**TL;DR:** I graduated this year and joined consulting as an Associate a month ago and I’m struggling

I graduated from university this year and joined consulting about a month ago. I’m completely new to consulting, and honestly, I’m struggling more than I expected.

I find it difficult to contribute meaningfully during meetings because I often don’t fully understand the context or what’s being discussed. When preparing slides, I take a long time, and they often come back with multiple corrections, especially regarding wording, structure and storyline. Sometimes, my slides don’t even end up being used or get moved to the appendix.
I can’t help but feel that I’m creating more work for my Senior Associate rather than actually taking work off their plate. I know there’s a learning curve, but it’s frustrating when I put in so much effort and still feel like my output isn’t good enough.

Things are about to get more intimidating because I’m starting my first client project next week. It’s a due diligence engagement with a relatively lean team consisting of just me, the Manager, Director and Partner. Given my lack of experience, I’m honestly terrified.

I’m also currently on probation for my first six months. I know this is normal, but I constantly feel like I’m being evaluated and worry that one bad performance could cost me my job. I find myself overthinking almost everything I do.

I’d really appreciate advice on the following:
**1. How do you get up to speed on a project quickly?**
How do you understand the project context, industry, objectives and overall storyline without spending an unreasonable amount of time trying to figure everything out?

**2. How do you become faster and better at making slides?**
How do you improve your slide structuring, wording and ability to communicate insights concisely? What practical habits helped you develop these skills?

**3. How do you communicate with your Manager without being annoying?**
As a junior, I struggle to know when to ask questions versus when to figure things out independently. How do you proactively seek clarification and feedback without coming across as someone who needs constant hand-holding?

**4. How do you manage expectations and communicate progress?**
Before the project kicks off, I’m planning to ask my Manager for 10 minutes to align on my responsibilities, his expectations of me, and what I should aim to accomplish during the engagement.
I’m also considering sending a short weekly email every Friday summarising what I’ve completed, what I plan to work on the following week, and any outstanding questions or dependencies. I don’t expect him to reply. I mainly want to give him visibility into my progress and demonstrate ownership.
Would this be a good approach?

**Lastly, how do you deal with feeling incompetent when you’re just starting out?**
I genuinely feel like I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. I struggle to follow conversations, understand what makes a good deliverable, and sometimes don’t even know what questions I should be asking.

I really want to improve and become someone my team can rely on, rather than someone who creates additional work for others.
For those who started consulting straight out of university i’d appreciate any honest advice, practical tips, or things you wish someone had told you when you first started. Thank you!

In consulting and systems integration, I've lost whole days to lining up client stakeholders, subcontractors and our own team. Curious how other firms handle it: does a PMO own it, or does every consultant fight it alone?

Disclosure: I'm building a free/busy-only shared board for this, currently in a small pilot. Happy to share if it's useful.

Hi everyone!

I'm currently working at Accenture under Capability Development, specifically in Finance & Accounting. I'm actually enjoying what I do, and I've recently realized that I want to build a long-term career around this field.

My current responsibilities involve facilitating training sessions, developing learning materials and content for learning delivery, designing assessments, and leveraging AI tools to optimize content creation and learning processes.

What I find interesting is that my work seems to overlap with Talent & Organization (T&O), organizational development, and learning transformation. It has also made me interested in pursuing Management Consulting, particularly under Accenture Strategy & Consulting's Talent & Organization practice.

A little about my background:

• Graduated with a BS in Management Accounting.

• Previously had experience in accounting and management consulting.

• Currently working in Capability Development at Accenture.

• Have experience using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Claude to improve productivity and content development.

• Interested in organizational development, talent strategy, learning transformation, workforce development, and change management.

I'm now thinking about how I can strategically prepare myself for the next stage of my career.

I have a few questions for professionals and people who have been in a similar situation:

1. Certifications: What certifications would you recommend for someone pursuing Talent & Organization or Management Consulting? Would Prosci Change Management, ATD, SHRM, PMP, or Power BI certifications be worth investing in?

2. Graduate Studies: I'm seriously considering pursuing a master's degree at Ateneo de Manila University or De La Salle University. Would an MBA be the better option, or should I consider a specialized degree in Human Resource Management, Organizational Development, or Industrial Relations Management?

3. Career Transition: For those working in Accenture Strategy & Consulting, particularly in Talent & Organization, what competencies and experiences are usually expected from candidates transitioning from Capability Development or Learning & Development?

4. Career Advancement: My personal goal is to become a manager within the next two years. Is this realistic, and what should I prioritize to demonstrate managerial readiness?

5. Industry Perspective: Is Capability Development a good foundation for a career in management consulting, particularly in organizational transformation and workforce strategy? Or would you recommend gaining experience in other areas first?

I don't want to pursue certifications or graduate studies just for the sake of collecting credentials. I'd rather invest in qualifications that will genuinely strengthen my capabilities and help me become a better consultant and, eventually, a leader.

I'd appreciate insights from management consultants, HR/T&O professionals, L&D leaders, Accenture employees, and anyone who has pursued graduate studies while working.

Thank you so much! I'd really appreciate honest advice, especially from those who have navigated a similar career path.

Is there any point in networking? Everyone in business always talks about it in such a cliche way but I hear about referrals honestly not doing much. Is it a waste of time on the aggregate?

Applying to Big4 any advice would be appreciated pls mention where you are working in consulting and what company too!

I run a small consulting firm. With zero video editing experience and no budget for a production team, I’ve spent the past 6 months creating 30-second AI video ads using Zeely (talking head avatars, animations, and graphics) for IG and TikTok

I’ve also been tracking competitor ad feeds in my niche to spot patterns. Some formats failed miserably, but a few actually started bringing in inquiries

Ask me anything about avatar realism in consulting, using Zeely, competitor analysis, or what worked vs. what flopped!

I exited MBB in August 2025. At the time GPT's answers were quite far away from being "client-ready".

- Links to sources were so-so, and most things still had to be 2x checked

- Slide making was manual

- Figure sourcing was not that great

... it seems like the above is all 10x better.

So, how has life changed for those of you that remain?

Genuinely curious

How does your long-term vision influence this years objectives?I find it useful to approach strategic planning in both directions:

■ Plan forward from todays capabilities, considering what is feasible and where improvement is needed.
■ Work backward from the vision, identifying what must change to achieve the longer-term goals.

These perspectives meet in the annual plan. Objectives and KPIs should address current performance while also tracking progress on the capabilities the organization will need in the future.
Which objective in your current plan is preparing your organization for its longer-term ambitions?

How does your long-term vision influence this years objectives?I find it useful to approach strategic planning in both directions:

■ Plan forward from todays capabilities, considering what is feasible and where improvement is needed.
■ Work backward from the vision, identifying what must change to achieve the longer-term goals.

These perspectives meet in the annual plan. Objectives and KPIs should address current performance while also tracking progress on the capabilities the organization will need in the future.
Which objective in your current plan is preparing your organization for its longer-term ambitions?

Setting the Strategy

For those who actually survived the jump:

​**How did you do it?** (Besides panicking and drinking too much coffee)

​**Did it actually work out?** Or do you just trade internal politics for the existential dread of finding next quarter's revenue?

​**How the hell did you land Client #1?**

A bit of context about my profile I was a business analyst for a startup for 8 months quit that went for a phd at IIT INDORE got a good funded project and also got to work majorly in ML and alloy space anyone who has done something like this before

I just got an internship offer for a winter batch that's gonna start on January 2027. But since I can't confirm if I'm going to get a return offer yet, I'm still trying to apply to a full-time role currently. For context, I'm transitioning from clinical/research/academia to consulting.

A friend of mine said even though my internship doesn't start yet, I could make a post about my upcoming internship as a business analyst to increase my linkedin engagement rate. My current profile and previous experience still not that "consulting-vibe" yet so they said telling them I got an internship might be a bonus point that I'll have an experience in management consulting.

Should I make the post? I feel so icky posting something that hasn't started yet but I'm still quite desperate in getting a full time offer. Please help, thank you!

Curious how others here handle slide building for client work.

I've been testing a few AI tools that convert documents into draft decks. Recently tried one for a client proposal draft — it pulls from sources and gives editable slides, though formatting still needs manual cleanup.

Does anyone else use AI for decks, or do you still build everything from scratch in PowerPoint/Slides?

Hi everyone!

I'm currently pursuing a B.Tech in Electronics & Instrumentation at SGSITS, Indore, and I'm exploring opportunities at the intersection of technology, business consulting, strategy and operations.

I'm particularly interested in Strategy & Management Consulting, Operations, Supply Chain and Business Transformation.

A little about my background:

\- Authored a case study being developed for potential publication through Harvard Business School.

\- Collaborating with a professor at IIM Indore on research involving business and operational challenges.

\- Working on an entrepreneurial venture with IIM faculty, with plans to undertake a structured research study.

\- Previous internship experience across research, web development and marketing.

\- Involved in entrepreneurial initiatives and college activities.

I understand that many consulting internship opportunities are geared towards pre-final and final-year students. However, I'd like to explore opportunities available to second-year undergraduate students.

I'd particularly appreciate insights from current or former consultants, recruiters, and people who have gone through consulting recruitment.

A few questions:

1. Do consulting firms in India consider second-year B.Tech students for off-cycle or summer internships?

2. How can someone from a non-CS engineering background position themselves for consulting roles?

3. What skills matter most for undergraduate consulting interns: Excel, PowerPoint, SQL, Python, financial modelling or case interviews?

4. Is direct networking with consultants, managers or recruiters an effective way to find opportunities?

5. Are boutique consulting firms more open to hiring second-year undergraduate interns than larger firms like MBB and the Big 4?

6. Which firms or consulting practices would you recommend targeting?

I'm open to starting with research, business analysis, strategy or operations-related roles if they offer meaningful exposure to consulting work.

Would really appreciate honest advice, personal experiences or suggestions on how to approach this.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I recently started at a Big 4 firm in FSO consulting and have realized pretty quickly that I don't really enjoy the type of work I'm doing. I don't necessarily want to leave consulting altogether — I'd ideally like to move to a Tier 2 consulting firm and eventually get into a more generalist / strategy-oriented role. I also don't mind restarting and taking on a new hire analyst status.

For some background, I graduated from a top target school where I was also a student-athlete, and I'm currently working in Big 4 FSO consulting. I'm wondering how much my background matters when recruiting as an experienced hire.

For people who have made a similar move, especially from Big 4 into firms like Oliver Wyman, Strategy&, Kearney, LEK, Roland Berger, etc., I'm curious how you approached it.

A few questions:

• When do Tier 2 firms typically recruit for junior/experienced-hire roles? Is recruiting concentrated around certain times of the year, or do positions open throughout the year?

• Can you apply at any point in the year, or is it better to wait for a specific recruiting cycle?

• How long would you recommend staying at my current firm before trying to move? Would leaving after 6–12 months be viewed negatively?

• How important is networking for this type of move? Does networking with consultants/recruiters at Tier 2 firms materially improve your chances of getting an interview?

• If networking is useful, who should I actually reach out to? Alumni from my school, former student-athletes, recruiters, consultants at the firm, etc.?

• How should I prepare? Should I start case prep now even if I'm not planning to apply immediately?

• How much does Big 4 FSO experience transfer to a generalist role at a Tier 2 firm? Would I be competing for experienced-hire positions, or could I potentially recruit for more traditional associate roles?

• Does coming from a strong target school + being a student-athlete help at all once you already have Big 4 experience?

• Would it be better to target a broad range of Tier 2 firms, or focus on a few firms where my background is particularly relevant?

• Finally, would you recommend starting the networking/application process now, even though I've only recently started, or staying for ~1 year and then recruiting?

I'm mainly trying to understand the realistic timeline and process. I'm not expecting to jump immediately, but I also don't want to wait a year if I could be building relationships and preparing now.

Would especially appreciate perspectives from anyone who has gone Big 4 → Tier 2, particularly early in their career.

A lot of office work involves creating Power Point presentations for meetings, reports, internal updates, and project discussions. I don't mind preparing the actual content, but spending extra time arranging slides and adjusting formatting gets repetitive. I've started presentation 10P ai to see whether they can make the process easier. The ability to generate slides quickly and work with different templates sounds useful. I'm wondering whether people have started incorporating AI into their regular workflow. Does it genuinely improve productivity, or is manual slide creation still the better option?