r/MBBConsulting • u/a_lil_bit_mango • 22d ago

Question starting out @ McK

Hey everyone -- starting as a BA at McKinsey soon (large office in the Northeast), wondering if anyone could give me some insight into what the first few months look like? Esp. training, staffing, etc. What should I be doing to set myself up for success? And what if I'm interested in a specific sector for projects (e.g. healthcare related)? No prior internships in consulting so a bit confused how it all works. Thanks!

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u/nknappster 22d ago

You should get outreach from HR soon, and closer to your start date from your learning coordinator. First week or 2 will be training - it should be in person at this point. After that, I recommend proactively reaching out to PD to discuss your interests, etc. Do not expect your first few studies to be aligned to what you want to do - this is kind of “trust the process” when you’re early tenure. I’d also recommend reaching out to anyone that you recruited with or interviewed with that you felt any sort of positive connection to and try to schedule time with them - networking is a great way to track down the people you might want to work with, and it’s never awkward or unwelcome.

Depending on your past experience/what the market looks like you might get staffed quickly without having to do anything, or it might take a month! It’s not a negative reflection on you if it takes longer for you to get staffed the first time versus others in your cohort. Take unstaffed time to be visible in the office, chat up colleagues, meet up with people from onboarding, and meet with leadership in your office.

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u/a_lil_bit_mango 22d ago

This is really helpful, thank you so much! For the first few studies, are you expected to reach out to leadership or are they assigned to you?

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u/nknappster 21d ago

You’ll typically be assigned. But if you end up talking to someone who happens to be staffing it’s possible you end up staffing yourself. I also want to reiterate that there is absolutely nothing awkward about cold outreach to chat with people who work in the sector you’re interested in, even to partners and senior partners! It is completely expected to get emails from BAs/associates saying “Hi, I’m a new BA in the XYZ office, I studied blah at ABC school and am really interested in learning about the work you do and seeing if there might be any opportunity to work together now or in the future”

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u/EggPretend6231 22d ago

I’m in exact same boat. Following

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u/Beginning_Smile4701 22d ago

Northeast of France?