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I got talked into it, took M. A friend stood firm and demanded SM level. After 14 months: Friend had to leave. Was lost, didnāt perform (was considered high performer on M level before joining EY), didnāt hit goals, didnāt know how to run several EY teams. Recipe for disaster. I made it successfully. Take the extra time, itāll be worth it.
Chief
Coming in too high at a consulting firm is surely the kiss of death. Take the M. Learn the ropes.
Unless you are already at SM level at a comparable firm, it would be hard to come in at SM and succeed. Better play the long game and build your brand/reputation as a really strong M who transitions to a high potential SM than start as a struggling SM.
Dealing with this now at Accenture. I wanted SM but got brought in as M. Was def an ego hit but prob for the best. There is more to SM than Delivery and it takes time to really learn it. Been 1.5 years and up for promo this year but weāll see!
Chief
SM is tough if youāve never experienced it before. Youāre building your network, manage multiple teams, and hit BD targets all at the same time. Even had candid conversations with other experienced hires at the SM and MD level. All said a good year of network building alone. Once I understood the expectations of an SM vs M, I chose to target M. First time in Big 4 and want to keep my track record of success going.
Chief
Havenāt personally experienced it, but I can understand it. SM has a lot of pressure and even some homegrown Mās have a hard time dealing with it.
Big 4 always try to do this. But I knew plenty who demanded SM and washed out in the first year because they missed metrics so bad.
I did it. Made SM in 9 months. Totally worth it.
I was up at Deloitte but came and did a year then got promoted at EY. Great decision. I learned the firm and still got a 20% increase.
Thank you all for your candid and thoughtful responses. I really appreciate it.
Chief
Iām over here trying to stay at C3 forever
better for the firm