What was FIRST day and FIRST 3 weeks like at MBB?

For NAR on-cycle hires:

First day is really just logistics: get laptop, phone, picture, badge, etc. 8am-5pm with evening event

First week is training and is a time for bonding and getting to know people. 8am-6pm with evening events

Second/Third week is when you either are working on "business development/proposals" or you are "helping a team out" or you are "staffed" on a case. This is ramping up to regular consulting hours 12/14 hours a day. Definitely an adjustment if you come from school, especially in managing your time to develop acceptable slides (assumption is that the analysis is already outstanding :) ) and to deliver them in a timely fashion to your team. Depending on personality this can result in various degrees of excitment or anxiety. If you never travel frequently for business before, there is an adjustment to the travel life of a consultant.

Have fun out there!

Andrea

Hi,

There are the two most important things you should accomplish in the 1st day / 3 weeks:

• Finding a good DGL / career counselor, etc. (Each company has different names). This is a person who guides your development in the company, collects the feedbacks on you, and presents your case to a promotion committee. Make sure to have a person who is organized enough to collect the feedbacks in time, who is a nice person in general and who has enough authority in the company (i.e. Senior partner - the more power he has - the better)
• Finding the first project. Choosing the project you work on smartly is critical. You should collect the feedbacks from your colleagues on each and everyone prior to accepting the project. People will be pretty opened to provide you that information

Best

Congrats on the job!

Most consulting firms have a very well-structured on-boarding process, and I am sure that McKinsey does. On day one you will do a lot of the administrative work. You will receive your laptop, your phone, office key badge, your business cards. For me, these things were waiting on my desk, along with a small welcome gift on my desk (back then, we still had individual desks).

You'll get a tour of the office, learn the most important ins and outs (IT support, travel stuff, conferencing etc.) and most likely have a call / meeting / lunch with your Mentor and maybe with the Engagement Manager or partner on your first project.

Then it is most likely off to training or to your first project.

But Guennael is right: Everybody will be nice, everybody will offer their help and give you a warm welcome.

PS: I have also seen new hires (seniors, though) that were immediately shipped to the client and had their stuff sent there by courier. That's a lot less romantic ;-)

PPS: The most important people - be it in your office or at the client's - to have in your team and have friendly relations with are the assistants and then IT support. They can work miracles for you if they like you. So be extra-super-nice to them, especially on your first day. Before you know any consultant's name, learn theirs. It's a well-worn, but true saying: There's no second chance for a first impression.

This is an awesome thread! As a natural scientist I am exotic as well :D I was wondering how you’ve made it into the blue team without any work experience in that area. Do you guys think it’s better to look for internships first or should I rather give it a try? I have some work experience in a couple of branches (not consulting) and my grades are quite outstanding…

You will be walking on cloud 9, everyone will be super friendly, and you will probably start training as soon as they have given you a laptop, phone and probably even your business cards. Best day ever :)

Congrats btw, nice job on getting McK!

i would basically bust my ass to get a good reputation.  

but awesome!!