The name McKinsey often comes to candidates’ mind for its prestige and intense culture. Consultants work so hard … wrestling with the “key-decision” analyses and slides day in and day out. Few consultants have time to enjoy pleasures themselves. Life of a management consultant at McKinsey has been one hot topic people are very concerned about. To get an objective yet insider view of that, we caught up with an ex-McKinsey, Kim Tran, founder of MConsultingPrep, for his insights.
Hi Kim, what do you think about the long-held belief that consultant has no social life?
So what are your steps for that plan?
In the working process, human problem is always the most complicated, how can you manage it?
I hate human … I mean … I hate the human factor in workplace. It’s full of emotion and irrationalities. If everybody just works and runs like a machine, maybe I would have more “life”. There are many tips out there, training you the best practices in professional environment, but all boils down to:
Understand the motivations!
What we find in workplaces is that people often have contradicting motivations with our purposes.
The middle managers on the client side always dislike changes and we consultants always brought changes. This is hard! But one of my very important keys is to understand that: People have more than one motivations.
Maybe the lady manager of the client doesn’t like changes … but she does need to be promoted. I can make her understand that what McKinsey is building here will be the future of the company. The better she involves and understands this new system, the better chance she has to climb the ladder.
Besides motivating people, putting work aside how can you strengthen your relationships with various parties within the firms?
We all want to maintain and build our good relationships even though it is not always easy to do given our busy schedule. However, by following 2 secret keys, you can see how easy it is to strengthen the connections with people.
The first key is paying compliments daily. Everybody likes to receive compliments. Those who don’t just haven’t got good ones yet.
So what makes a compliment “good”?
Well, to make a good compliment, you should fulfill 3 factors: genuine, unique, and specific.
For example, don’t say a girl is pretty. She has heard that million times and maybe she doesn’t believe it anymore. But if you look closer, maybe you will see that she has the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen. Say that! It will totally work better!
How about the second part of strengthening your relationships in general?
What I have found out after that many years in the field working with people is that: everybody, especially those with superior status, has the desire to share and to mentor. By taking the initiative to invite them a coffee, to ask for advices, to let them coach you …, the connection is greatly strengthened. And the better connections you have, the more you can get coached and so on. It’s a wonderful loop to be in. So, never worry if you have work-life balance at McKinsey!
Preparing to Apply for Consulting?
Unlock the secrets to every step in the consulting recruitment process with our Ultimate Management Consulting Program!
Dozens of case interview examples and mock tests, thousands of math practice questions, resume toolkit and review service, along with countless instant-result tips and techniques – you name it, we have it!