Passing probation as MBA hire

Hi,

Sharing my POV having managed new consultants and hires as a Principal

1. Based on your experience, what is the rate to pass probation at MBB?

• This is really office dependent and specific
• If you ask me, really no point trying to stress out on this. More important to focus on your actual work once you start. Quotas and headcount is not something within your control.

2. Will there be room to ramp up consulting skills? I came from a corporate background. How will I be able to guide junior members who have more consulting experience than me?

• This question ultimately is very context specific, but ill share some general thoughts
• There is room to ramp up skills but it will be a steep ramp up
• The reality is that homegrown consultants will always have more experience than you,
• That being said, you are typically only expected to manage a more junior consultant (at least in BCG context) towards the 1.5 year mark of the 2 year tenure
• By this time, you should have built up the necessary skills and have an understanding of how to start performing at the next level
• So, some things you can keep in mind eventually
  • Learn to leverage, and not micro-manage
  • Understand where your input adds the most value and focus on that
  • Understand what your strengths are (and use them), and more importantly understand how to get around your weaknesses
  • Lastly, recognize that sometimes you are not expected to solve the problems yourself - there are firm resources (experts, case leadership) out there for you to help you

It sounds abit general still but unfortunately the challenges you will face are very context specific - e.g. do you need to mini-PL a Senior Associate who is building a model? e.g. do you need to own a SteerCo deck getting inputs from experienced Associates? The challenges here are very different.

Happy to chat more if helpful.

All the best!

Hello,

Congratulations on your new role! To answer your questions:

1. Based on your experience, what is the rate to pass probation at MBB?

This is going to be office-specific – I would ask your colleagues there

2. Will there be room to ramp up consulting skills? I came from a corporate background. How will I be able to guide junior members who have more consulting experience than me?

Yes, of course! It’s perfectly fine if you don’t have prior consulting experience. What you do have is several years of prior professional experience, which will equip you with useful skills around working in a team, working with clients, and managing people. Pretty much everyone in consulting is expected to learn on the job!

I think Benjamin’s advice about how to ramp up here is excellent. You will ramp up, but the learning curve is steep, so be ready to learn and adapt as you go. My additional two cents would be: observe your colleagues and learn from them. If you’re coming in at the Associate level, there should be someone more senior on your team (Project/Engagement Manager) whose role is to manage the team more directly. Learn from them, and have regular check-in sessions with them to assess your learning and development.

Best of luck!

Hi there, 

Probation is a formality in most offices, so don't worry too much abuot it upfront. 

Being concerned about it is only likely to hurt your performance in the long run. 

Sharing below with you two guides I wrote about how to become an effective consulting in your first year:

• Free Guide: How to Become A Distinctive Consultant
• Free Guide: How to Manage for Lifestyle in Consulting

Hope you'll find them helpful!

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

Honestly, the others of getting past this without changing/action action are very very low.

The odds with coaching are higher, but, admittedly still not great.

That said, if you want to fight the good fight then 1) hire a coach, 2) change what you're doing and re-focus and 3) read this article: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tips-for-consultans