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,

Congratulations on the offer!

To me, the best way to invest the free time you have now is to… read. You won’t have much time to do this later and reading is one of the most undervalued growth opportunities available today.

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READING LIST

Personally I don’t have much time to read, so what I do is to listen to books – Audible is great for this. You can easily listen to a book per week with minimum effort. You absorb books differently when you listen, so you have to check if this works for you.

The following are some books I would highly recommend. You can expand it with anything you want to learn – just try to find a few really good books on that topic.

• The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy (great book on long-term planning)
• Tiny Habits – BJ Fogg (excellent, science-based book on habits formation)
• The Mediations – Marcus Aurelius (written ~ 2000 years ago but incredibly actual – the personal diary of the most powerful man in the world at the time)
• The 80–20 Principle – Richard Koch (very smart life tips from one of the founders of LEK)
• Peaks and Valleys – Spencer Johnson (crisis management tale – from the same author of the famous “Who moved my Cheese”, I personally found this book a lot more interesting and applicable)
• The Gap and the Gain – Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy (excellent book in terms of mindset for happiness) 

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TOOLS

You are probably ok with the basics of Excel and PowerPoint, if not you can take a quick course to review the basics. You can check in advance with your office if they recommend training on any other tool. One of the most important things you can learn with any IT tool is shortcuts – they will increase a lot of your productivity.

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INDUSTRIES

If your office specializes in specific industries, it would be good to get a minimum knowledge of them in advance. However, don’t stress out too much about this, you will learn most during the job.

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FIRST WEEKS

Below you can also find some tips for the first weeks I usually recommend – you are probably familiar with most of them, but could be good to review:

1. Take notes during meetings/discussions with your manager – this will help you to remember details and will show you care about them to the team.
2. Always double-check. The first impression is very important when you join a new company: if you show you are reliable from the beginning, you create a reputation of a reliable person. Double checks should be done on expectations for your job, your Excel analysis, your slides – basically everything.
3. Define priorities before starting any set of tasks. The majority of the results usually come from a subset of activities – this is true also for your tasks in consulting. You have to identify which they are and prioritize them – the application of the so-called 80-20 rule or Pareto Principle. Alignment on priorities and expectations is particularly important with your manager at the beginning of the project.
4. Socialize with your colleagues and start to build a network. You should build a good network within the company. A good start is key to develop good relationships long-term. More difficult to do during COVID – but there may still be opportunities for virtual gatherings. Try to take advantage of as many as possible to build connections.
5. Organize your private life activities. You want to organize your calendar to leave some space for personal activities (sport/ friends/ family). This is not easy but can be managed if you organize well, and long-term will be critical to keep a balance between work and private life. Also, it is better to align with your manager/teammates from the beginning on your core needs, so that there are no surprises later­ on.
6. Ask for feedback every two-three weeks – this will show you are proactive and willing to learn.
7. Ask for help when you don't know what to do – better to let know you are in trouble with meeting a deadline than missing the deadline.
8. Be social and respectful with the support staff – these people are great and influential as well in the company.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Ian gave you a great answer, but I suggest prioritizing these areas of preparation:

• Excel: be able to use most of the functions, create a model from scratch (follow some Youtube channels such as Mr. Excel's one), and learn shortcuts
• PowerPoint: be able to create a presentation, use shortcuts, and train to be fast
• Presentation skills: read Strategic Storytelling from Dave McKinsey (no connection with the firm) and search on the web for as many McKinsey, Bain, and BCG presentations you can find in order to understand how to present data
• Annual Report: study in-depth how is structured and how an income statement is structured; in particular try to understand as deeply as possible what is inside any line of the income statement

If you are proficient with Excel and PPT, you have a solid foundation in presentation skills, and you know where to find information on an annual report, you already start from a good position.

To make a further step forward to be prepared, I suggest that you should work on your spoken communication. You have some months to train yourself to be assertive, crisp, clear, concise, structured, and grounded in your spoken communication. Use any occasion to train, from the grocery shop to dinner with parents.  

And if you really want to be a top performer, just work out as much as possible; life at BCG (or any other top consulting firm) can be stressful, so building some stamina and mechanism to cope with stress should be almost compulsory. 

I recommend focusing on mental health as well. Learning how to cope with stress is a key skill you need to learn. 

Developing small habits beforehand will go a long way. Once you start working, it will be a lot harder to prioritize these.

• Start meditating in the mornings and evenings. It will help you to focus and concentrate better on the job but also help you to sleep better at night. (You can use apps like Calm or Headspace.)
• Include daily workouts in your routine to maintain a good performance. 

Unfortunately, many high performers in consulting have imposter syndrome. You are not alone! Overpreparation can sometimes make you feel more anxious and stressed. 

What helps in these situations is to write down all your accomplishments so far. No matter big or small. Every time you feel overwhelmed or question your abilities, go back to that list.

All the best!

Dear candidate, 

well done for securing the internship. a) Most important technical skills are Powerpoint and Excel, and instead of learning something else ensure you are fit in these. b) Besides this it help so much to connect with other consultants and ask them about their learnings in the first months - many peers on PrepLounge were already former consultants and you should be able to find enough who can share with you for free. c) Get all your personal items sorted so you do not need to focus on these during the internship d) prepare your mindset, you are working on your long-term career aspirations with this internship, do not worry about lifestyle but instead think about how you can use your increase in responsibilities over time to shape the job into something you enjoy.

Best regards,