Career Development
A reader asks: I'm benched as a first-year consultant — am I going to get fired?
Three weeks isn't the problem. Three quiet weeks is. Here's how to flip the impression your staffing lead is currently building of you.
Reader Q
Questions from readers.
The column runs on what you send in. If you're stuck on something at work — a 1:1 gone sideways, a comp conversation you can't time, a manager who goes quiet — drop it in the form. The good ones become the next post. No pseudonymous takes on LinkedIn required.
Opens the question form. Takes about sixty seconds.
Recent answers
Managing Up
A reader asks: is it normal to be scared of my skip-level?
Being scared of your skip-level is common and useful in small doses. Here's how to channel it — and what to do when the fear is your manager's problem, not yours.
Communication
A reader asks: my coworkers never use video — should I?
Camera-on vs. camera-off feels like a small question. It isn't. Here's how to read a team's unspoken norm and match it without losing yourself.
Career Development
A reader asks: I'm in FP&A and want to pivot to IB — is it too late?
Corporate-finance-to-IB pivots are harder than people say, but more doable than the internet makes them sound. Here's what actually works.
Career Basics
A reader asks: my onboarding buddy has gone AWOL — what now?
Your assigned onboarding buddy vanishes in week two. More common than anyone admits. Three moves that make the rest of your ramp work without them.
Managing Up
A reader asks: I'm told to be proactive, but get snapped at when I try
When 'be more proactive' and 'don't make me repeat myself' come from the same manager, the rule you're missing isn't effort — it's signaling.
Managing Up
A reader asks: my manager gives zero feedback. How do I get some?
When your manager isn't giving you feedback, the issue is rarely that they don't have any. They don't know what to give. Three questions that unlock it.
Career Development
A reader asks: how do I get promoted before my MBA application?
A promotion on your MBA application isn't about the title. It's about the story. Here's how to earn one in the 12 months before you apply.
Career Development
A reader asks: my first industry conference — do I actually have to network?
Conference networking for introverts (and everyone else): the two conversations that matter, and the many you can skip.
Collaboration
A reader asks: how do I handle a peer who keeps taking credit for my work?
Credit theft isn't solved by confrontation or venting. It's solved by changing where credit gets assigned in the first place. Three specific moves.
Foreign Professionals
A reader asks: I'm the only non-native English speaker on my team
Being the only non-native speaker on a team is isolating in a specific way. Here's what actually helps — and the moves that look like help but make it worse.
Managing Up
A reader asks: my Big 4 engagement partner keeps moving the goalposts
When the deliverable changes three times in a week, the problem usually isn't the deliverable. Here's what's actually happening and how to get ahead of it.
Communication
A reader asks: is there a right way to push back on a deadline?
Pushback done badly sounds like an excuse. Pushback done well sounds like a request for a tradeoff. Here's the wording most first-year employees are missing.