To succeed at McKinsey you have to be an expert watch borrower and bullshit merchant. You probably failed because you actually solved real problems rather than creating a need for more consulting. You need to sell “packs” not solutions. I would take it as a major affirmation to be fired by these vultures.
As someone with experience in a large consulting firm, I can say with some confidence that if they had enough projects to keep you busy, they wouldn’t have let you go. It seems they used the probation period as a convenient way to cut costs during a downturn in clients needing McKinsey’s services. The system is designed to protect the firm’s interests and shift blame onto individuals, which is why feedback from performance reviews in these situations is rarely constructive or helpful. I’m really sorry this happened to you, but kudos to you for asking for feedback right away! You’re absolutely right that this doesn’t reflect negatively on you at all, and you’re definitely better off not working there 👏
(Notwithstanding the narrative that such performance reviews occur at the end of an individual's probationary period), she probably should have asked how many other people were being let go that week/month. And firmly brushed back any "privacy" obfuscation with "I didn't ask you for names; I asked you for a number".
"It seems they used the probation period as a convenient way to cut costs " Probably not. She said she spent a large amount of her time there "on the beach" which means she wasn't generating any revenue.
I did consulting for a few years --and will never do it again. The bottom line is that I am too honest to be a consultant. Those companies operate on generating hourly revenue regardless of the need to the customer.
Sounds like a horrible company to work for. They hire you, and then expect you to go sell yourself to project teams, perpetually trying to stay employed by repeatedly getting hired over and over to various projects. That's awful.
You impress me as an hourly employee destined for poverty. She wanted to play in a man's world. Now she has no kids and debt. THAT sounds more horrible to me than the company. Another pretty girl who threw away her life pretending to be a man.
This is normal in Big4 and other management consulting firms. Also, you should expect to work 60-80+ hour weeks. Note: I said it's normal for these companies. I didn't say it was good. There's a huge amount of burnout and attrition at these firms for a good reason.
McK are primarily salespeople and not consultants. Their employer branding is awesome. But to be successful there, you have to be a sales genius. First you have to sell yourself internally and later sell projects to customers. Selling is much more important than expertise; expertise is needed in the real economy.
Sales= is the real economy That is creating business. And keeping clients is what a corporation is all about. If you can’t sell then you need to work back office or with production. Not with clients
But why work for McK? You are so young, so much life and life energy within you? Use it your benefit!! I worked for very large Companies as well. Yes, the money was good, but I was happy to turn the page, and I am now branching on my own with a Classmate I met in Grad. School. The Corporate Farm is made for some. Not for all. And thank God for that!!
I worked with McK for 3 months, as an embed while they were working with my employer. It taught me a lot but most of all how I don’t want to work for a consulting company or in a culture like that. Very long days, drinking, working and producing the shiniest 💩 you’ve ever seen.
Being an introvert is absolutely a disqualifier to being a management consultant. The entire job is networking and relationship building, you can be completely incompetent and succeed if you know how to socialize and people like keeping you around.
True if you are on a short mission (1-3months) and switch to something else after. But false if you are on longer projects (6month+) where you can build relationships with stakeholders.
With respect, I disagree. I've worked in this kind of role, and we had a mix of extravert and introvert personalities. The extraverts gravitated towards the customer liaison jobs, and the introverts towards deep understanding of the customers' problems (often much better than that of the customers themselves), developing and running mathematical models of the contexts within which the customer organisations operated, domain knowledge management, and a lot of other roles. Fortunately we had an internal management system that matched people to tasks, and allowed people to move around into roles that best suited them. It worked fine.
@@anotherfreediver3639 You actually didn't disagree, but confirmed what I said - the relationship was maintained by the extraverts who actually didn't do the "job" part of the job, which was done by the introverts who acted as executing technicians in a relationship that was managed FOR them.
Bullshit Jobs for a Bullshit Economy... what to expect. I am actually sorry for so many poor souls that have to or choose to work in such organizations. What a soul crushing experience...
@@BernhardKohli What do companies like McKinsey "deliver"? I think these companies are the biggest hoax in business and sometimes even a danger to the firms they "consult".
Not consultancy , but had a very similar experience: hired in one call, one day of boarding, bunch of severely derailed projects to clean up, 4 months of extreme stress, partial bench, empty pipeline, fired on 1st anniversary. - Never again.
having worked for consulting companies and going through all of this (laid off because no work) I realize, its a joke. You don't want to do that. No one should do that. These consulting companies, they need to go out of business. Immediately. Like all of them. They underpay for their employees and let the go the minute the work dries up. If you are going to do that, just work as a temp for cash. What difference does it make? Make more cash.
Same here. You're usually hired because they need a sucker who will clean up the mess of your predecessor and dispose of you as soon as it's cost effective. Glad I can afford not to do it anymore.
These companies are so cold and methodical. There is no sympathy or sensitivity. They just want constant performance. Do yourself a favor. Tighten your belt, live below your means and work for people who are human and care about humans and let these corporations and executives cannabalize themselves
@@dblockbass Agree 100%. Best to work in a friendly environment even if earning less. Live below means. Hi savings rate into Roth, mutual index funds. Side job if wanting to be financially independent.
I've also had to do my fair share of post-Kinsey cleanup work for clients. They tend to use all the right buzzwords, but haven't grasped the context, and as such aren't helpful at all.
@@RobertClaeson Exactly! This was for a MAJOR multi-million $$$ assignment. All they provided was just generic stuff of no use to the client. I effectively re-did the whole assignment and the client was very happy with the results.
IMPORTANT - McKinsey just settled with the US federal government for $650,000,000 million - because they promoted the getting people addicted to opioids in the US. They were “advising” both the government and the pharmaceutical company. They got CHILDREN addicted to Opioids. And it wasn’t just the same company - McKinsey. It was the same individuals in McKinsey! That’s how psychotic and corrupt they are. So, McKinsey is about how well one navigates politics. And sells themselves. To make money. Even if they hurt people and their families doing that. How many people died? How many people went bankrupt? How are these people not in prison for the rest of their lives???
Yes, it’s a second income stream for the marketing/strategy world. So many clients show up with BCG and McK decks, asking us to redo the project or make it understandable/actionable.
I have to say, it really doesn’t sound like they have a very good system for cultivating and retaining talent. Then again, this is the same firm that recommended Purdue Pharma “turbocharge” their opioid sales.
@@StefanTaf It only scratches the surface of how corrupt this company is. They also are heavily involved in providing logging companies and the fossil fuel industry with fake expertise on climate change. There's a book called The Big Con which goes through a lot of the fraudulent work done by McKinsey.
This isn't news-it's always been like this. I've spent many years working as a consultant, including time at the world's largest consulting firm. When the sales team failed to secure projects, it was common for team managers to either pressure you into leaving voluntarily or engineer a poor peer review to justify a layoff. At the end of the day, life isn’t fair, and business operates the same way. Treat work for what it is-just business, no emotions.
@@bbsara0146 In Europe, it’s hard to fire employees because of strict labor laws. Companies have only a few valid reasons to let someone go without paying compensation. Poor performance can be a reason, but it’s hard to prove in court. Because of this, employers sometimes try to make the workplace unpleasant, and one way to do this is by focusing on the employee’s poor performance to make them feel unwelcome, hoping they’ll leave on their own.
@@bbsara0146 because that would be admitting the sales guns weren't sales guns and in many places would also be illegal or at least cost a lot more - most of the world does not have "at will" employment. Redundancy - position no longer required - is usually far more expensive than employee screwed up.
I don't know, Anna. Since "the first time I met you", I've always thought that you were "too good for this", I mean, too good for the technicalities of engineering (not even to mention consultancy), etc. You've been so humble enough like to start this channel, talk about sensible topics most people don't want to talk about or just hide, so tender enough, so noble enough, that I'm not surprised that you didn't fit there, nor they deserved to have you with them. And I'm glad for who you are: a great person and woman.
They hired you without knowing whether they will have enough projects or not, so sorry this happened to you. You are an amazing communicator with an engineering background, your future is bright, it’s hard right now but you will get through this.
It is ironically a success to be fired from McKinsey, most of those who want to join McKinsey will never work there. McKinsey will forever be one of the qualifications on your CV. The No. 1 student in my year also had a tough defeat to deal with when he was fired after only 9 months. He was fired of the position of a CEO by the owner and billionaire .... and now he has an equivalent position and sucess again. The experience you gained will be very valuable and you will make your way. I wish you all the best for your future projects.
Its not always what you know, its also who you know. I've worked in listed national and multinational companies, federal and state government as well as small private organisations, including my own small consultancy. In every one of them you have to grind to get anywhere AND attach yourself to a raising star mentor who assits with your promotions. All businesses rely on winning and delivering projects and getting paid for those projects, you can't just sit around and expect to be paid, let alone get promoted. There are three major stages / levels in a career. 1. Becoming a subject matter expert, 2. Managing a team of subject matter experts, 3. Communicationing to others the need to buy into your projects using either hard cash or the expenditure of appropriated budgets. At all levels you need to explain your successes and challenges and failures. All three of these outcomes adds to your experience and allows you to grow in experience as an employee / manager / business owner. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going.
Perfect answer. Made me think about myself and gives me reason to work a lot more on stage 2. I'm still too focused on pure engineering tasks and not paying enough attention to team building.
Like many other consulting firms, McKinsey neglects the well-being of its employees, who often work tirelessly and bear significant economic risks. Many managers engage in unethical behavior, deceiving their employees and prioritizing their own interests. It's troubling to see that employees often bear the burden of financing high bonuses for top management, who readily implement layoffs during economic downturns without considering the harmful health and psychological effects on their employees.
Went through a very similar experience many years ago as a consultant, similar reactions. It took me a while to appreciate what I understand now: performance appraisals are never about your "performance" in the first place. You were judged against criteria for navigating a maze management designed. The failure wasn't yours: it was /theirs/.
I think you are starting to undestand how this big consulting firms operate for decades. The main reason they hire you was to remove you from the market. So clients can not find you and need to depend of this consulting companies. This is why there are tons consultants in benchs with no projects.
In my opinion they let you go because hirering you for them didnt pay off. They are like a shop where you can pick people and apparently for them it was a mistake thinking that their clients need a battery enigneer. So they pulled the plug to minimize their losses on you. Its actually a case of its not you, its them. Dont feel bad about it, be glad you are out and enjoy life again! :)
McKinsey and the other MBBs is a high potential place, where only sharks survive. Yes you got no projects, but they expect you to be on projects anyways,.. is this possible? The brutal answer is: they do not care, what they care is: are you performing above average and are you on projects,... how to do that is on you. Take McK on your resume as a plus point and move on in life.
No it is not about Shark, it is just business. No shark can control whether the Economics is going down and companies have no money to throw out of the window
I worked as a consultant before in a different firm. The key was not working more but selling more-bringing projects to the firm. Additionally, I got to keep a 5% founder's fee for any project I brought to the firm. That was many years ago, though. Consulting has changed a lot since then; now, I see consulting firms securing government contracts. There's no more pain or suffering in the process. During my time there, I also gained many clients through the company-clients who later wanted to work with me independently, outside the firm. With that kind of network, it’s entirely possible to start your own consulting firm and take clients with you.
Hi Anna, I went through similar experience several years ago. You will be ok. I took it as a learning experience and build a successful career elsewhere. Only specific type of people may thrive with lack of sleep, constant socialising, and hours spent on aligning boxes. Fingers crossed for your next ventures! You will be ok.
so let me get this straight. you have to find your own projects and then work on the projects that you found for yourself? so what do you need McKinsey for?
Thank you for sharing. I feel it’s so important for all of us to get informed about failure, how we react, and to move forward. I went through similar stages, but the process was protracted and more painful. Through luck, perseverance and time, I’m in a much better place now. Wishing you all the best and thanks again!
Aw man I relate to your experience on so many levels. I left Deloitte back in April with similar complaints. Managers being frustrated that I couldn't read their minds in terms of exceptions, unclear direction, me getting chewed out for not kissing everyone's ass. I truly do not miss it!
Damn Straight! I found this in almost every job I worked as a Sales Engineer: you were expected to spend 75% of your time in the Office Schmoozing. If you got caught spending too much time ACTUALLY DOING YOUR JOB in the field Seeing Customers, you'd be Fired for 'Not Meeting KPI's
I'm a consultant and "consulting" should be the actual job. I.e. doing what you're supposed to be good enough at to have valuable input to your client. Generally, technical people tend to be more on the _nerd_ side of things and are not very good at selling themselves. It's ridiculous and a total waste of time that's not spent doing technical things. Best case; you're good at it. Then you're still competing with your colleagues instead of generating actual value for the company and whatever project you find might otherwise just have gone to another employee. Unless of course your company's business model is selling the business equivalent of snake oil. I don't have to find my own clients. We have sales people for that who are specialized in it.
Failure to adapt to company culture can absolutely get you fired. Pay attention to how others react to hard work, don’t just blindly work hard if it’s not recognized by the company. I have researched getting an MBA, and after reading forums from MBA students and consultants, it seems 100% about networking and being liked, not about hardcore work performance. So yeah, just working heads down everyday and not building a network will definitely get you fired. I’m not really convinced the mba is worth 200k, at least at Emory, just to make friends and be liked.
@@wardibald I was fortunate enough to have worked commission sales to pay my own way through college which meant that I am one of the few geeks that can truly interact well with others. I also was on the bleeding edge of technology for the past 30 years and part of my " value" to clients was my ability to call BS on both the sales force as well as the engineers. This helped me point out where proposed engineering would take FAR LONGER than the engineering team was promising and also when the sales teams demanded feats of technical impossibility.
Many congratulations on having the strength of character to put up this video and explain why you were let go. This is in fact a sign of great strength and a testament to your character. Clearly the people at that firm didn’t realise what an excellent employee they had and if they’d bothered to invest further in you, I’m sure that you would’ve delivered excellent results over time. After all, Rome it wasn’t built in a day. You are very intelligent, a good communicator and a hard worker there can be no doubt whatsoever that you will find the appropriate niche and go to great success.
I am myself a consultant, and have seen lot of my colleagues get fired in these downtimes. Personnally I had to go into an interview competing with a colleague I knew well and it sucked. It is brutal nowadays, and you need to fight, be highly visible right now. However I think it is better to say we cant keep you any longer. But they dont want the word come out that they are struggling. At the end of the day it is always a business decision, dont let it break you❤ you are more then a job 😊 every time I am banched I actively look for work and let my boss know I do not want to be benched longer then 2 months. I can find other jobs by myself, so if they cant, why would I work for them?!?
Kind of ended up here by chance ... but am glad I watched the video. What a mature way to deal with the situation! You will most certainly look back at it one day and be grateful for the experience. Good luck with whatever you will do next!
That's a sad story, particularly from an empathy perspective. It's unfortunate when colleagues are separated after the probation period, but I think it's reasonable for the company to do so if they've provided a fair chance and sufficient support. Unfortunately, it seems this wasn't the case here. The system of delivering bad news through people you've never met is beneath any respectable company's standards. To be honest, McKinsey has a reputation that precedes them, and I'm not surprised by your story.
Anna, I rejected an offer to work for McKinsey in 2011... they were stunned... as in how dare I refuse them... but here's the deal for you - the fact that McKinsey hired you in the first place implies that you're in the top 1% or so of your industry - so, Congratulations!!! The other good thing is that you've seen the belly of the beast from the inside... and like all bellies of all beats, it ain't pretty... but, you've seen it - you may not realise it now, but this experience in itself is going to be worth its weight in gold for you professionally - very soon!! And, finally, like all Harvard dropouts who may be dropouts but are elite dropouts nonetheless - so are you - an elite McKinsey dropout - kudos to you young lady!! God bless you for the future!
Ist mir auch mal passiert, Einstieg bei der Beratung, allerdings auf Management Level, kurz vor Ende der Probezeit wurde der Vertrag aufgrund interner Machtkämpfe aufgelöst. Mir hat es sehr geholfen, dass ich dann zu einem Ihrer Kunden gewechselt bin und da das erste Jahr daran gearbeitet habe meinen Ex Arbeitgeber vor die Türe zu setzen und sie erfolgreich die letzten 5 Jahre draußen gehalten habe. Kostet sie jedes Jahr einen 7 stelligen Umsatz pro Jahr und ich freue mich immer wieder ihre Angebote abzulehnen.
As an introvert listening to your story, this could very well have been me. I certainly couldn’t thrive in an environment that relies on networking in order to survive.
At first, thank you that you are so honest to tell what happened. The courage to tell all that in public means a lot. I had a lot of experience with this business from both sides of the aisle. It always was a tough business even 30 years ago. Working as a consultant means, you are 24/7. I had times, wasn't at home for weeks. And learning was always in my so called "private time" it was expected. You can gain knowledges and experiences in this business you never get anywhere else. But I saw, this is not for a lifetime. After a few years you should find a job in a normal company. You have all the possibility to build up connections. If you are looking for work/life balance, this is absolutely the wrong way to look for it. But there is nothing wrong about you. If you fit not in with the system you must find another way. I think you are on the right track now. And with your education as an engineer it shouldn't be to difficult to find another job. Good luck and all the best from an old white man.
I have been a consultant for 15 years (no longer, I left that god awful position as consultant. Much happier working for a product company), and this is bullshit. You essentially have been fixed because they are bad managers, it it the manager's job to ensure that everybody within a firm is billable, not the employee's responsibility. Where have they learn to manage a company? McKinsey sounds like a bunch of amateurs who have failed upwards.
I've worked in a company like that for 3 years. Felt like 9. In our case the day to day operations were ran by a group of middle management who needed to like you as friend or a romantic interest. Or at least be very entertaining during office hours and afterworks. A junior who is an introvert who is all about doing the job would never fly.
I was let go by a different strategy firm within the first year. The reality is that when a services firm isn't selling enough client projects, they continue to PAY YOU while you're not generating any revenue. It's unsustainable. At the same time, high-profile firms like McK rely on "counseled out" employees not going public, as in this video - hurts their brand even more than their work for Purdue Pharma, Gupta brothers, Swissair, etc.
I work in consulting. And it does take a business mindset, and it does not take much before you are out, however some people manage to stick around even when they are useless, so no clear cut. I have waved goodbye to a few great people, but consulting takes being able to deal with politics, and have people like you. And you need to always be active and ON, which can be taxing for a lot of people, myself included. Somehow I still prefer it to being employed by my clients. I really love the distance, and that I am not stuck at one specisfic office and dealing with that kind of politics.
Here in the UK, the few ex McKinsey people I have spoken with have told me of the insane hours, they were working. They couldn't maintain relationships and broke up. Having seen behind the scenes in a few organisations, too often there are toxic people, and/or an huge imbalances.
I worked alongside McKinsey consultants over my consulting career and I can see exactly what your real problem was. Apparently, you wanted to do projects that actually delivered real value to your clients. There is your fundamental mismatch with McKinsey! Good luck in your future endeavors!
@@fatemad4012farming! Essentially they produce reports, etc that seem to add value, whilst simultaneously convincing managers in other departments in the company to take on their services. By the time it becomes apparent that they’re not adding any value, the person/people who comes to that realisation has/have left the company, so the secret never gets out.
You still get to have McK on your resume. Just getting hired by the firm is a huge accomplishment. I would have loved to work for them, but wasn't an option for me. I ended up spending much of my career at Amazon instead. Good luck where ever you land next.
When I left consulting (I applied for and got a different job in industry), I remember signing a non-compete that I wouldn’t go with a competitor firm, I think it was for 3 years. I remember wishing it was for life, because I never want to work in consulting again, unless it is for myself. Networking, pricing jobs, writing proposals, performing jobs, writing reports, billing jobs and still working overtime because of the lack of budget in the jobs; it is thankless and demoralizing. You are only as good as the value of the last job you got. While I couldn’t buy the experience it gave me, it came at a price and the pay wasn’t worth it.
Years ago when I used to do consulting, I was scared to spend any time on the bench/beach without knowing I already had a new client. Fortunately for me, it was just one day on the bench before I was shipped back out to clients. I heard of people spending weeks on the bench but I knew if times get bad, the bench would be cleared so I didn't want to stay on it.
I have a friend who works at mckinsey. Unfortunately in the business world it's all about reading between the lines. Apparently even if they say "you don't need to be this or that right away..." , theyre still scrutinizing you and watching you. If a "casual" coffee chat interview is informal, it is not casual and it is formal and can decide to reject you. They are always watching and taking notes.
I’m actually happy that you are not with them any more. The reason is simple, it wasn’t a match in the first place and eventually you would have quit after exhaustion. You have skill set of a problem solver and trust me you will find the role that fits that strength of yours. The demand to associate with a branded consulting firm has forced individuals to take jobs that looks on resume. You can still go for another consulting role where there may be similar expectations but ask your self this question , will that make you happy because you solved a problem or more to do with updates and views to your linked in profile . You are in your way to a life true to your self . All the best
Anna, every experience is also a good experience! McKinsey is part of your CV and no one can take that from you. Turn this experience to your advantage. You got this!
The best thing a company can do to be more efficient and cut costs is fire/not hire consultants. Consultant firms are masters of convincing other companies that they need something they in fact, do not need.
Well.. you got paid for 6 whole months and didn't have to do a whole of work in that period. It's not bad. Some years ago I took a job at a car dealership because I wanted to get some sales experience. I was there for two months and didn't sell a single car. I talked to literally 3 customers that entire time. Of course they let me go - but I got $2k out of it and it wasn't bad. I was still heavily interviewing for IT work and could make all the calls I needed during those two months.
Why don't they just be honest and say we don't have enough work for you. You have to be smart to get into a firm like that. If they had to let you go than perhaps they failed to train you properly or they just didn't have enough work.
Thanks for sharing your story. In the past, I worked for a boutique consultancy and we did some projects for large organisations (banks, hedge funds, ETF funds, consultancies like Deloitte) and I observed people working in those places. I think such jobs are good for people who compartmentalize their emotions. Initially, I thought that working in some companies/firms would be a dream job, but after some experience I realised it would never be a good fit.
About 20 of us were let go because we were only hired for one lawsuit, which settled. Even though I was laid off, not even fired, it was traumatic and I cried, too. So don’t feel shame for an honest, emotional reaction.
As a person coming from a management position let me give one thought of advice. Getting reprimanded or Fired never feels good. But in the future do everything you can not to cry or breakdown in front of them. That will just confirm to them that you don’t have what it takes in the business world. It Doesn’t matter if it is true or not that is the impression you will leave. If emotions are so high try to last until you can get to a private spot to let go. This next point is also very important. Never talk about previous employers or about your breakdowns on the Internet. Employer’s do check your social media. I know you want to bring content to your viewers but use some common sense. You never know if a future employer might see this video and say I just don’t need to deal with this and your resume goes to the bottom of the pile. The internet is forever.
I get your viewpoint/comment, but I also think many of us would love to throw a situation like this into an anonymous Zoom round robin, just to talk through how you navigate these situations. For instance, if you wanted to move from engineering into consulting at McKinsey, is there a middle step you should take? Before you apply to McKinsey? How do you get there?
Not only a horrific experience but also traumic, which no young, ambitious person should be subjected to. Her experience at McKinsey was dehumanizing there is something deeply immoral about the way she was treated.
I know this might feel like a setback, but please don’t take it personally. The world of Big 5 consulting is often more about self-marketing than it is about genuine work or personal growth. It’s a machine designed to push individuals to their limits, often at the cost of their mental wellbeing. I go so far as to saying you are selling your soul - at least to a considerable extend. You’re lucky to see this side of it now, rather than years down the line. Take this as a sign to reassess your path: Is the Big 5 experience really the right fit for you? Maybe consider exploring opportunities with a smaller, more personal boutique consulting firm, where your skills and value will be recognized in a more balanced and supportive environment. There’s much more to a fulfilling career than being part of the machine. You’ve got this!
As an introvert engineer, consulter, product manager and top manager I can totally feel you. After 20 years through all the lows and highs of constantly working your ass off for others I can say: this life is taking a huge toll on your health and personal relationships. Especially we introverts get killed slowly. Focusing on the good live now with family and friends instead seems to be a way better aproach for me now. Sure, we have less money but our life is so much better, more friendly, welcomming, honest, good paced then it was when I was chasing those trophies of "a carrier". All the best to you and enjoy life!
When a company downsizes staff, it's your imperative to make them realize that they also failed you. I have had it happen twice and flipped it back on my boss that they didn't provide enough work for me and should have not hired me (four years earlier) if they weren't going to utilize my skills better. I had been searching for another job already and was able to get a new job within a week.
Consulting companies are marketing companies. Ideas are their products. Most Ideas have no permanent value. So, Selling is more important than doing work. I work for a management consulting firm and learned it. Just imagine how idiots the clients are who need ideas from a McKinsey junior consultant. The senior management at the clients can't even think for themselves
It’s not that senior management can’t think for themselves. Usually they already know the answers without having to go to any consultancy unless they have an inbred management structure full of group-think and fawning sycophants. The reason that they hire the Big 3 consultancies is so they have a fall guy for anything that goes wrong. Plausible deniability is an asset for highly paid C-level execs. After all if McKinsey or BCG recommends an action, it has to be smart, right? Because they are the smartest of the smart, or so the conventional wisdom goes. Also, good for liability protection in shareholder lawsuits and proxy fights if an independent third party endorses management decisions. In fact, acting as the potential fall guy is one reason why these firms can demand such high fees.
In America, this company is called "the firm", as a reference to the movie "The Firm" with Tom Cruise. (from the book by john grisham). In the story, the firm is a lawyers company that look great on the surface but really is a criminal organization. In France, mckinsey colludes with the gov, the gov orders reports to mckinsey which charges millions. Millions of euros taken from the French taxpayer for some BS powerpoint report. It's in the mainstream news. The comparison with "the firm" is accurate. Scammers dressed in hugo boss suits, pretending to be smarter than everyone just because they have a MBA which they paid $200k to get.
Fun fact, they also tell employees to refer to McKinsey as "the firm" when in public to avoid using the name. I haven't seen the movie but that adds some irony 🤣
Last year, I was working full time, budgeting groceries, unable to afford date nights, and missing time with my kids. Now I learned how to make money online. Now am a SAHM, homeschooling, and making profits every week.
Thank you for these open words. After all Consulting is all about billing and McK is responsible to make this happen not you. Only after 5 years a Consultant could be expected to feed himself. Stand tall and shame on McK
Dave Ramsey says, "To be unclear is to be unkind." To only give feedback that you're not busy enough at the six month mark and not: 1) tell them, and 2) not help them is unkind, unprofessional, and lazy, actually. Not everyone in the consulting world will treat you this badly, but those people exist and your video was great for helping us digest the experience and learn from what happened. Keep on keepin' on, Anna! You have a lot to offer the world!
The consulting business is in for a rude awakening once AI starts to really drive business optimization. Their entire model is in danger of being consumed and they know it
Anna, nimm´s nicht tragisch! Du bist smart, hast einen angenehmen und sympathischen Auftritt und offenbar einen sehr guten CV, sonst hätten Dich die Mekkies erst überhaupt nicht eingestellt. Sowas passiert. Woanders werden sie Dich mit Kusshand nehmen, ganz sicher!
When you're young you want to be at the top of the food chain mainly in order to impress your peers. A few decades later you realise that it's all smoke and mirrors and not worth the price. You can be quite happy being a cashier as long as you're healthy and are able to pay the bills. Just move on and regard your time at McKinsey as a welcome experience.
"Blickt der Mensch in der Zeit zurück, so merkt er, sein Unglück war sein Glück" (CM). Defeat creates experience, makes you robust and takes you further.
Germany and specifically Dusseldorf are awful to work in. I bet the manager that fired you was from Dusseldorf. And to be honest, certain people seek to work at these companies. Greed, arrogance, aggressiveness, thinking you are smarter than everybody else...sorry but I can't be bothered about you being fired...
German bosses are the worst! I had one who bullied me 24/7. I resigned and a few months after that she was fired as she even bullied the company's client!!!
You are a widget in a company like this. They don't care about your career or you. You sound very bright, so I think you would be an asset to any company. Good 🤞🏻.
It's hillarious when overacheivers lose not because they weren't able and willing and skilled, but just that they didn't like your style, and watching them not handling it well
Asking a lot of question during a meeting where you are being fired doesnt seem to be a good advice. You will never know if what they say is right or wrong. They have reasons. Those might or might not be connected to your actual performance. There is nothing to be gained here. Take your resignation letter home and see if there is anything worth fighting for and take a lawyer or just look for a new job. Even if they tell you something truthworthy then what? How would you know if that can be useful for your next job? In such situation being professional means to be still polite, and accept their decission, and simply don't talk much.
I’m a consultant & have a solution for unwarranted termination but from a religious perspective. Thoroughly read & understand one chapter per day from the Old Testament. Life will slowly but surely improve as you’re tapping into unlimited power at the spiritual level.
Amen, understanding the OT unlocks deep spiritual understanding. In addition, it's impossible to understand the NT without first understanding the OT. Blessings
Hi Anna. Im Hanna, from South Africa. I've been following your career since I found you during my studies. We're about the same age, mechanical engineer. You will not believe me: I was fired from my dream job on the last day of my probation period, with a similar story that you had: I did well enough, with halfway feedback that I was on track, and then suddenly I wasn't on track anymore but wasn't guided during the final stage as to how I was doing and should change. I also took a week to grieve, like from a bad break up. And it happened at the beginning of December 2024! Ultimately, what I want to say is this: can you believe how similar our stories are, at such a similar stage in life?! Im looking forward to watching your "what will i do now", because what I am about to do scares me so much. Like you said: I've run out of excuses! Thank you for being brave on the internet. You are an inspiration!
You learned the most valuable lesson about working, which is networking. You can be the smartest person on the team but fail to connect with the other you will not make it. I mentor young engineers and that’s the 1st thing we get into as most of them are focused on more school. They are smart enough but know no one and their career stalls. Really, I should say NO ONE KNOWS THEM!
That’s such a tough and stressful job to be constantly having to convince people to take you on for a project and building a network. Not everyone is cut out for it, I know I’m not lol
Neither I. Usually there should be a sales team in charge of that, not single people. If not, it probably means the working environment is toxic and meant just to promote a circle of selected friends.
I am already retired and can only say that it is most useful to gain experience in medium-sized companies. In general, you should go to places where people really work and don't revolve around themselves and their importance. At the very beginning of my career, I tried my hand at being a sales consultant and quickly learned that a completely different type of person is ideal for this. You have to like to hear yourself talk and be able to dominate the course of a conversation. Substance is often secondary. And as the actor Matthew McConaughey once said quite aptly: “Life is almost more about finding out what you are not.“ It's all good!
I'm sorry that happened to you but honestly I've worked with many consultants from the big firms over the years and unless you are willing to eat/sleep/and repeat a WORK & BUSINESS TRAVEL ONLY lifestyle, it's just not a good fit. I, like you, feel a strong sense of self-worth from academic achievements but NEVER associate self-worth with a JOB. It's a recipe for disappointment because there is NO LOYALTY in the workplace. If the numbers at finance are weak, guess what? All those folks 'on the beach' who are not directly bringing revenue in are the first to be sacrificed. Then it's everyone else except for a very small few who keep the lights on. Thanks for sharing your story. I enjoyed your video and think it will help many people who need to hear your story. All the best in your next adventure!
its like being on payroll, but actually being unemployed, having to send out your CV constantly to get employed. being on the bench for maybe 3 months, not fitting their profile (ito gender, age, race etc), then it is mutual separation package time ... lovely industry to work in .....
Here's what I'm up to now: th-cam.com/video/bh39rHBSP5Q/w-d-xo.html
So many creators don't bother with this when it's so useful!
To succeed at McKinsey you have to be an expert watch borrower and bullshit merchant. You probably failed because you actually solved real problems rather than creating a need for more consulting. You need to sell “packs” not solutions. I would take it as a major affirmation to be fired by these vultures.
@chrisw6337 You saved me the trouble of writing that response.
Wow. Good take.
Sounds pretty much like most consulting jobs. Everything is your problem.
Yep. It's like the beloved Despair, inc. poster says "If you're not a part of the solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem."
yep, that is how works. selling more, fixing less
As someone with experience in a large consulting firm, I can say with some confidence that if they had enough projects to keep you busy, they wouldn’t have let you go. It seems they used the probation period as a convenient way to cut costs during a downturn in clients needing McKinsey’s services. The system is designed to protect the firm’s interests and shift blame onto individuals, which is why feedback from performance reviews in these situations is rarely constructive or helpful.
I’m really sorry this happened to you, but kudos to you for asking for feedback right away! You’re absolutely right that this doesn’t reflect negatively on you at all, and you’re definitely better off not working there 👏
‘Churn and burn’ is the phrase. I heard used when I was consulting.
(Notwithstanding the narrative that such performance reviews occur at the end of an individual's probationary period), she probably should have asked how many other people were being let go that week/month. And firmly brushed back any "privacy" obfuscation with "I didn't ask you for names; I asked you for a number".
I guess you haven't lived the "up or out" policy... Yet...
It is a business decision for sure.
"It seems they used the probation period as a convenient way to cut costs "
Probably not. She said she spent a large amount of her time there "on the beach" which means she wasn't generating any revenue.
I did consulting for a few years --and will never do it again. The bottom line is that I am too honest to be a consultant. Those companies operate on generating hourly revenue regardless of the need to the customer.
So true. Experienced from the customer's side.
Sounds like a horrible company to work for. They hire you, and then expect you to go sell yourself to project teams, perpetually trying to stay employed by repeatedly getting hired over and over to various projects. That's awful.
You impress me as an hourly employee destined for poverty. She wanted to play in a man's world. Now she has no kids and debt. THAT sounds more horrible to me than the company. Another pretty girl who threw away her life pretending to be a man.
@@biform13 thats harsh
Yeah, wtf was that part lmao
and they want you to take courses over the weekend too?!??
This is normal in Big4 and other management consulting firms. Also, you should expect to work 60-80+ hour weeks.
Note: I said it's normal for these companies. I didn't say it was good. There's a huge amount of burnout and attrition at these firms for a good reason.
Those kind of company if tomorrow disappear no one feel it
McK are primarily salespeople and not consultants. Their employer branding is awesome. But to be successful there, you have to be a sales genius. First you have to sell yourself internally and later sell projects to customers. Selling is much more important than expertise; expertise is needed in the real economy.
Sales= is the real economy
That is creating business. And keeping clients is what a corporation is all about.
If you can’t sell then you need to work back office or with production. Not with clients
@@Ikaros23 well, but at some point something needs to be delivered.....
They’re a consultancy company that employs a lot of engineers.
The real economy or the fake economy?
But why work for McK? You are so young, so much life and life energy within you? Use it your benefit!! I worked for very large Companies as well. Yes, the money was good, but I was happy to turn the page, and I am now branching on my own with a Classmate I met in Grad. School. The Corporate Farm is made for some. Not for all. And thank God for that!!
I worked with McK for 3 months, as an embed while they were working with my employer. It taught me a lot but most of all how I don’t want to work for a consulting company or in a culture like that. Very long days, drinking, working and producing the shiniest 💩 you’ve ever seen.
I worked with a guy from MacKinsey once. Useless, incompetant, a bully, absolutely clueless. He was fired.
whoever fired him, will have his family fired for the centuries to come. So operates McKinsey
Sounds like a president in the making 😅
Being an introvert is absolutely a disqualifier to being a management consultant. The entire job is networking and relationship building, you can be completely incompetent and succeed if you know how to socialize and people like keeping you around.
True if you are on a short mission (1-3months) and switch to something else after. But false if you are on longer projects (6month+) where you can build relationships with stakeholders.
Introverts actually solve problems. But if you solve a problem you lose a client.
With respect, I disagree. I've worked in this kind of role, and we had a mix of extravert and introvert personalities. The extraverts gravitated towards the customer liaison jobs, and the introverts towards deep understanding of the customers' problems (often much better than that of the customers themselves), developing and running mathematical models of the contexts within which the customer organisations operated, domain knowledge management, and a lot of other roles. Fortunately we had an internal management system that matched people to tasks, and allowed people to move around into roles that best suited them. It worked fine.
@@anotherfreediver3639 You actually didn't disagree, but confirmed what I said - the relationship was maintained by the extraverts who actually didn't do the "job" part of the job, which was done by the introverts who acted as executing technicians in a relationship that was managed FOR them.
You need to listen and formulate solutions on the hoof.
I just got the same treatment at EY, you really helped me get through a piece of the trauma
You’re best out of it.
It's just a job, people should stop traumatizing themselves over faceless corporations run by accountants.
Trauma. I'm glad you weren't fighting in world war ii.
@@VenturiLifeI’m glad you’d be willing to cover mortgage and food payment for me. Cheers
@@VenturiLife No these are slaves bad jobs. But people need to make money. Better to find a job elsewhere. I also got rejected by them.
After the OxyContin scandal I would never hire anyone from McKinsey.
That and enron.
Bullshit Jobs for a Bullshit Economy... what to expect.
I am actually sorry for so many poor souls that have to or choose to work in such
organizations. What a soul crushing experience...
You read my mind. Lots of these jobs in city centres. The “managerial class.”
You learn a lot and deliver a lot. It's just not for everyone
@@BernhardKohli What do companies like McKinsey "deliver"? I think these companies are the biggest hoax in business and sometimes even a danger to the firms they "consult".
Nice book, Bullshit Jobs. Graeber.
Not consultancy , but had a very similar experience: hired in one call, one day of boarding, bunch of severely derailed projects to clean up, 4 months of extreme stress, partial bench, empty pipeline, fired on 1st anniversary. - Never again.
Engineer's should be trained by Cost Accountants to fulfill their employment opportunities and Two Files Radio Band Licence can give work to everyone
having worked for consulting companies and going through all of this (laid off because no work) I realize, its a joke. You don't want to do that. No one should do that. These consulting companies, they need to go out of business. Immediately. Like all of them. They underpay for their employees and let the go the minute the work dries up. If you are going to do that, just work as a temp for cash. What difference does it make? Make more cash.
Same here. You're usually hired because they need a sucker who will clean up the mess of your predecessor and dispose of you as soon as it's cost effective. Glad I can afford not to do it anymore.
Absolutely. - They spend most energy justifying their existence than doing any usefull work.
These companies are so cold and methodical. There is no sympathy or sensitivity. They just want constant performance. Do yourself a favor. Tighten your belt, live below your means and work for people who are human and care about humans and let these corporations and executives cannabalize themselves
@@dblockbass Agree 100%. Best to work in a friendly environment even if earning less. Live below means. Hi savings rate into Roth, mutual index funds. Side job if wanting to be financially independent.
I literally had to rewrite McKinsey reports on an assignment as an independent consultant. They were useless.
I've also had to do my fair share of post-Kinsey cleanup work for clients. They tend to use all the right buzzwords, but haven't grasped the context, and as such aren't helpful at all.
@@RobertClaeson Exactly! This was for a MAJOR multi-million $$$ assignment. All they provided was just generic stuff of no use to the client. I effectively re-did the whole assignment and the client was very happy with the results.
IMPORTANT - McKinsey just settled with the US federal government for $650,000,000 million - because they promoted the getting people addicted to opioids in the US. They were “advising” both the government and the pharmaceutical company. They got CHILDREN addicted to Opioids. And it wasn’t just the same company - McKinsey. It was the same individuals in McKinsey! That’s how psychotic and corrupt they are.
So, McKinsey is about how well one navigates politics. And sells themselves. To make money. Even if they hurt people and their families doing that. How many people died? How many people went bankrupt? How are these people not in prison for the rest of their lives???
Yes, it’s a second income stream for the marketing/strategy world. So many clients show up with BCG and McK decks, asking us to redo the project or make it understandable/actionable.
@@Rogueviewer1 Exactly!!! And this after McKinsey has charged them, in my case, $$$millions.
That company is run by scumbags. Losing that job will turn out to be a blessing.
I am amazed on you being so open to share both your sucesses and hardships Anna. You are gonna do well in your future projects, I'm pretty sure.
Thank you so much!
Where is your husband?
@@biform13WTF is the relevance of your question?
I have to say, it really doesn’t sound like they have a very good system for cultivating and retaining talent. Then again, this is the same firm that recommended Purdue Pharma “turbocharge” their opioid sales.
Didn't know about their purdue recommendation, wow
The same company whose former director for pharma consulting together with a few more alumni destroyed Bausch and Lomb (Valeant)
They also like to advise dictators on how to find dissidents. McKinsey, BCG and Bain have so much blood on their hands. Evil, evil organisations
@@StefanTaf It only scratches the surface of how corrupt this company is. They also are heavily involved in providing logging companies and the fossil fuel industry with fake expertise on climate change. There's a book called The Big Con which goes through a lot of the fraudulent work done by McKinsey.
This isn't news-it's always been like this. I've spent many years working as a consultant, including time at the world's largest consulting firm. When the sales team failed to secure projects, it was common for team managers to either pressure you into leaving voluntarily or engineer a poor peer review to justify a layoff.
At the end of the day, life isn’t fair, and business operates the same way. Treat work for what it is-just business, no emotions.
👌
why do they need to engineer a poor review... why not just say "we dont have any projects for you, your fired. good luck"
@@bbsara0146 In Europe, it’s hard to fire employees because of strict labor laws. Companies have only a few valid reasons to let someone go without paying compensation. Poor performance can be a reason, but it’s hard to prove in court. Because of this, employers sometimes try to make the workplace unpleasant, and one way to do this is by focusing on the employee’s poor performance to make them feel unwelcome, hoping they’ll leave on their own.
@@bbsara0146 because that would be admitting the sales guns weren't sales guns and in many places would also be illegal or at least cost a lot more - most of the world does not have "at will" employment.
Redundancy - position no longer required - is usually far more expensive than employee screwed up.
@@1337flite in america most places are at will meaning you can quit or be fired at any time
I don't know, Anna. Since "the first time I met you", I've always thought that you were "too good for this", I mean, too good for the technicalities of engineering (not even to mention consultancy), etc. You've been so humble enough like to start this channel, talk about sensible topics most people don't want to talk about or just hide, so tender enough, so noble enough, that I'm not surprised that you didn't fit there, nor they deserved to have you with them. And I'm glad for who you are: a great person and woman.
They hired you without knowing whether they will have enough projects or not, so sorry this happened to you. You are an amazing communicator with an engineering background, your future is bright, it’s hard right now but you will get through this.
This is fundamental
It is ironically a success to be fired from McKinsey, most of those who want to join McKinsey will never work there. McKinsey will forever be one of the qualifications on your CV. The No. 1 student in my year also had a tough defeat to deal with when he was fired after only 9 months. He was fired of the position of a CEO by the owner and billionaire .... and now he has an equivalent position and sucess again.
The experience you gained will be very valuable and you will make your way. I wish you all the best for your future projects.
Its not always what you know, its also who you know. I've worked in listed national and multinational companies, federal and state government as well as small private organisations, including my own small consultancy. In every one of them you have to grind to get anywhere AND attach yourself to a raising star mentor who assits with your promotions. All businesses rely on winning and delivering projects and getting paid for those projects, you can't just sit around and expect to be paid, let alone get promoted. There are three major stages / levels in a career. 1. Becoming a subject matter expert, 2. Managing a team of subject matter experts, 3. Communicationing to others the need to buy into your projects using either hard cash or the expenditure of appropriated budgets. At all levels you need to explain your successes and challenges and failures. All three of these outcomes adds to your experience and allows you to grow in experience as an employee / manager / business owner. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going.
Perfect answer. Made me think about myself and gives me reason to work a lot more on stage 2. I'm still too focused on pure engineering tasks and not paying enough attention to team building.
Like many other consulting firms, McKinsey neglects the well-being of its employees, who often work tirelessly and bear significant economic risks. Many managers engage in unethical behavior, deceiving their employees and prioritizing their own interests. It's troubling to see that employees often bear the burden of financing high bonuses for top management, who readily implement layoffs during economic downturns without considering the harmful health and psychological effects on their employees.
Went through a very similar experience many years ago as a consultant, similar reactions. It took me a while to appreciate what I understand now: performance appraisals are never about your "performance" in the first place. You were judged against criteria for navigating a maze management designed. The failure wasn't yours: it was /theirs/.
I think you are starting to undestand how this big consulting firms operate for decades. The main reason they hire you was to remove you from the market. So clients can not find you and need to depend of this consulting companies. This is why there are tons consultants in benchs with no projects.
Excellent analysis
In my opinion they let you go because hirering you for them didnt pay off. They are like a shop where you can pick people and apparently for them it was a mistake thinking that their clients need a battery enigneer. So they pulled the plug to minimize their losses on you. Its actually a case of its not you, its them. Dont feel bad about it, be glad you are out and enjoy life again! :)
Being on the beach at McKinsey is not good..if you are on the beach too long..the door is open for your exit
The thing with batteries is that there’s no plug to pull. That’s the beauty of batteries.
McKinsey and the other MBBs is a high potential place, where only sharks survive. Yes you got no projects, but they expect you to be on projects anyways,.. is this possible? The brutal answer is: they do not care, what they care is: are you performing above average and are you on projects,... how to do that is on you. Take McK on your resume as a plus point and move on in life.
I love the metaphor of sharks. Cant agree more.
market is cruel. You either gets better, survive or you die. No matter what industry you are in, it is called invisible hand
No it is not about Shark, it is just business. No shark can control whether the Economics is going down and companies have no money to throw out of the window
6 months at McKinsey is not a plus on her resume. I would bury it.
@@chijen2010 agreed.
Seagull company, "fly in, scream loud, shit all over and leave".
Useless excuse failed ceo's use to justify their incompetency
Sounds like a crappy job anyway, especially for an introvert. Getting fired shouldn't come as a surprise. If it does, it's usually a management issue.
I worked as a consultant before in a different firm. The key was not working more but selling more-bringing projects to the firm. Additionally, I got to keep a 5% founder's fee for any project I brought to the firm. That was many years ago, though. Consulting has changed a lot since then; now, I see consulting firms securing government contracts. There's no more pain or suffering in the process. During my time there, I also gained many clients through the company-clients who later wanted to work with me independently, outside the firm. With that kind of network, it’s entirely possible to start your own consulting firm and take clients with you.
Hi Anna, I went through similar experience several years ago. You will be ok. I took it as a learning experience and build a successful career elsewhere. Only specific type of people may thrive with lack of sleep, constant socialising, and hours spent on aligning boxes. Fingers crossed for your next ventures! You will be ok.
What job or industry did you move to?
so let me get this straight. you have to find your own projects and then work on the projects that you found for yourself? so what do you need McKinsey for?
Because they pay you a 6 figure salary while you do it and you have access to collaborations on projects at the highest levels of business.
Stay strong, Anna. Like you said, don't let your external achievements define you. I truly admire your honesty.
Thank you for sharing. I feel it’s so important for all of us to get informed about failure, how we react, and to move forward. I went through similar stages, but the process was protracted and more painful. Through luck, perseverance and time, I’m in a much better place now. Wishing you all the best and thanks again!
Aw man I relate to your experience on so many levels. I left Deloitte back in April with similar complaints. Managers being frustrated that I couldn't read their minds in terms of exceptions, unclear direction, me getting chewed out for not kissing everyone's ass. I truly do not miss it!
McKinsey discovered she was doing actual work instead of consulting, and she had to be let go.
Damn Straight! I found this in almost every job I worked as a Sales Engineer: you were expected to spend 75% of your time in the Office Schmoozing. If you got caught spending too much time ACTUALLY DOING YOUR JOB in the field Seeing Customers, you'd be Fired for 'Not Meeting KPI's
😂😂
I'm a consultant and "consulting" should be the actual job. I.e. doing what you're supposed to be good enough at to have valuable input to your client.
Generally, technical people tend to be more on the _nerd_ side of things and are not very good at selling themselves. It's ridiculous and a total waste of time that's not spent doing technical things.
Best case; you're good at it. Then you're still competing with your colleagues instead of generating actual value for the company and whatever project you find might otherwise just have gone to another employee. Unless of course your company's business model is selling the business equivalent of snake oil.
I don't have to find my own clients. We have sales people for that who are specialized in it.
Failure to adapt to company culture can absolutely get you fired. Pay attention to how others react to hard work, don’t just blindly work hard if it’s not recognized by the company.
I have researched getting an MBA, and after reading forums from MBA students and consultants, it seems 100% about networking and being liked, not about hardcore work performance. So yeah, just working heads down everyday and not building a network will definitely get you fired.
I’m not really convinced the mba is worth 200k, at least at Emory, just to make friends and be liked.
@@wardibald I was fortunate enough to have worked commission sales to pay my own way through college which meant that I am one of the few geeks that can truly interact well with others. I also was on the bleeding edge of technology for the past 30 years and part of my "
value" to clients was my ability to call BS on both the sales force as well as the engineers. This helped me point out where proposed engineering would take FAR LONGER than the engineering team was promising and also when the sales teams demanded feats of technical impossibility.
Many congratulations on having the strength of character to put up this video and explain why you were let go. This is in fact a sign of great strength and a testament to your character. Clearly the people at that firm didn’t realise what an excellent employee they had and if they’d bothered to invest further in you, I’m sure that you would’ve delivered excellent results over time. After all, Rome it wasn’t built in a day. You are very intelligent, a good communicator and a hard worker there can be no doubt whatsoever that you will find the appropriate niche and go to great success.
I am myself a consultant, and have seen lot of my colleagues get fired in these downtimes. Personnally I had to go into an interview competing with a colleague I knew well and it sucked. It is brutal nowadays, and you need to fight, be highly visible right now. However I think it is better to say we cant keep you any longer. But they dont want the word come out that they are struggling. At the end of the day it is always a business decision, dont let it break you❤ you are more then a job 😊 every time I am banched I actively look for work and let my boss know I do not want to be benched longer then 2 months. I can find other jobs by myself, so if they cant, why would I work for them?!?
Kind of ended up here by chance ... but am glad I watched the video. What a mature way to deal with the situation! You will most certainly look back at it one day and be grateful for the experience. Good luck with whatever you will do next!
That's a sad story, particularly from an empathy perspective. It's unfortunate when colleagues are separated after the probation period, but I think it's reasonable for the company to do so if they've provided a fair chance and sufficient support. Unfortunately, it seems this wasn't the case here. The system of delivering bad news through people you've never met is beneath any respectable company's standards.
To be honest, McKinsey has a reputation that precedes them, and I'm not surprised by your story.
Anna, I rejected an offer to work for McKinsey in 2011... they were stunned... as in how dare I refuse them... but here's the deal for you - the fact that McKinsey hired you in the first place implies that you're in the top 1% or so of your industry - so, Congratulations!!! The other good thing is that you've seen the belly of the beast from the inside... and like all bellies of all beats, it ain't pretty... but, you've seen it - you may not realise it now, but this experience in itself is going to be worth its weight in gold for you professionally - very soon!! And, finally, like all Harvard dropouts who may be dropouts but are elite dropouts nonetheless - so are you - an elite McKinsey dropout - kudos to you young lady!! God bless you for the future!
Ist mir auch mal passiert, Einstieg bei der Beratung, allerdings auf Management Level, kurz vor Ende der Probezeit wurde der Vertrag aufgrund interner Machtkämpfe aufgelöst.
Mir hat es sehr geholfen, dass ich dann zu einem Ihrer Kunden gewechselt bin und da das erste Jahr daran gearbeitet habe meinen Ex Arbeitgeber vor die Türe zu setzen und sie erfolgreich die letzten 5 Jahre draußen gehalten habe. Kostet sie jedes Jahr einen 7 stelligen Umsatz pro Jahr und ich freue mich immer wieder ihre Angebote abzulehnen.
Haha, muss den Absprung auch noch schaffen 😂
As an introvert listening to your story, this could very well have been me. I certainly couldn’t thrive in an environment that relies on networking in order to survive.
At first, thank you that you are so honest to tell what happened. The courage to tell all that in public means a lot. I had a lot of experience with this business from both sides of the aisle. It always was a tough business even 30 years ago. Working as a consultant means, you are 24/7. I had times, wasn't at home for weeks. And learning was always in my so called "private time" it was expected. You can gain knowledges and experiences in this business you never get anywhere else. But I saw, this is not for a lifetime. After a few years you should find a job in a normal company. You have all the possibility to build up connections. If you are looking for work/life balance, this is absolutely the wrong way to look for it. But there is nothing wrong about you. If you fit not in with the system you must find another way. I think you are on the right track now. And with your education as an engineer it shouldn't be to difficult to find another job. Good luck and all the best from an old white man.
I have been a consultant for 15 years (no longer, I left that god awful position as consultant. Much happier working for a product company), and this is bullshit.
You essentially have been fixed because they are bad managers, it it the manager's job to ensure that everybody within a firm is billable, not the employee's responsibility. Where have they learn to manage a company? McKinsey sounds like a bunch of amateurs who have failed upwards.
I've worked in a company like that for 3 years. Felt like 9. In our case the day to day operations were ran by a group of middle management who needed to like you as friend or a romantic interest. Or at least be very entertaining during office hours and afterworks.
A junior who is an introvert who is all about doing the job would never fly.
I was let go by a different strategy firm within the first year. The reality is that when a services firm isn't selling enough client projects, they continue to PAY YOU while you're not generating any revenue. It's unsustainable. At the same time, high-profile firms like McK rely on "counseled out" employees not going public, as in this video - hurts their brand even more than their work for Purdue Pharma, Gupta brothers, Swissair, etc.
I work in consulting. And it does take a business mindset, and it does not take much before you are out, however some people manage to stick around even when they are useless, so no clear cut. I have waved goodbye to a few great people, but consulting takes being able to deal with politics, and have people like you. And you need to always be active and ON, which can be taxing for a lot of people, myself included. Somehow I still prefer it to being employed by my clients. I really love the distance, and that I am not stuck at one specisfic office and dealing with that kind of politics.
Here in the UK, the few ex McKinsey people I have spoken with have told me of the insane hours, they were working. They couldn't maintain relationships and broke up. Having seen behind the scenes in a few organisations, too often there are toxic people, and/or an huge imbalances.
I worked alongside McKinsey consultants over my consulting career and I can see exactly what your real problem was. Apparently, you wanted to do projects that actually delivered real value to your clients. There is your fundamental mismatch with McKinsey! Good luck in your future endeavors!
Can you explain it more? What McKinsey actually does if it's not for solving problem?
@@fatemad4012farming! Essentially they produce reports, etc that seem to add value, whilst simultaneously convincing managers in other departments in the company to take on their services. By the time it becomes apparent that they’re not adding any value, the person/people who comes to that realisation has/have left the company, so the secret never gets out.
You still get to have McK on your resume. Just getting hired by the firm is a huge accomplishment. I would have loved to work for them, but wasn't an option for me. I ended up spending much of my career at Amazon instead. Good luck where ever you land next.
When I left consulting (I applied for and got a different job in industry), I remember signing a non-compete that I wouldn’t go with a competitor firm, I think it was for 3 years. I remember wishing it was for life, because I never want to work in consulting again, unless it is for myself. Networking, pricing jobs, writing proposals, performing jobs, writing reports, billing jobs and still working overtime because of the lack of budget in the jobs; it is thankless and demoralizing. You are only as good as the value of the last job you got. While I couldn’t buy the experience it gave me, it came at a price and the pay wasn’t worth it.
Years ago when I used to do consulting, I was scared to spend any time on the bench/beach without knowing I already had a new client. Fortunately for me, it was just one day on the bench before I was shipped back out to clients. I heard of people spending weeks on the bench but I knew if times get bad, the bench would be cleared so I didn't want to stay on it.
Over so many decades, management consulting, culture, on the beach, one year anniversary firing, and terminology have never changed.
I have a friend who works at mckinsey. Unfortunately in the business world it's all about reading between the lines. Apparently even if they say "you don't need to be this or that right away..." , theyre still scrutinizing you and watching you. If a "casual" coffee chat interview is informal, it is not casual and it is formal and can decide to reject you. They are always watching and taking notes.
I’m actually happy that you are not with them any more. The reason is simple, it wasn’t a match in the first place and eventually you would have quit after exhaustion. You have skill set of a problem solver and trust me you will find the role that fits that strength of yours. The demand to associate with a branded consulting firm has forced individuals to take jobs that looks on resume. You can still go for another consulting role where there may be similar expectations but ask your self this question , will that make you happy because you solved a problem or more to do with updates and views to your linked in profile . You are in your way to a life true to your self . All the best
Anna, every experience is also a good experience! McKinsey is part of your CV and no one can take that from you. Turn this experience to your advantage. You got this!
The best thing a company can do to be more efficient and cut costs is fire/not hire consultants. Consultant firms are masters of convincing other companies that they need something they in fact, do not need.
Well.. you got paid for 6 whole months and didn't have to do a whole of work in that period. It's not bad.
Some years ago I took a job at a car dealership because I wanted to get some sales experience. I was there for two months and didn't sell a single car. I talked to literally 3 customers that entire time. Of course they let me go - but I got $2k out of it and it wasn't bad. I was still heavily interviewing for IT work and could make all the calls I needed during those two months.
How ambitious of you.
Anna - I am so blown away by the honesty. This is why you are a great creator. You share both sides. Love love love love love it.
Thanks so much Liz!! Truly!
Why don't they just be honest and say we don't have enough work for you. You have to be smart to get into a firm like that. If they had to let you go than perhaps they failed to train you properly or they just didn't have enough work.
Thanks for sharing your story. In the past, I worked for a boutique consultancy and we did some projects for large organisations (banks, hedge funds, ETF funds, consultancies like Deloitte) and I observed people working in those places. I think such jobs are good for people who compartmentalize their emotions. Initially, I thought that working in some companies/firms would be a dream job, but after some experience I realised it would never be a good fit.
You are not alone, I was fired after a similar experience, just was not for you Anna. We will be ok. Keep up on the channel you WILL succeed!
About 20 of us were let go because we were only hired for one lawsuit, which settled. Even though I was laid off, not even fired, it was traumatic and I cried, too. So don’t feel shame for an honest, emotional reaction.
Sounds like torture. Super stressful and no job security. Sorry you had to go through this
As a person coming from a management position let me give one thought of advice. Getting reprimanded or Fired never feels good. But in the future do everything you can not to cry or breakdown in front of them. That will just confirm to them that you don’t have what it takes in the business world. It Doesn’t matter if it is true or not that is the impression you will leave. If emotions are so high try to last until you can get to a private spot to let go. This next point is also very important. Never talk about previous employers or about your breakdowns on the Internet. Employer’s do check your social media. I know you want to bring content to your viewers but use some common sense. You never know if a future employer might see this video and say I just don’t need to deal with this and your resume goes to the bottom of the pile. The internet is forever.
I get your viewpoint/comment, but I also think many of us would love to throw a situation like this into an anonymous Zoom round robin, just to talk through how you navigate these situations. For instance, if you wanted to move from engineering into consulting at McKinsey, is there a middle step you should take? Before you apply to McKinsey? How do you get there?
NPC response.
Rubbish. It is time scumbag companies were exposed.
@@Fred-q1x This.
Not only a horrific experience but also traumic, which no young, ambitious person should be subjected to. Her experience at McKinsey was dehumanizing there is something deeply immoral about the way she was treated.
I know this might feel like a setback, but please don’t take it personally. The world of Big 5 consulting is often more about self-marketing than it is about genuine work or personal growth. It’s a machine designed to push individuals to their limits, often at the cost of their mental wellbeing. I go so far as to saying you are selling your soul - at least to a considerable extend. You’re lucky to see this side of it now, rather than years down the line. Take this as a sign to reassess your path: Is the Big 5 experience really the right fit for you? Maybe consider exploring opportunities with a smaller, more personal boutique consulting firm, where your skills and value will be recognized in a more balanced and supportive environment. There’s much more to a fulfilling career than being part of the machine. You’ve got this!
Burnouts are very popular among the big five consulting but never talked about!🙃
As an introvert engineer, consulter, product manager and top manager I can totally feel you. After 20 years through all the lows and highs of constantly working your ass off for others I can say: this life is taking a huge toll on your health and personal relationships. Especially we introverts get killed slowly. Focusing on the good live now with family and friends instead seems to be a way better aproach for me now. Sure, we have less money but our life is so much better, more friendly, welcomming, honest, good paced then it was when I was chasing those trophies of "a carrier". All the best to you and enjoy life!
When a company downsizes staff, it's your imperative to make them realize that they also failed you. I have had it happen twice and flipped it back on my boss that they didn't provide enough work for me and should have not hired me (four years earlier) if they weren't going to utilize my skills better. I had been searching for another job already and was able to get a new job within a week.
Consulting companies are marketing companies. Ideas are their products. Most Ideas have no permanent value. So, Selling is more important than doing work. I work for a management consulting firm and learned it. Just imagine how idiots the clients are who need ideas from a McKinsey junior consultant. The senior management at the clients can't even think for themselves
wow well said..hate to say it but you are mostly right
It’s not that senior management can’t think for themselves. Usually they already know the answers without having to go to any consultancy unless they have an inbred management structure full of group-think and fawning sycophants. The reason that they hire the Big 3 consultancies is so they have a fall guy for anything that goes wrong. Plausible deniability is an asset for highly paid C-level execs. After all if McKinsey or BCG recommends an action, it has to be smart, right? Because they are the smartest of the smart, or so the conventional wisdom goes. Also, good for liability protection in shareholder lawsuits and proxy fights if an independent third party endorses management decisions. In fact, acting as the potential fall guy is one reason why these firms can demand such high fees.
I had a similar experience at IBM. Lasted a year...
I've been fired millions of times for being an introvert - it's all good
Yeah, because you are an introvert. 🤥
In America, this company is called "the firm", as a reference to the movie "The Firm" with Tom Cruise. (from the book by john grisham). In the story, the firm is a lawyers company that look great on the surface but really is a criminal organization. In France, mckinsey colludes with the gov, the gov orders reports to mckinsey which charges millions. Millions of euros taken from the French taxpayer for some BS powerpoint report. It's in the mainstream news. The comparison with "the firm" is accurate. Scammers dressed in hugo boss suits, pretending to be smarter than everyone just because they have a MBA which they paid $200k to get.
Fun fact, they also tell employees to refer to McKinsey as "the firm" when in public to avoid using the name. I haven't seen the movie but that adds some irony 🤣
@@theannareich lol, the irony. Watch the movie if you have 2h to spare. it's really good, and the music, by dave grusin, especially, is excellent.
Last year, I was working full time, budgeting groceries, unable to afford date nights, and missing time with my kids. Now I learned how to make money online. Now am a SAHM, homeschooling, and making profits every week.
Thank you for these open words. After all Consulting is all about billing and McK is responsible to make this happen not you. Only after 5 years a Consultant could be expected to feed himself. Stand tall and shame on McK
Dave Ramsey says, "To be unclear is to be unkind." To only give feedback that you're not busy enough at the six month mark and not: 1) tell them, and 2) not help them is unkind, unprofessional, and lazy, actually.
Not everyone in the consulting world will treat you this badly, but those people exist and your video was great for helping us digest the experience and learn from what happened. Keep on keepin' on, Anna! You have a lot to offer the world!
The consulting business is in for a rude awakening once AI starts to really drive business optimization. Their entire model is in danger of being consumed and they know it
Anna, nimm´s nicht tragisch! Du bist smart, hast einen angenehmen und sympathischen Auftritt und offenbar einen sehr guten CV, sonst hätten Dich die Mekkies erst überhaupt nicht eingestellt. Sowas passiert. Woanders werden sie Dich mit Kusshand nehmen, ganz sicher!
It's so frustrating to realize that real life is just like highschool. If you don't make friends you are an outsider
Yeah Uni was the only good time where you could work alone tbh. Working is just like school.
When you're young you want to be at the top of the food chain mainly in order to impress your peers. A few decades later you realise that it's all smoke and mirrors and not worth the price. You can be quite happy being a cashier as long as you're healthy and are able to pay the bills. Just move on and regard your time at McKinsey as a welcome experience.
You got laid off from a consulting firm that basically does nothing else but go into other companies and tell them to lay off employees.
THIS....this right here!
100% true. I've seen them in action.
I'm not going back to the consulting world. This role definitely sucked out the soul from me!
I am happy and proud for you! You know what exactly what are you willing to do!
"Blickt der Mensch in der Zeit zurück, so merkt er, sein Unglück war sein Glück" (CM). Defeat creates experience, makes you robust and takes you further.
Germany and specifically Dusseldorf are awful to work in. I bet the manager that fired you was from Dusseldorf. And to be honest, certain people seek to work at these companies. Greed, arrogance, aggressiveness, thinking you are smarter than everybody else...sorry but I can't be bothered about you being fired...
German bosses are the worst! I had one who bullied me 24/7. I resigned and a few months after that she was fired as she even bullied the company's client!!!
@@Fred-q1x Agree, avoid German bosses as the f* plague..
You are a widget in a company like this. They don't care about your career or you. You sound very bright, so I think you would be an asset to any company. Good 🤞🏻.
It's hillarious when overacheivers lose not because they weren't able and willing and skilled, but just that they didn't like your style, and watching them not handling it well
Asking a lot of question during a meeting where you are being fired doesnt seem to be a good advice. You will never know if what they say is right or wrong. They have reasons. Those might or might not be connected to your actual performance. There is nothing to be gained here. Take your resignation letter home and see if there is anything worth fighting for and take a lawyer or just look for a new job.
Even if they tell you something truthworthy then what? How would you know if that can be useful for your next job?
In such situation being professional means to be still polite, and accept their decission, and simply don't talk much.
I’m a consultant & have a solution for unwarranted termination but from a religious perspective.
Thoroughly read & understand one chapter per day from the Old Testament.
Life will slowly but surely improve as you’re tapping into unlimited power at the spiritual level.
Amen, understanding the OT unlocks deep spiritual understanding. In addition, it's impossible to understand the NT without first understanding the OT. Blessings
Hi Anna. Im Hanna, from South Africa. I've been following your career since I found you during my studies. We're about the same age, mechanical engineer.
You will not believe me: I was fired from my dream job on the last day of my probation period, with a similar story that you had: I did well enough, with halfway feedback that I was on track, and then suddenly I wasn't on track anymore but wasn't guided during the final stage as to how I was doing and should change. I also took a week to grieve, like from a bad break up. And it happened at the beginning of December 2024!
Ultimately, what I want to say is this: can you believe how similar our stories are, at such a similar stage in life?! Im looking forward to watching your "what will i do now", because what I am about to do scares me so much. Like you said: I've run out of excuses!
Thank you for being brave on the internet. You are an inspiration!
Thank you for your message, wow! Really similar situations indeed. We both got this :)
You learned the most valuable lesson about working, which is networking. You can be the smartest person on the team but fail to connect with the other you will not make it.
I mentor young engineers and that’s the 1st thing we get into as most of them are focused on more school. They are smart enough but know no one and their career stalls.
Really, I should say NO ONE KNOWS THEM!
That’s such a tough and stressful job to be constantly having to convince people to take you on for a project and building a network. Not everyone is cut out for it, I know I’m not lol
if you can manage it is very rewarding financially
Neither I. Usually there should be a sales team in charge of that, not single people. If not, it probably means the working environment is toxic and meant just to promote a circle of selected friends.
I am already retired and can only say that it is most useful to gain experience in medium-sized companies. In general, you should go to places where people really work and don't revolve around themselves and their importance.
At the very beginning of my career, I tried my hand at being a sales consultant and quickly learned that a completely different type of person is ideal for this. You have to like to hear yourself talk and be able to dominate the course of a conversation. Substance is often secondary.
And as the actor Matthew McConaughey once said quite aptly: “Life is almost more about finding out what you are not.“
It's all good!
I'm sorry that happened to you but honestly I've worked with many consultants from the big firms over the years and unless you are willing to eat/sleep/and repeat a WORK & BUSINESS TRAVEL ONLY lifestyle, it's just not a good fit. I, like you, feel a strong sense of self-worth from academic achievements but NEVER associate self-worth with a JOB. It's a recipe for disappointment because there is NO LOYALTY in the workplace. If the numbers at finance are weak, guess what? All those folks 'on the beach' who are not directly bringing revenue in are the first to be sacrificed. Then it's everyone else except for a very small few who keep the lights on. Thanks for sharing your story. I enjoyed your video and think it will help many people who need to hear your story. All the best in your next adventure!
Thank you!
its like being on payroll, but actually being unemployed, having to send out your CV constantly to get employed.
being on the bench for maybe 3 months, not fitting their profile (ito gender, age, race etc), then it is mutual separation package time ...
lovely industry to work in .....
Snake Oil is sold most effectively in very fancy and expensive bottles.
Thanks for sharing this! Sitting as a consultant in the US since April, moving here from Sweden, I feel the pressurea as well.
"consultant" sounds like a job that gets cut quickly when the companie hits bad economic times.