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This time of year is always slow, nobody really wants to start an engagement with the all the holidays coming up
So right now being an associate in most consulting firms is not ideal. Complete over hiring and less work sold means less available work. Also due to that over hiring and the lack of training at some firms, some teams are hesitant to staff new hires bc they’re worried about skill level. I would say network and find ways to get involved on internal projects or BD (proposal/Business development work). Feel for you OP, I was in the same way when I started last year and unfortunately seems like lots of short projects are becoming more common, so this cycle may happen a lot as you start out
Most companies are finalizing their 2024 budgets now and less willing to start new projects until it’s done, unless they have extra budget from this year they desperately need to spend. Enjoy the break while it lasts because fresh budgets will make your Q1 very hectic!
Enjoy the bench - the good times do not last trust me 🤣 have a look at some of your colleagues linked in that are one to two grades above you and find any similar courses they’ve done that you can do with your spare time.
Trust me you being on the bench means they’re losing money, it’s they’re responsibility to keep you busy - when a project comes up you’ll be put on it, trust me!
Thanks for the kind words! Asked around and was able to find a BD opportunity and my firm is getting the entire analyst class a CFI login so it's recommended we focus on that. (Half of the analyst class are on the bench)
How long have you been on the bench?
two weeks
Also a new hire, but on the bench since I started 2 months ago. Idk ab your firm/function but the pipeline is slow, so I’m quite pessimistic. Following
To build on that, the overhiring wave from covid etc combined with the slowing market has not painted a pretty picture for most college new hires. My intern class had 3 people in our group…this summer we had 21 for reference which is crazy. Long term projects are now less common in this market, so most projects are 2-5 months, leading new associates to be in the constant cycle of somehow trying to get staffed from the huge bench, only to find themselves doing it all over again shortly after. To make it worse, because most firms overhired, if they need to cut people some of the associate classes that just came in get trimmed, happened at pwc in multiple groups too. Being stuck in an environment of constant worry about your project and job has led a lot of my peers (talking new college grads or entry level) to look for exits much sooner than planned. Not trying to be gloomy, just trying to give you a perfectly candid and honest input on the consulting situation for new hires, could be much better 🫠