of the qualifications exam. It has been 5 months going to 6 months next month I am on the bench. I am honestly not sure when I can expect staffing as there is no clear direction from my manager nor my director.

Pedro gave the best answer

Pedro

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