How to get a consulting job (for beginners)- 80 hours rule

The REAL Strategy to Get YOUR DREAM JOB

McKinsey, BCG, Amazon, Google. How to get into the world of Management Consulting/Social Impact/Tech/PM?

A few years ago, Shatakshi and I launched an experiment. The experiment was simple — it was to create an ecosystem that we wished we had when we were in our 20s.

In our 20s, we wanted to create impact, we also wanted to work as Management Consultants, Advice and Learn from Top Ministers, CEOs, or McKinsey Partners. But most importantly, we wanted to become part of an inclusive, supportive, respectful, and collaborative community that genuinely cared for each other.

And so we decided to create a community that we secretly craved for ourselves via — Global Governance Initiative.

Ever since we started the Global Governance initiative, many of the GGI Scholars were able to navigate their way into top-notch leadership roles at McKinsey, United Nations, Boston Consulting Group, Google, Amazon inter-alia — but to be brutally honest, it was a peripheral result of being a part of a learning ecosystem that genuinely cared for each others’ growth.

Those Scholars networked their way into the above-mentioned organization, and we were merely the silent observer of the miracles of the power of authentic community.

On the journey, we realized there is something called the 80-hour rule that can help you crack any interview in life, and most importantly help you transform your life.

The 80 Hours Rule was coined by one of our fellows, who publicly talked about it on LinkedIn when she received her offer from Mckinsey. I am reposting it here with her due permission. It is surely worth the read :

Young Consultants/Associates at Boston Consulting Group

“At the age of 21, I was in an enviable position to have received job offers from the top 3 management consulting firms of the world.

Over the past few months, many have asked me about my strategy. So here it goes. It is an 80 hours strategy — if you are looking for shortcuts. PLEASE DO NOT READ.

At the outset, I’d like to highlight by saying this — Do not fall into the trap of solving endless Business Cases. The world of consulting interviews has changed dramatically.

Do the following instead before you switch gears and apply the case-solving frameworks mindlessly.

1. Step 1: Refine your Business Concepts — Core concepts of Finance, Accounting, Operations, Business Strategy should be learned before anything else. You will outshine your peers when you could apply Porter’s 5 Forces, or Ansoff Matrix in real-time during the interviews. (20 hours)
2. Step 2: Refine your Public Policy Concepts: From Market Failures to Sustainable Consulting- rich perspective around these topics will help you outshine not just in the interviews but also in every aspect of life. I’m truly indebted to the Policy Consulting and Management consulting Masterclass by Global Governance Initiative here. (20 hours).
3. Step 3: Refine your communications concepts: There are various styles of communications: from the Pyramid Principle to the STAR framework. These principles will help you outshine the personal interview component of your MBB interviews. (20 hours)
4. Step 4: Go through standard business cases: I will be happy to share my resources — if you could comment with your email address down below. Or you could use the Schrödinger by GGI to replicate the real-life case-solving experience. (Do not spend more than 10 hours of your time here. Work on this once you have completed the first 3 steps). If you can somehow get selected for the Global Governance Initiative’s Scholar’s Program — you would have inadvertently completed the first 3 steps.
5. Step 5: Focus on Networking: Believe it or not, from getting an internship to an eventual interview — networks that I developed across geographies helped me at every step. (Although, I couldn’t attend the GGI Inner Circle Meetings. But, GGI conducts active networking nights there amongst the fellows. Sometimes luminories include McKinsey Partners, BCG Managing Directors, United Nations RCs) (5 hours)
6. Step 6: Focus on Mental Health: It doesn’t matter how well you are prepared for your consulting interviews — as long as you are calm, relaxed, and composed — you will conquer the world. Here again, Global Governance Initiative Fellowship came to the rescue — where I diligently participated in their wellness program.