I asked 40+ recent college graduates a bunch of questions. This is their response to the questions:
- What is your key takeaway about consulting / corporate life?
- What surprised you about corporate life?
- What would you like to share with juniors and seniors in college?
This is what they said. Quotations in blue italics.
1. Keep learning
There is so much to learn from so many people. Manage your ego – other people will be better than you at some things and vice versa. That is what makes a good team.
Imposter syndrome is real. Most consultants don’t know exactly what they’re doing or have everything in control at all times. Don’t be hard on yourself. Just learn as much as you can and try your best. (MH)
The learning curve is surprisingly difficult at the beginning of working and there are so many more components to being proficient that I’d initially thought (communication, email management, powerpoint design, knowing shortcuts, giving creative input, time management, data gathering, data analysis, and so so much more)
2. Communicate effectively
Consulting is all about breaking up complex problems and explaining both the problem and solution in an easy to digest manner. (SV)
Structured thinking. Concise communication to leadership (SF)
Always over communicate, don’t feel like you are bothering others, your team members need to constantly know your progress.
Organization and time management are key. (ZP)
3. Find purpose at work, and outside work
You can like your job, but at the end of the day it is still a job. Find other things in life to derive meaning from. (AM)
Your purpose at work can be found in many ways. It can be not only through your main casework/projects but also through the relationships you build, the internal initiatives you participate in to make the firm better, and the help you give to younger people once you learn things you wish you knew at their age. (MH)
I feel like when we are in school we are constantly focused on finding the highest paying, best company job and to not care about anything else! Once you start working you start to realize that there are other priorities out there!
Life without homework is great! But find something outside of work to stimulate you, else you’ll start to turn into a corporate robot. Life’s not all about work. (AP)
[Consulting] is not for everyone. The days of working 40 hours a week for 30+ years at one job to end up with a cushy pension seems less appealing now. You probably won’t be working 40 hours either; it seems like dedicating that much time to a craft you love/your own endeavors could be more fruitful. The grass is always greener but it feels like job-hopping would allow you to learn more/live more life. I do however believe it is crucial to development post-undergrad because it teaches you how to work with people across age groups and understand how to get stuff done in bureaucratic environments. If you can get over the existential dread of being a cog in the machine not reaping the direct benefits of your own labor you’ll be at peace with the corporate world. Peace is not a pre-requisite to success though, however. (SK)
4. Enjoy the freedom
Coming from a structured school schedule, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of independence you gain with corporate life.
[What surprised you] How much the job ebbs and flows. Some weeks are just non stop work where as others it’ll be more or less radio silent.
[What surprised you] How much easier it is than college!
I have a lot more time than everyone said I would a few years in. Also, not all bosses, companies, or coworkers are bad. Only the horror stories really make it to you. Most of the people and places are fine. (AP)
There is way more room to have fun and express yourself than we think as new graduates. Obviously, remain professional, but it’s way more fun to work with interesting people who want to have fun while also working towards delivering an amazing deliverable!
5. Don’t burn out
Run your own race. I saw many colleagues burning out from trying to compete on hours. The longer you stay in the game, the better the rewards. Burning yourself out early doesn’t do you any favors. (TW)
How different projects can be and the effect it can have on your wellbeing and outlook on consulting. (SE)
Being healthy physically and mentally will serve you better than trying to perform at unrealistic rates for unrealistic periods of time. (TW)
6. Watch out for all politics
Corporate politics. Whether it’s real political conversation or just “drama” within the office, try to steer clear of all of it.
Corporate politics are crazy. Doing good work gets you 70% of the way but the other 30% is maintaining good relationships and not being afraid to ask for what you need and vouch for yourself. (MC)
Company bureaucracy is real
Keep your opinions to yourself! Keep your politics (liberal or conservative) to yourself! Keep your opinions as non-spicy as possible. This is not the advice that this generation will tell you but it’s the one you should listen to. There is a time and a place to speak freely: your workplace is NOT one of them.
7. think: People, people, people
Everything is done in teams and teams can accomplish anything.
Consulting is very relationship/personality based. People who are successful are not only smart but are able to well articulate their ideas to the right person. (SE)
Also, relationships with your internal and external partners are very important – people are much more willing to help when you’ve shown your share of partnership too!
Networking doesn’t stop once you get a job. Especially in consulting, reach out to not only peers but partners and principals to better understand the company and what types of work you can get involved in.
I learned that your team is the key to your success. I was stationed in a project in the middle of nowhere, USA, and thought I’d be miserable. Turns out, I was actually my happiest there with a great team. Of course, you should persevere through a terrible boss or terrible client but holding on to a great team is worthwhile.
It cannot be overstated how much being able to work well with others matters. You will always be working in teams out in real world. (AM)
[What surprised you] How important relationships are. You can do all the technical analysis you want – at the end of the day business deals are conversations and the relationships you build throughout your career are very important.
8. Do great work
What you put in is what you get out. (AY)
Be diligent and evidence-based with your work. Answer the “so what” concisely. Experience is what you make of it but I’m enjoying it so far
It may vary by company, but people are invested in your learning. A common misconception we often have is that we are supposed to know it all when we start a job— we don’t. We come into consulting to learn in a high-performance environment and your team is a vital part of that. (JPS)
Your work is a way of building trust.
There is always a better way to do it. Never stop looking for it. (CX)
9. Explore what you like
Pay attention to what functions or industries interests you. Apply that as you move forward and advocate for yourself to do what you love. (SK)
There is a market for your passion or anything you may want to pursue in your career. Once you start in consulting you learn that there are infinite opportunities that intersect tech, social impact, finance and organizational disciplines. What really matters is, why will you wake up in the morning? (JPS)
Consulting is more than just strategy consulting. MBB firms have a mix of strategy, technology, and transformation. Take a random walk and see what you like best.
Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. The first job is important, however plenty of my classmates have switched companies multiple times at this point after claiming they found their dream job!
Corporate life – Iteration is usually more important than perfection. Do many things and learn from your mistakes rather than getting caught on perfecting one thing.
The most surprising part about corporate life has been realizing that everyone’s just trying to figure it out as they go along, even the veterans. (CX)
There’s not as much corporate BS as we all think there is, but that all depends on your attitude towards things.
10. Step up
The amount of responsibility you take on completely depends on yourself. If you volunteer, you’ll get the opportunity to step up. On my first project, I edited slide decks, on my second I ran daily client meetings. Ask your manager for what you want and deliver. (MC)
[What surprised you] The amount of agency you have as soon as you get to the firm. (SV)
[What surprised you] The amount of autonomy you have. Sometimes, you create the next steps, even at low levels
[What surprised you] How quickly you are brought into the fold and expected to contribute to discussions (SF)
[What surprised you] The amount of responsibility that could be given to you if you prove yourself!
11. Carve out time for yourself
Block your lunch, dinner time. Don’t answer MD during that time. It’s not worth it, you get promoted anyways.
It is incredibly important to establish good, strong relationships early. Maintain relationships you have from college, internships, etc. and build strong connections with your colleagues because it can help you with staffing and everyday on-the-job things.
Establish your own mini board of directors early on, these are people that serve as your mentors and help you with those big decisions and create opportunities for you to step up. Pay attention to who you want to develop a relationship with and reach out to people for help/make them aware of your goals and interests. (SK)
12. Remember the audience
Client relationships take precedence over all else. If the client is happy, your life tends to be much easier. (JK)
We’re all taught the golden rule which is to treat others the way you want to be treated. However, in life and at work, we should follow the platinum rule which is to treat others the way they want to be treated.
Find a team, manager, whatever that you work really well with and get along with. Know what their pet peeves are, what format they like their deliverables in, learn if they are formal/informal, what their working style is (time of day, hands on, etc),etc. If you can match up with a manager you like and know how to deliver what they want it makes your job and their job 10x easier. (SF)
13. Remember, it’s still work
[What surprised you] How frequently people change jobs
The travel is great but does get tiring after a while (JK)
Consulting – The variance in work quality required for client deliverables varied greatly. In college, we strive to achieve 90-100% (A). However, in the real world, 80-90% is usually good enough as the client doesn’t have to budget for you the grind out that remaining 90-100%. Corporate – The variance in aptitude of managers varied greatly. Some middle management may end up knowing and moving slower than you while others are surprisingly not at higher levels of the ladder. (TW)
14. Do this while in school
Ask the “stupid” questions now. It’ll feel way better than asking them out in the real world. (AM)
Enjoy your time as a student!! Working is just repeating the same 7 days over and over again until you die or retire (just kidding! seriously) I do enjoy working and find my job interesting and challenging, but there are aspects of being a student I seriously miss (living close to your all your friends, the ability to learn new things in a structured environment, being in a community of other similar individuals) and would love to experience again given the chance
Good luck! It’s not the easiest transition but definitely most gratifying. Be easy on yourself when you get there. Mostly, enjoy college to the fullest, none of what you are stressed about will ever matter, I promise. (SK)
Enjoy college! Have fun and always be willing to try something new.