Hi.
I am starting at an MBB as an associate next month. However, I will be starting remotely due to the current pandemic situation.
I wanted some advice on how to best integrate myself into the firm while being remote. I understand that I may be working remotely for at least the rest of year, so how would you recommend I go about building my network, getting to know people and improving my chances of being staffed through relationships rather than through my staffer?
Hey congrats for the offer. I also started my first day at MBB remotely.
Let me divide what works for me into two main buckets-
How to survive your first case:
1. Flag that you are new. Many people probably dont know that you're new and they may have some expectations on how you should perform.
2.Overcommunicate / update your manager regularly. Set morning & night daily cadence with your supervisor. Give them process update during midday. Speak to him/her outlining your approach before you do your analysis. Its especially important because working virtually mean that your supervisor cant actually see what youre doing.
3. Be open to feedback. Irrespective of the pandemic, you are still expected to perform as if we are all working at the office; they arent cutting any slacks. This means that you have to work extra hard, take every opportunity to understand your weak area and work on your feedback. This means that you have to proactively set recurring (weekly? Once every two weeks?) feedback chats with your supervisor / principal / partner, and work on that feedback.
4. Dont hesitate to ask questions - understand it will be super awkward, but if you dont ask, they dont know that you dont understand.
5. Make sure you have enough airtime to present your findings to leadership team. Working virtually makes it more difficult sometimes to showcase your work (sometimes youre on mute, or your manager presents instead, etc). But let's face it, its really good to have some exposure early on to build rapport + establish trust. Hence talk to your supervisor and highlight that you want to present your own analysis / lead PS sessions with LT, etc.
Second bucket - how to build relationships with your colleagues:
1. Be proactive in building relationships with your fellow case team members. To me this is really important because you can learn to like your job, but you cant learn to like the people youre working with. Start casual conversations / ice breakers with them (esp people in your workstream). Have catch up sessions with them to build that "comraderie" within the team.
2. Be involved in office virtual gatherings/drinks/activities.
3. Aggressively make friends during your training session (esp. with those who are from your office).
4. Ask to be staffed in your home office. This may not be a priority for everyone. But for me its very important to have strong ties & feel that sense of belonging in your home office.
Hopefully from reading this you can takeaway that being proactive + overcommuncation are imperative to ensure a smooth transition. Good luck!
PS. Apologies for the formatting/ possible typos, I am typing this message on my phone.
Hi there,
Great question and really important - it's hard to join companies during these times!
I recommend the following:
Good luck!
Hello!
Precisely the other day I was having a conversation with an ex-coachee who starts in McK in september about this and the pre-work that could be done as warm-up.
It´s not an easy sitaution, but it´s also true that you are always measured against the rest of the group, who has the same rules of the game.
Try not to worry too much, since in MBB they truly accompany you at the beggining with very good tought and stablished programs. usually you will start with a whole "class", and this will be a huge support group for you along the way.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Dear A,
First of all, my congratulations to your MBB offer, I wish you best of luck in your career!
For candidates like you, who have already secured the offer with a leading consulting firm, I have designed my program "Get ready for the first 100 days " as well as long-term career planning. This program touches all the important aspects: the mindset, the skills, knowledge, networking and ,managing yourself as well, your bosses and clients - everything that is important in your successful career.
In fact, I'm sharing my knowledge of 6 years career experience in consulting, where I was able to land on the fast track promotion and to be promoted from consultant to a project manager just within 3 years, which is extremely fast.
Happy to share these insights with you, feel free to reach out directly to me.
Good luck,
André
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