You probably heard Tim Flood recite during orientation: “Business School is like drinking from a water hose.” CMC, the Consulting Club, and other clubs are giving you a lot of “do’s and don’t do’s”, and you might feel overwhelmed. Maybe you’re questioning if you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. There were times during 1Y when I wondered if I was the one being weird at recruiting events or saying the wrong thing in an email. I was constantly evaluating the reports from CMC/CC/firms against myself and I worried I wasn’t measure up to those around me.

But get this – all that questioning led me to doubt my ability during interviews. There’s a balance to strike in evaluating yourself but also maintaining confidence in your own abilities. I lost that balance a little bit, and my performance in interviews suffered because of it. So here is my main piece of advice: for heaven’s sake be humble and understand that there are things that you probably need to work on; but if you believe you have the ability to be a good consultant*, then hold on to that throughout the whole process. You need to be confident going into interviews – figure out how to achieve that while continuing to learn and grow throughout the few months.

Remember (per Drew Matheson) your priorities should be:

1. Get a job

2. Maintain your happiness/sanity

3. Do classwork

If you make these your priorities, that will assist you in living out my advice.

*Be honest with yourself on this. Some of you may think you’d be the best consultant in the world, but you’re getting feedback that indicates the opposite. Consider that feedback.

#1Y #consulting #interviews