How to Prepare Before Starting in Consulting: A Comprehensive Guide

the image is the cover for an article on how and what to prepare before starting a consulting job at mckinsey bcg bain

Last Updated on March 6, 2024

In the dynamic field of consulting, starting on the right foot can make all the difference in carving out a successful career. Whether you’re an aspiring consultant eager to make your mark in McKinsey, BCG, Bain or a seasoned professional looking to refine your approach, once you have passed the screening stages, preparation for the new job is key.

This article, excerpted and modified from my comprehensive book “Consulting Career Secrets,” offers insider knowledge and practical advice to ensure you’re fully equipped before embarking on your consulting journey.

the image is an introduction of the book consulting career secrets by dr florian smeritschnig

Key Questions Before Your Start

Once my clients secure a position with their employer of choice, they frequently ask three main questions:

QuestionRationale
What do I need to purchase for the consulting travel lifestyle?Proper preparation for the consulting lifestyle is crucial for efficiency, comfort, and professionalism on the road. The right purchases can make travel less stressful, and ensure you’re always prepared for surprises.
What should I take care of before I start?Making arrangements in advance for your home, administrative and financial errands, health, and travel rewards is essential. Settling in comfortably, ensuring administrative tasks and finances are in order, taking care of your health, and joining travel rewards programs can significantly ease the transition into the consulting lifestyle. This foresight allows you to focus fully on your new role without the distraction of unresolved personal affairs.
How can I prepare for the job?Preparing for the job involves both mental and practical readiness. This means acquiring the necessary skills, knowledge, and mindset to tackle consulting challenges. Effective preparation boosts confidence, enhances performance, and contributes to achieving career milestones and client satisfaction early on.
Key questions before starting a new job in consulting

Let us tackle these questions one by one to get you ready for your new beginning.

Essential Items to Buy for Your Consulting Job

Your firm will provide all the required technical equipment (e.g., a laptop, laptop bag, phone, charging cables, secure USB drives, and adapters).

Your responsibility is to arrive at the client site looking like a competent and trustworthy business professional. Here is a shopping list:

Business attire: Invest in stylish, durable, high-quality clothes, including three key pieces, eight shirts, two pairs of dress shoes, a coat for each season, and a few accessories at a minimum. If you wish to showcase your fashion sense, indulge in a greater variety of items. While it is unnecessary to splurge on expensive designer brands, a well-fitted, durable suit will serve you well for an extended period. Opt for high-quality dress shoes with leather soles.

What constitutes appropriate business attire? At their core, consulting firms are still relatively conservative organizations that often deal with traditionally-minded clients. For example, just 15 years ago, it was considered inappropriate for men to wear dark brown leather shoes; only black leather shoes were deemed suitable, as a partner once told me. Fortunately, times have changed, and formal rules and attitudes have become more relaxed. Nonetheless, you should still adhere to certain rules and conventions. When selecting your wardrobe, consider the image you want to project and how others should perceive you.

 MenWomen
Key pieceSuit (neutral, darker colors such as navy blue or dark gray; black is considered formal attire in some geographies)Skirt or trouser suit (neutral, darker colors), longer skirt or dress pants with blazer or jacket (same colors as above)
ShirtShirt (white or light blue) with a classic tie and a simple knot complementing your outfit, buttons should match the color of the fabricBlouse (white or light blue); buttons should match the color of the fabric
ShoesLeather dress shoes (black or dark brown), socks long enough never to reveal any bare skinFlat or with a slight heel, closed toe (matching the colors of the outfit)
AccessoriesLeather belt matching the shoe color and material, watchLeather belt (if it fits the outfit), watch; jewelry is optional
Dress options for newly minted consultants

Dress options for one set of business attire

Adhere to these five principles when selecting your attire:

  1. Embrace subtlety and sophistication: Leave your statement pieces at home, and steer clear of sporty vibes and overly festive items (e.g., pocket squares). Stick to classic, darker colors for suits and brighter whites or light blues for shirts and blouses. Avoid intricate patterns and choose a classic tie, along with a limited number of discreet accessories (e.g., cufflinks or jewelry). Keep your clothes, shoes especially, clean throughout the week.
  2. Ensure proper fit: While tailored pieces are not necessary, avoid clothing that is too large or too small for your frame.
  3. Prioritize comfort: You will be wearing your outfit from early morning until late at night daily. Opt for clothes that are not only visually appealing but also provide a comfortable fit.
  4. When in doubt, overdress: It is better to be slightly overdressed than underdressed. You can always get rid of the tie or the suit jacket.
  5. Prepare for the unexpected: It pays to pack spare clothes, including a spare tie (even if not required for your current project), as you never know what might happen during a given week. There might be an unexpected meeting with senior management or a change of location that requires more formal attire. For instance, you might get called to pitch a proposal to a new client in a different location.

If you are uncertain about the dress code for a given project, consult your team before starting. The dress code is often specified in your project welcome email and may be tailored to suit the client’s environment.

For instance, teams at a large global sporting goods brand may wear smart casual attire, including brand-specific sneakers and jeans, when visiting client sites. In contrast, teams collaborating with a conventional financial institution typically adhere to traditional business attire, such as suits and ties. Teams operating within specific production or service environments must adhere to strict safety protocols by wearing suitable protective clothing and equipment. I recall a situation where our entire team, including the project partner, made a swift trip to a safety clothing store to acquire safety boots before visiting a client’s warehouse.

The latter example is something you cannot prepare for. The key is to adjust to your environment as you see fit on the go.

Aside from your dress code, maintaining a professional appearance is crucial. To present yourself professionally at the office and client site, make sure to:

  • sport a clean haircut and neatly trimmed or clean-shaven beard for men;
  • wear your hair down or styled as preferred for women;
  • apply makeup tastefully, if desired, for women;
  • avoid strong perfumes or scents, as they may not be universally appealing;
  • steer clear of extravagant items like flashy gold Rolex watches.

Lastly, consider a couple of other items that are mission-critical for the lifestyle of a consultant:

A reliable suitcase: Prioritize quality over quantity. In my first year, I went through three inexpensive suitcases that could not withstand weekly travel and flights. Eventually, I invested in a high-quality product. Acquire a carry-on for weekly engagements and a larger check-in suitcase for longer trips.

Travel accessories: Consider essential items you would also pack for a vacation. Contemplate items like a sleep mask, earplugs (for noisy flights and hotel rooms), a small umbrella, noise-cancelling headphones, and e-readers. You could also invest in a more fashionable alternative if your firm’s utilitarian laptop bag is not your style.

Cosmetics and hygiene products: Purchase travel-sized versions of your everyday products (e.g., toothpaste, deodorant) and store them in a transparent zippered bag to expedite airport security and minimize luggage weight. Alternatively, keep a standard-sized set of products in your hotel or team room for the project’s duration. Find an approach that suits your needs, and do not forget any regular prescription medication or typical travel items such as painkillers.

Sports gear: Bring athletic clothing, as opportunities to exercise (e.g., running or visiting your hotel’s gym) will arise throughout most weeks.

For a concrete shopping list and recommendations, please check out this article.

Arrangements to Make Before Starting in Consulting

Organize your affairs in advance. Once you begin your consulting career, you will have less time to manage everyday tasks, and even minor administrative chores can become annoying. To avoid taking time off during your job, proactively address these matters before your first workday:

Home: If you are relocating or moving into a new apartment for your job, ensure you are settled in before starting. Furnishing a new apartment or finding one can be challenging when you are traveling every week and using weekends to recuperate. Secure your living arrangements and acquire all necessary furniture, utensils, and accessories. A colleague of mine moved into a new apartment just before joining McKinsey on short notice, and for the next three months, he only had a bed and an empty refrigerator. He eventually took a week off to settle in properly. Aim for a comfortable space to return to after a demanding week.

Administration and finances: Make sure to complete administrative errands, such as those involving local authorities, as a consultant’s work hours and travel schedules often conflict with government employees’ office hours. Address your finances and plan for managing your new income. For many, a consulting job marks the first time they earn a substantial salary. Verify your firm’s investment policy; some require you to sell stocks before joining or prohibit stock purchases afterward. Clear communication in this area helps prevent future complications.

Health: Prioritize your well-being. Consider scheduling a comprehensive health check-up, visiting your dentist, and updating your vaccinations (which may be needed for travel to certain regions). Ensure that all health insurance matters are in order, keeping in mind that some firms provide private health insurance as part of their package.

Travel rewards and membership programs: With extensive travel ahead, maximize the benefits by joining airline frequent flier programs, hotel chain reward programs, car rentals, and other applicable programs before embarking on your first project. Consult future colleagues to determine the best programs for accruing points from the outset. The sooner you start, and the more effectively you optimize point collection, the quicker you will gain status benefits and points to redeem. Download apps from hotels, reward programs, airlines, and others to capitalize on their offerings and streamline interactions with these companies.

Preparatory Learning for the Consulting Job

There are two prevalent perspectives when considering how to prepare for your consulting role. The majority, comprised of those who have worked in consulting, suggest not preparing at all. In contrast, others advise honing your analytical and visualization skills.

Most pre-job preparations are non-essential. Upon receiving my full-time offer, I contacted people within the firm and the consultants who interviewed me, inquiring about ways to ease my transition and what software I should learn. The unanimous response was to relax, enjoy my time before starting, and trust that I would learn on the job. Reluctantly, I followed this advice, and it proved sensible only once I joined.

In consulting, there are two primary methods for learning the ropes:

Formal training: Before your first engagement, you will receive formal training, typically lasting from several days to three weeks. These sessions help you become acquainted with your peers, expand your network, and gain insight into the firm’s operations. Additionally, you will be introduced to analytical tools like Excel and visualization tools like PowerPoint, as well as fundamental information on team collaboration, client interactions, and communication of insights. While these sessions are valuable, they do not fully prepare you for the job. You will learn intriguing concepts and receive helpful tips from seasoned consultants, but the crux of learning follows next.

Continuous, implicit, and observational learning on the job: No training, whether self-guided or firm-sponsored, can truly prepare you for the daily demands of the job, which primarily consist of unwritten sequences of implicit habits and actions. Regardless of your experience, you will always find yourself on a steep learning curve. As soon as you have mastered one skill or level in the hierarchy, you will be tasked with the responsibilities expected of a more senior colleague. The cycle never ends.

A newly promoted project manager faces a similar challenge as a new-hire business analyst – adapting to an entirely new environment and role. Everyone is expected to learn through hands-on experience and observation, absorbing knowledge from colleagues, mentors, and, occasionally, clients.

Upon joining a consulting firm, you are not expected to know everything. Instead, you are anticipated to acquire skills rapidly, often called the basic consulting toolkit or consulting readiness, within a short period.

When I began my first engagement, my Engagement Manager requested a simple Excel analysis on the first day, likely to gauge my capabilities. Despite my limited Excel knowledge, I completed the task, albeit with hardcoded data. I was advised against hardcoding data in the future and never repeated the mistake. After two weeks, during our first formal feedback session, my manager acknowledged his initial concern but praised my ability to learn from mistakes and adapt quickly, a valued trait within the firm. This iterative process of learning and micro-adaptations characterizes the experiences of both junior and senior consultants. Even partners have feedback discussions with more senior partners to continue improving as their seniority increases.

Learning occurs through observing others, discussing with peers, reviewing documentation, and reaching for firm support. You will look at colleagues’ presentations to grasp effective data visualization, review their Excel models to understand your firm’s creation and formatting methods, and listen to their conversations with partners and clients. You will quickly begin to emulate your colleagues and their way of working.

As you navigate the challenging environment, remember that your colleagues, from associates to partners, are eager to help and mentor you. To succeed as a new hire, actively seek tips, shortcuts, feedback, and assistance. Do not hesitate to ask questions when stuck, as your learning and development depend on it. During your first few weeks, expect to search for Excel functions online often – this is entirely normal.

Consult internal resources or contact firm experts if you lack domain knowledge in a specific industry or topic. They are typically happy to provide a brief overview, bring you up to speed, and recommend further resources or contacts. Your firm’s training should show you how to access these resources.

You will encounter many technical questions and issues; firms often provide excellent IT support staff to resolve them. At McKinsey, an informal guideline suggests that reaching out to the helpdesk is prudent if you grapple with a technical problem for over five minutes. This principle underscores the recognition that your time is a precious and finite resource, best allocated to tasks where you can make a difference and deliver impact.

Understanding that your entire consulting career revolves around continuous observation and growth, it makes sense to enter the company with a blank slate fueled by curiosity and a desire to learn the ropes quickly and go through the invaluable lessons learned through firsthand experience.

In short, striking a balance between both preparation approaches may be beneficial: take some time off before you start and relax, but know what to expect, familiarize yourself with the critical habits of success I discuss in this book, and brush up on Excel and PowerPoint basics.

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