Lateral Hires Have The Toughest Time In Consulting
They still don't know how to work well, but they cost the full price and are expected to compete with tenured colleagues. This is especially tough in the current economic conditions.
I joined consulting at 34 with 13 years of work experience. I left a high-paying job in Finance with an easy lifestyle. My former colleagues thought I went crazy.
But I had my own motivations. I wanted to grow, solve bigger problems, and work globally. And consulting was perfect for that. But first, I had to survive.
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Lateral hires have unique challenges that make their onboarding experience extremely tough.
1. The learning curve is too steep.
For example, I had to relearn how to work, think, and speak. Consulting firms are very particular and strict about how they operate. There are so many unspoken rules and implicit expectations that new hires simply don't know until someone tells them.
The timeline was too tight. In two years, I had to learn twice as fast, first how to become a Consultant and then a Manager.
To be honest, I was not as sharp as I was 10 years ago. So, I had to put in double and triple effort to keep up with younger folks.
2. There is a lack of structured learning.
Finding useful learning materials was very tough. The knowledge was scattered and often not practical, and there was no single source or manual I could use.
Asking for help was hard. Everyone around me was younger than me, even partners and some senior partners. I didn't want to look stupid and ask too many questions.
3. The Staffing is tough for lateral hires.
Staffing is generally a tough process for all new hires but even harder for lateral hires.
They still can't work well, but their cost is already high. Sometimes, partners can staff two tenured consultants instead of one new lateral hire. This puts lateral hires in an extremely uncompetitive position.
Even if you get staffed, everyone expects you to work like a tenured consultant. There is no time for ramp-up, and the pressure to perform is mounting super fast.
If you don't perform, it hurts your reputation. Then, staffing becomes 10 times more difficult. As a result, your development slows down. You can fall into a downward spiral, recovering from which will be almost impossible. This is how many lateral hires were CTLed this year and last year.
If you add personal situations, families to care for, loans to pay, and visas to maintain, you get the perfect storm of stress, anxiety, and pain. Being fired would have a devastating effect on their careers and lives.
If you feel that the system is rigged against you, you are absolutely right. The system is designed to filter out the weakest. It selects those who can solve these tough problems in these disadvantageous situations.
My recipe was lots of hard work, determination, and energy. But now, in hindsight, I understand that was not the most effective way of succeeding in this game. And in the current tough times, that would not be enough. You can't brute force this problem anymore.
The best approach is to find people to help you navigate this complex landscape. Secure support of tenured colleagues who have been through this journey. They can tell you what to do and not to do and share best practices, unspoken rules, and implicit expectations.
But finding supportive people can be challenging, especially early in your career. Not everyone around you is a great coach, mentor, or sponsor. Especially now when all leaders are preoccupied with their own survival.
To find supporters, you need to learn to work well. But to do that, you must find projects. To find projects, you need supporters. It is a vicious cycle that is hard to break.
The only way to break this cycle is to learn how to work well. The faster you learn, the greater your chances of success.
I write the Distinctive Plus Newsletter to help consultants break this vicious cycle. It equips consultants with the right knowledge and best practices. Theoretically, you can learn everything you need to be successful by reading it.
P.S.
I feel your pain.
As a consultant, I struggled to perform and faced an impossible situation with extremely high expectations and minimal support.
My life turned into relentless stress, pain, and anxiety. But I always suspected that there should be a better way.
All that pain was not necessary with the right support.
Nine years later, I designed the coaching program I desperately needed back then. Its sole focus is helping you excel and achieve high performance.
Only then can you build strong sponsorships, find great projects, and become confident.
If you are an MBB consultant and want to achieve high performance, please
Book a 1-1 Discovery Session.
Learn more about the Hero Journey coaching program.