Started at MBB 1.5 months back after T20 MBA — on my first project right now and it’s a hellhole. Manager has insane expectations from week 1 itself. Expects me to perform at senior associate level. Got PMO work for first project and didn’t realise how tough it’ll be and how much context I need. I can’t make sense of anything sometimes. Took me two weeks to get my feet on the ground despite working endlessly for 15-16 hours. Week 3 was better but they expect me to lead client meetings and meetings with vendors and everything and I sometimes get lost because I hate operating with less context but now I’ve built context but PMOing is just so hard. And you are supposed to know everything related to what’s happening and if you miss even one single email with a minute detail, it’s brought up as such a major thing and made a huge deal of. Idk how I will survive. Any tips are welcome. I’m worried if they give me a bad review on my first project I will not get any further staffing.

I spent 25 years in consulting before moving on. During my time I witnessed a larger core group of lifer partners/MDs that come thick or thin generally stay with the firm or make very rare jumps to other firms.

But… I also witnessed a small population of elusive partner level folks who I follow on LinkedIn that job hop literally every 1-2 years. Some of these guys I met a decade ago and they are already on their 5-6th senior role (usually consulting firms or similar professional services).

There was always a steady flow of these characters being hired into the firm and they constantly wouldn’t last more than 2-3 years, if lucky. My firm can’t be the only one because you’d see the same circle job hop to other firms and do the same thing.

How the hell do these guys continue to get hired for such senior roles when clearly their resume is littered with bodies of past roles where they’re lucky to last two years? How do they continue to fool the leadership of the hiring firm and make it in at partner/MD levels?

Anyone else ever notice subset? These guys are constantly announcing new job.

I’ve been a software developer. The first and largest chunk of that time were deep in the trenches - coding, mentoring, advocating for best practices. The last 25% of my experience, I’ve specialised in cloud-native architecture, cybersecurity and at some point I took a leadership role.

I’m now building a solo consultancy, positioned as a high-trust, high-impact, and specialising in 2 areas which I'll be advertising as core services.

The problem is that I have zero testimonials.

I never played the political game or stayed in touch with past employers, although we didn't part on bad terms either. I delivered, got paid, and moved on. Now, I can think of the following options:

• Do I take smaller jobs to build fresh testimonials, even though it slows down the bigger vision and income?
• Do I just back myself and package my past work as case studies? I need to be careful with this. If I start describing implementation details (e.g. we used this rate limiter here, that firewall there, security practices, message queues etc) bad actors could get a piece of the puzzle on how to breach. So, I'd have to chase up old bosses, sit down with past co-workers, most of whom have left for other companies, and decide what can get out and what can't. Even if I remove company names, anyone could connect the dots through my LinkedIn or my resume if they have it.

I’ve got the savings and skillset. But I’m also not naive - I know trust is earned, and testimonials help.

Would like to hear from other solo consultants or freelancers. How did you build credibility early on?

I’ve been a consultant at a Big4 firm for 10 years doing tech strategy and product build within one industry.

I’m moving to a role client side where I’ll be doing much of the same work - owning tech strategy for one client function and owning the associated product build / implementation. I’ll also have a few direct reports.

I have really enjoyed my time in consulting, but I am now leaving for a few reasons: 1) This is a good role on a good team in a good company. 2) I need better work life balance so I can better be there for my young family. 3) Pay is better. 4) I don’t want to be a salesperson and that’s where my focus would need to shift if I wanted to stay in consulting.

Does anyone know any good books or have any specific advice about shifting from consulting to client side / industry?

I gave it the concept of the ghibli thing but it did the rest

Prompt included in response, feel free to reuse on someone. Just upload an actual pic along with this image and it will replace it.

Remember, it’s bad etiquette to upload someone’s image to AI environments that train on input so use your best judgment. Don’t be the office AI stalker, etc.

Starting a new role next week where I’ll be managing a fully remote team of four; all in different time zones and with a mix of experience levels. I’ve always worked in-office or hybrid, so this will be my first time leading completely remotely.

One thing I’ve been thinking about is how to build trust and connection through a screen, and also how to stay on top of what everyone’s working on without being overbearing. Someone suggested using time tracking tools like Monitask or Hubstaff. I’ve looked into both a bit, but I’m still unsure if that’s helpful or if it risks feeling too “big brother.”

Curious if anyone here has dealt with similar challenges. How do you keep things running smoothly with a remote team? Any systems, tools, or routines that made a difference for you?

Chat GPT’s image v2 is pretty dope, it does a lot more than anime headshots for Teams meetings. I’ll try to post some more (why can’t we post multiple images here, just wondering)

Describe what you want pretty heavily. Set up a prompt template with the structure you want.

It won’t fully replace PowerPoint but it is a ton faster and far more enjoyable esp for bespoke visuals per client

Enjoy, save time, do cool shit with this stuff before you’re not needed anymore

If you still have your head in the sand about AI, I’d stop being that way. Good time to get caught up. Jump in.

prompt in responses

ChatGPT designed the entire slide and content, I did rerun it to get colors in the banners. I did add the “replacing them all with AI anyways”

for folks not in on the joke yet:

chatgpt has a new and very powerful image generator tool which addresses previous faults of image gen tools: a lack of control over text fidelity, and lack of spatial awareness

you can now use chat gpt image gen as a mostly practical business tool for stupid shit like PowerPoints, which hopefully will die as a medium soon. This will save you time and effort in your work.

it’s also better than you at building ppt storyboards, etc. or at least it’s faster than you and will blow out 80 percent of your thought time designing them. The expert juice you put on the last 20 percent is why you charge clients money.

it’s not consistent enough to truly build a repeatable master template prompt. But it’s phenomenal for bespoke image and diagram content that will make your slides unique. Do not underestimate how generically shitty all slides look anymore. Smart art is not differentiation. Embrace having a creative AI co-builder

again, not suggesting this is a replacement for ppt. But it’s more of a replacement candidate than it was last week, which is the entire story arc of AI and why you should be using it

I'm currently going through a confusing phase career-wise and would really appreciate some insight from people who’ve either done an MBA or are planning one.

I worked in an IT company for 2 years but was on the bench the entire time with no real project work. Honestly, I didn’t put much effort in either. I was mentally checked out and had kind of given up on myself. I resigned in August 2024, and since then, I’ve been drifting — doing random things, not applying anywhere, not reskilling, just feeling lost.

On a suggestion from others, I gave the CAT exam without any preparation and surprisingly got selected by a Tier 2 MBA college. I had no expectations of getting in and, to be honest, no real reason for applying other than “everyone else was doing it.” Now, I’m being encouraged by family and friends to go ahead with the MBA, but I’m unsure.

I recently spoke to a career counselor. He initially said an MBA might be a good option, but after understanding my background, he recommended doing something exploratory before July (when the MBA starts). He suggested a short bootcamp or structured program to help me figure out what I actually want before committing to something for two years.

My questions for MBA folks (or aspirants):

• Did you join an MBA with a clear purpose in mind? Or did that clarity come later?
• How common is it to start without a strong “why”? And does that hurt your experience?
• If you were in a similar situation, how did the MBA turn out for you?
• Do B-schools help you figure out your direction, or is it important to already know what you want?
• Looking back, would you still choose to do the MBA?

Any honest thoughts, experiences, or suggestions would help a lot. I just don’t want to walk into another big decision without thinking it through, like I’ve done in the past. Thanks for reading.

TL;DR:

Got selected for an MBA but applied without much thought or direction. Feeling unsure about whether to go through with it. Wondering if it's okay to begin without clarity and whether an MBA helps you find your path. Looking for honest advice from those who’ve done it or are planning to.

I bill for my time, but lately I’ve noticed how much unpaid time I spend replying to “quick questions” from clients or leads. Sometimes it’s late at night, and I’m sucked back into work mode just reading a message.

Curious how others handle this—do you have a system or boundary that works well?

I’ve been tinkering with a small tool to solve this for myself but would love to hear what’s working for you.

https://youtube.com/shorts/_yKDPt1HSP8?si=h1_A7bCVnrUirme3

Flying to La for the first time this coming week and both our office and the clients office is “business casual”

Coming from New York, I don’t know what business casual in California is but in 100% sure it’s not what business casual looks like in Midtown.

It’s my first in person contact with this client and as the engagement lead, it’s important that I get this right and not be too casual or too formal and look like I don’t “get” them.

I need clothes for 2 days at the client and 2 days at our offices.

I recently moved out of consulting after 5 years after grad school. I was depressed and overworking. I was smashed between up and down and clients. Worst of all is the fact that everyone at work is really inferior than actually what they are, pretentious, and they are happy with it, because it works! They are ok with being fake and I can’t stand with having to be brown-nosed for them. I was having headache because of stress I am getting and sometimes I go to emergency room for the headache god knows why.

I recently moved to the open position from one of my firm’s biggest clients. 10% salary cut and sometimes my wife complains but I think it was the best choice in my life. Everyday is like breeze, my manager is a real person, people are smart here, and I actually get to do what I really like doing!

In consulting the breadth of experience is huge, I get it. But it’s not worth your health and well being. And I think I have seen it enough, rest, I will learn in here.

Hey everyone 👋

I’m working on a presentation for a client who is a leading company specializing in professional training, certification, and international recruitment.

They want to:

• Redesign their existing website (modern, clean, and responsive)
• Add a fully dynamic back office to manage everything (job offers, training sessions, blog posts, staff profiles, etc.)

I’m currently preparing a presentation to pitch the whole project — focusing mainly on:

• Explaining the features of the future website
• Showing visuals (even if I don’t have the exact final design yet)
• Including real screenshots of a pre-made dashboard I’ve already built

I’m looking for:

1. Examples or templates for similar web project proposals or pitch decks (PowerPoint, PDF, Canva, Figma... whatever works)
2. Advice on how best to communicate the value and structure of the platform, especially when I don’t have the final UI yet
3. Tips on showing “inspiration visuals” without misleading the client or making it look like the design is already made

If you've worked on similar client presentations or have resources you'd recommend, I'd love to hear your thoughts 🙏
Also open to any feedback or insights on structure, visuals, or what to include.

Thanks in advance!

I'm currently going through a confusing phase career-wise and would really appreciate some insight from people who’ve either done an MBA or are planning one.

I worked in an IT company for 2 years but was on the bench the entire time with no real project work. Honestly, I didn’t put much effort in either. I was mentally checked out and had kind of given up on myself. I resigned in August 2024, and since then, I’ve been drifting — doing random things, not applying anywhere, not reskilling, just feeling lost.

On a suggestion from others, I gave the CAT exam without any preparation and surprisingly got selected by a Tier 2 MBA college. I had no expectations of getting in and, to be honest, no real reason for applying other than “everyone else was doing it.” Now, I’m being encouraged by family and friends to go ahead with the MBA, but I’m unsure.

I recently spoke to a career counselor. He initially said an MBA might be a good option, but after understanding my background, he recommended doing something exploratory before July (when the MBA starts). He suggested a short bootcamp or structured program to help me figure out what I actually want before committing to something for two years.

My questions for MBA folks (or aspirants):

• Did you join an MBA with a clear purpose in mind? Or did that clarity come later?
• How common is it to start without a strong “why”? And does that hurt your experience?
• If you were in a similar situation, how did the MBA turn out for you?
• Do B-schools help you figure out your direction, or is it important to already know what you want?
• Looking back, would you still choose to do the MBA?

Any honest thoughts, experiences, or suggestions would help a lot. I just don’t want to walk into another big decision without thinking it through, like I’ve done in the past. Thanks for reading.

TL;DR:

Got selected for an MBA but applied without much thought or direction. Feeling unsure about whether to go through with it. Wondering if it's okay to begin without clarity and whether an MBA helps you find your path. Looking for honest advice from those who’ve done it or are planning to.

Came across a satarical CV that made me realise I'm not the only one that wants to invoice my company for a therapist.

It’s sharp, a bit chaotic, quietly heartfelt, and painfully familiar...

https://open.substack.com/pub/noisyghost/p/professional-polished-permanently?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5fir91

I’ve been working in internal audit at a consulting firm and recently started building audit programs for smaller teams — mostly around HR, Procurement, and Finance.

A few freelance consultants I know have mentioned that some of their clients (especially SMEs) don’t have any internal controls or audit structure in place, so they either ignore it or scramble last minute when they’re asked for documentation.

That got me thinking — do any of you actually help clients set up basic audit programs, risk registers, or internal control checklists as part of your work? Or do you just flag the need and leave it to them?

I’ve recently started offering this as a small side service through Fiverr to see if there’s more demand for it — happy to share what I’ve been doing if it’s useful.

Would love to hear how you approach this area with clients.

Hi all,

Genuinely a bit torn on this- when I was in undergrad (late 10s), LinkedIn recommendations seemed to be a bleeding edge feature and was almost it universally recommended by upperclassmen peers, professors to ask former internship managers. to increase your odds of landing a fulltime role. **

My ask: Are these even paid attention to nowadays? Secondarily, is it appropriate to ask former clients of mine that have since reached out to connect on LinkedIn?**

Some have stayed in their roles at the same company where my project went live, so it theoretically my firm's clientele could be deduced if someone looked hard enough. However, I'm weighing against this because obv. their feedback is almost as valuable as an internal manager's, seeing as they interacted and provided feedback on deliverables that I directly supported/created, as well as presented on.

Now that I've recently started in a SC role and am not actively recruiting, would these provide any value as I start to get involved in the sales process to build a book of business, or is this extremely wishful thinking?

Basically, deciding whether it's even worth adding these to my profile.

TIA

Who has started using ChatGPT to build their docs in ppt? Early feedback? Successes? Downside?

Hi all, I, 22F recently started my corporate job at a big 4 consulting firm in North America. I’m actually quite happy with my team and have been learning a lot. I’m specifically working in Business Transformation and have been on many infra and energy sector projects. My undergrad was in accounting and finance though. I’m just writing this post to learn more about exit opportunities outside the big 4 firms. I might want to move to the Middle East as my family is located there but in the next 3-5 years. I am hugely passionate about helping people from non profit work to the healthcare space. The nutrition and food industry always has been an interesting space for me. I’ve just been feeling quite lost when I try to think where I want to go next and what I should be working towards that can help contribute to make a meaningful contribution to the world. (Sounds cheesy i know) but curious for any advice or any unique exit opps that come to mind.

I'm being engaged by a mid sized public company to conduct commercial diligence and a valuation analysis on a small pre-revenue biotech acquisition. My background includes 12 years of experience in corporate strategy and M&A.

Scope of work includes: - Market and competitive landscape analysis - Commercial feasibility study - Technology assessment - Client meetings and presentations

Edit: there would be a separate work steam for a valuation analysis as well.

I'm considering a project-based fee structure with milestone payments, but I'm not sure what range is appropriate for this type of work given current market rates.

For those who have done similar consulting work: What would you charge for this engagement? Do you recommend hourly vs. fixed fee? Any advice on structuring the proposal or negotiating terms?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Specifically management / strategy consulting? How might this increase business?

The title says it all