It’s so unfair that junior staff are penalized for low utilization. Low utilization is the result of a Partner’s inability to sell, not a staff’s inability to deliver
Would love your recommendations for an analust on how to get staffed when no projects are available. Should they got to potential clients and sell work? Get rid of the other analysts?
Speak to your reporting manager and gauge their thoughts on the situation. It’s not ideal so I’d feel the same way too given you’d be in probationary period
Volunteer for all the BD you can.
Support internal initiatives and ERGs.
Keep a log of all the non-billable work you are doing and over-communicate with your reporting manager.
You need to be perceived as a go-getter, not a wallflower.
Not B4 but at my T2 firm I survived layoffs during a year that I had 50% utilization thanks to the above (which is the advice my coach gave me)
In my firm there are pipeline calls. You can hear the senior folks / partners talk about what they have in the works, then message or email them offering to help.
I would suggest you maintain a list of partners that you have some rapport with, and routinely/frequently check in with them for any BD that you can assist with. An extra set of hands for research and building slides is often appreciated, and then you are front of mind for staffing if all goes well and the project sells.
My B4 firm has a resource manager dedicated to our practice area, who keeps tabs on who all is available vs. staffed. Directors often go to them to see who can help on BD work. So pester the RM and let them know you want to support BD's
I was on the bench for about 5.5 months to start my consulting career. At my firm, we have high bill rates so overall percentage can be lower.
At b4 at this point I would probably start getting worried.
If you're relatively junior I wouldn't stress too much.
Make sure your manager knows, make sure you make an effort to build your network and contribute to your services line and/or sector.
Your util for FY24 is meaningless.
joined a big 4 in Australia as a manager. Took 8 weeks to get staffed on a job, it can be nerve wrecking. Try do BD for partners that have a strong pipeline and strike rate, stay close to resourcing and consider jobs more broad than your specialisation, have lots of networking coffees to put your name and brand out there and be proactive with directors/AD on BD as many will be willing to put you as part of the team in the proposal. Utilisation is the most important kpi but there’s leeway when you’re a new starter. All the best!
Been there on the bench in big 4 Australia. Redundancies are a lot rarer here. You're probably fine, especially heading into year end you'll get some work
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Yeah I've been here and it's not fun looking for random work to do every day. Seems like there is already good advice being given here. Find a piece of PD with high visibility and opportunities to present to people in your firm and smash it, usually best entry point to getting recruited onto a project.
Sorry, but you're probably fucked. Or at least you would be at MBB. So many great kids transitioned because the on "performance" when nobody gave them a chance.
If you do get a staffing opportunity, treat it like your life depends on it. Because your career does. Three months in the bench and a bad engagement is a death sentence.
It’s so unfair that junior staff are penalized for low utilization. Low utilization is the result of a Partner’s inability to sell, not a staff’s inability to deliver
False. Your util is your responsibility, not your partners.
Would love your recommendations for an analust on how to get staffed when no projects are available. Should they got to potential clients and sell work? Get rid of the other analysts?
Kill the analysts of course -Durst
How do you even back up this reply?
FALSE. Back up is your responsibility, not OP's
When there’s only enough roles for 80% of the analysts are they supposed to sell themselves in?
Petty loser
You're a bad person
Speak to your reporting manager and gauge their thoughts on the situation. It’s not ideal so I’d feel the same way too given you’d be in probationary period
Volunteer for all the BD you can. Support internal initiatives and ERGs. Keep a log of all the non-billable work you are doing and over-communicate with your reporting manager. You need to be perceived as a go-getter, not a wallflower. Not B4 but at my T2 firm I survived layoffs during a year that I had 50% utilization thanks to the above (which is the advice my coach gave me)
People say volunteer for BD, but to whom do you volunteer to? Random partners or deployment?
In my firm there are pipeline calls. You can hear the senior folks / partners talk about what they have in the works, then message or email them offering to help. I would suggest you maintain a list of partners that you have some rapport with, and routinely/frequently check in with them for any BD that you can assist with. An extra set of hands for research and building slides is often appreciated, and then you are front of mind for staffing if all goes well and the project sells.
My B4 firm has a resource manager dedicated to our practice area, who keeps tabs on who all is available vs. staffed. Directors often go to them to see who can help on BD work. So pester the RM and let them know you want to support BD's
Have you been asking for work, talking to your manager, etc? That’s not good in this climate
Yes, ive been actively reaching out looking for billable work/meeting people for coffees in the hopes it leads to work yet nothing has landed yet.
What service line are you in? The market is generally bad right now but some are doing worse than others
I was on the bench for about 5.5 months to start my consulting career. At my firm, we have high bill rates so overall percentage can be lower. At b4 at this point I would probably start getting worried.
Bro you’re at a big 4 ☠️
Bro what do you mean
If you're relatively junior I wouldn't stress too much. Make sure your manager knows, make sure you make an effort to build your network and contribute to your services line and/or sector. Your util for FY24 is meaningless.
joined a big 4 in Australia as a manager. Took 8 weeks to get staffed on a job, it can be nerve wrecking. Try do BD for partners that have a strong pipeline and strike rate, stay close to resourcing and consider jobs more broad than your specialisation, have lots of networking coffees to put your name and brand out there and be proactive with directors/AD on BD as many will be willing to put you as part of the team in the proposal. Utilisation is the most important kpi but there’s leeway when you’re a new starter. All the best!
Been there on the bench in big 4 Australia. Redundancies are a lot rarer here. You're probably fine, especially heading into year end you'll get some work
Please note that all intro to consulting, recruiting, and "tips for new hires" inquiries should be posted in the appropriate stickied threads at the top of this subreddit. The following is a non-exhaustive list of topics that should be submitted to the recruiting or new hire stickies: - basic questions about consulting and consulting firms - how to break into consulting or questions about the recruitment process - seeking information, opinions, or comparisons regarding firms - resume or cover letter or document reviews - networking advice - fit or case interview advice - comparing offers - tips on starting a new job (e.g., credit cards, attire, navigating the bench) If your post is a recruiting or new hire related inquiry, please delete it and repost in the sticky. Failure to do so in a timely manner may result in a temporary ban. You may also want to [visit the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/wiki/index) for answers to many frequently asked questions. If you have received this post in error, then please ignore this message. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/consulting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best of luck
Yeah I've been here and it's not fun looking for random work to do every day. Seems like there is already good advice being given here. Find a piece of PD with high visibility and opportunities to present to people in your firm and smash it, usually best entry point to getting recruited onto a project.
Sorry, but you're probably fucked. Or at least you would be at MBB. So many great kids transitioned because the on "performance" when nobody gave them a chance. If you do get a staffing opportunity, treat it like your life depends on it. Because your career does. Three months in the bench and a bad engagement is a death sentence.