How to Stand Out in Your First Week of Consulting: 6 Ways to Make an Impression
And hit the ground running
If you’ve decided to start you career in consulting, you’re probably the kind of person who wants to hit the ground running.
Since starting my consulting job three years ago, one thing has become super clear: a good first impression will do absolute wonders for your first few months, years and even long-term career.
You’ll get more opportunities, you’ll be given more freedom and flexibility, and you’ll get the benefit of the doubt when you need it.
If I were to start over, here’s what I’d do in my first week in consulting.
1. Get the basics right
It shouldn’t need saying, but it does:
Get the basics right.
Show up on time. Say hello. Smile. Do as you’re told. Do what you promised you’d do.
It obviously isn’t rocket science, but you’d be surprised how often I’ve seen this go wrong.
They’re hygiene factors, sure.
You won’t get many bonus points for getting them right, but you’re guaranteed to lose some points if you get them wrong.
So, the first step to making a good impression is not to make a bad one.
2. Be curious about your colleagues
At first, you’ll spend a lot of time talking to colleagues who are at a near-ish level to you.
Might be your manager, might be a buddy, might be people in your team, might be people at your grade.
They’ll ask questions about you, but this is also a prime opportunity to ask questions about them. Take an interest in them and what they’re up to.
When did they join? What projects have they been on? What’s been their favourite one? Did they do anything else before this? What are they up to at the moment? Who do they normally work with?
A few times, I’ve scheduled time with new joiners to say hi and have a chat. It just doesn’t come across great to give off the impression you don’t have the slightest interest in learning more about someone.
So, ask questions and take an interest.
3. Take initiative
People who take initiative are a breath of fresh air.
Once you join, your schedule will be loaded with intros and trainings. Still, there’s time and there are ways to be proactive and take initiative. Most people don’t, so doing it will help you stand out.
Of course, it’s possible to go overboard.
But there are ways to be subtle and chilled about it. To say hi to someone while you’re hanging around waiting. To sit next to someone new and introduce yourself at lunch. To say you came across something cool while reading up on the firm and would love to speak to someone to learn more about it.
It shows interest and attention and that you’re thinking for yourself.
4. Do some research on important people and their areas
You’ll also peak to the people leading the firm — the Partners and Directors.
These are people who are incredibly easy to find from your firm’s website, and they’ll be easy to stalk on LinkedIn.
They’ll also spend quite a bit of time putting out content — writing articles, posting on LinkedIn, going on podcasts — talking about their areas of expertise, their industry and their ideas.
You don’t need to devour it all — but most people (including me) will join having absolutely no clue who anyone is or what they do.
Having even the slightest clue what’s going on — you’ll make a fantastic impression.
You can mention an article and ask where they’ve seen the idea play out in practice. You can mention a project they wrote about and ask what their favourite part was. You can mention a podcast discussion and ask how those trends have developed recently.
Anything!
Any thoughtful questions will do.
5. Ask insightful questions about what you’re learning
You can also ask insightful questions about the things you and your team will do.
Part of your initial training will be to understand what your team’s deliverables and outputs are (what it actually is you’re giving to the client) and what your methodologies and approaches are (how you’re getting to that output).
If you aren’t told, those are good questions to ask.
If you are told, this is another area where you can show initiative, interest and that you’re actually thinking about the stuff you’re hearing.
You can ask to see an example of an output from a project that sounded interesting. You can ask how the team would get the information they need — interviews, data, observation? You can ask if there are any lessons the team has learned on how to get to a really great output. You can ask what the ‘trigger’ is for initiating this kind of work — what’s been going on in the client’s business to make them ask for your firm’s help?
Show you’re processing what you’re learning, and you’re curious to learn more.
6. Send thank-you’s
At the end of your first week, your head will be on fire.
There’ll have been so much new information and so many new impressions you’ll be dying to have a minute to digest.
Hopefully, you’ve had a great week — and you’ll be excited to have started what’s a really interesting job and career.
Before you lean back and put your feet on the table, there’s one last thing you can do.
You can say thank you.
There will be a load of people who spent time helping you out in your first week. People who explained how a system works. Who showed you where to find some information. Who explained what your team even does. Who introduced you to everyone in the office. Who invited you out for drinks.
Drop them a note to say thank you for helping you get settled — and they’ll have a much happier Friday, too.
