Promotion at MBB - up or out

Hi there,

There isn't a strict, hard-and-fast rule for this thing. It's highly dependent on office, time period (i.e. bad times or good times), etc. etc.

I do remember a partner promotion party where a few of us were talking. One of us turned and said "Do you think they made it because they're better, or survivors?" All of unanimously responded "survivors".

So, getting promoted at MBB is as much about persistence, hardwork, determination, and drive as anything. There's an implicit table-stakes assumption that you're doing your job, but you absolutely have to "outlast" the others.

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Now, how do you do well in the role? I have a few tips:

First: Read the 25 tips in my consulting handbook here: https://www.spencertom.com/2018/01/14/consulting-survival-guide/

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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

• Pivottables
• Working with data
• Key fuctions (vlookup, Index match, count and sum if/ifs, sumproduct, concat, etc.)
• Hotkeys (i.e. use keyboard more than your mouse)
• Financial modeling

5) Powerpoint

• Wireframing
• Lead-in titles
• 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)

Some Excellent Q&As

What to expect in the first 90 days (and how to thrive) - https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/first-90-days-as-associate-business-analyst-consultant-7185

What to prepare/learn beforehand - https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-best-preppare-for-a-consulting-position-if-you-have-a-couple-of-months-of-free-time-7164

How to improve your ability to remember details - https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-improve-ability-to-remember-details-is-it-important-in-consulting-6998

How to be confident - https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-build-up-confidence-and-look-smart-and-sharp-in-a-consultant-role-6955

Notetaking effectively - https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/note-taking-7215

A couple of thoughts on the "elimination rate" as you described it. At Bain, and I am sure this goes for all MBB firms, in your more junior years (i.e. pre PL, CTL, EM) your personal performance is the deciding factor (do you have the desire, hard and soft skills to do this long-term?), later on when you job turns away from being in the thick of analyses and slide creation but more towards winning pitches, successfully executing cases, and ultimately making the client happy (while generating your own client network) - your up or out decision will more be affected by client availability, office performance, you finding promoters and mentors among partners and MDs.

Statistical bias -
You could fairly argue that only people that want to stay and become partner / MD stay around after they get their CTL PL EM promotion. Personally, I have always had the subjective impression that cut rates are higher in the early years of consulting (junior consulting years incl. PL CTL EM promotion), then stay relatively low / average for a couple more years and then spike again couple years before the partner promotions. It is fact that the VAST MAJORITY of people do not stick around until partner - not because they get fired but because they simply dont want to. I had the feeling that the % cut rate increases in later years, see below why.

Dont forget - in the end it is a people's business. Early years are sort of easier I believe for most people because a large part of your performance is dependent on performing analyses, communicating those too. Later it will be about execution. In the end it is all about acquiring new cases. Analyses can be learned, communication skills to a certain extent too. However, the more you progress the harder it is to learn skills that you require to be "good". If you are not likeable or are able to show empathy for the client, this is mostly something you cannot learn that easily or at all. Hence, you might leave.

Good news - MBB development paths are very structured, very. You get all the help to continously develop. This may also be a reason why sometimes people leave or get cut whereas other Tier 2 or Tier 3 firms may keep those kind of people in those instances. Not a week or 2 go by without you getting feedback from whomever you work with. Be prepared for a high-paced journey pushing you constantly out of your comfort zones and making a better version of yourself!

(edited)

At McKinsey, the average duration is even shorter at 6/7 and 8+ years. Until you are considered for partner election by a global committee, the elimination is more to do with the performance (i.e., client demand) of your local office.

McKinsey has been growing tremendously over the last several years as part of its global strategy to grow in size (i.e., relevance) where the up or out policy has been not used to explicitly manage headcount.

Hello there!

I agree with Ken that at McKinsey this period is even shorter. There aren't strict time frames or rules, in fact. The key to be promoted is to work hard and do your utmost.

The elimination rate depends on many factors like the office, its geography, the period etc.(last year it obviously was higher).

Hope it helps and good luck!
GB

Hello!

Unfortunately, I can´t explain the reasons behind... but it´s true that Consulting carreers are faster -and also much more intense- than the industry.

Best regards,

Clara

Hi,

An explanation why the timeline to partnership in other firms is longer in non-MBB is because the up-or-out is not as strictly applied. I have seen people in non MBB firms stay in Manager position for more than the normal tenure allowed. Usually because he / she is a good manager but cannot show any quality of becoming a Director. As talents are scarce and very competitive, it is more logical to give these individuals more time to progress.

In BCG up-or-out is strictly applied but I have seen in some cases you got a 3 months extension with maximum 2 extensions before you are councel out.

Best,
Iman