You did it! You successfully interviewed for a position at your dream consulting firm, and you have received and accepted an offer. However, you have multiple months before you begin. Maybe you received this offer after a summer internship and must return to school for a final year. Maybe you interviewed in the fall but defend your thesis in the spring. Maybe you need to finish one job and relocate to a new city first. Whatever the case may be, you might find yourself with some time before you begin consulting.
How best should you use it?
This article is not discouraging taking some necessary time off to rest, relax, and recuperate. Before beginning your career, you should prioritize self-care first, as life is a marathon and not a sprint. Rather, if you find that you have some additional time before starting your first job post-graduation or even in-between your first and second jobs, these suggestions might provide some ideas on how to best utilize it. Since everyone has a unique financial situation, amount of free time, and ability to travel, some of these suggestions will be more applicable to you than others.
1. Learn a New Skill
With your new-found free time upon securing a job, consider learning a new skill or two. If you are returning to school, take a wildly different class than your course of study. Pursue a minor in entrepreneurship or management, complete a certificate in sustainability, or take a physical education class. As one of my professors put it, “students are the only customers that complain when they get their money’s worth”. So, go out there and take the extra classes, learn something new, and open your mind to new ideas and skills before you start your job.
Not returning to school or filled your schedule up already? Learn something new outside of school. This could be a good time to learn a new language, so you can use it on a future work trip. You were probably practicing case studies daily, so it should be easy to replace this daily discipline with practicing a new language every day. If you are in a technical field, maybe learn a new software or computer language, for it could come in handy one day. Without having to spend time and energy prepping for interviews, you will find plenty of time in your schedule and room in your mind to learn something completely new.
2. Try a New Activity
Maybe you do not want to learn something new, but this is also a good time to try a new activity. Maybe there is a club you wanted to join but never found the time. Get involved with the sports club you had been meaning to join, try climbing the rock wall in the gym, or run for student government. This does not need to be a resume building activity, as you obviously have the job already. This is your chance to try something new, meet new people, and enjoy your time.
This suggestion also includes off campus activities; you might consider using your extra time to pursue a new position. Want to learn how to make coffee or mixed drinks? Become a barista or bartender. Want to gain unique insights into leadership and civil service? There are positions at all levels of government, from paid to unpaid and from local to national, that you could get involved with. Want to renew your hobbies at home, such as baking or restoring furniture? You might have put your hobbies to one side when you were preparing for interviews, and so now is a great time to rekindle your interests or try something new. Although your levels of stress should be low, it is worthwhile to use your narrow window of free time and to focus on a meaningful pursuit.
3. Give Back
Consider this a great opportunity to give back to others. This can be done in several ways, especially on a college campus. First, serving as a teaching assistant or lecturer can allow you to improve your knowledge of a particular subject as well as help teach younger students. Alternatively, you could serve as a tutor for an academic resource center, providing support for students struggling with their subjects. You could mentor undergraduate students in research projects, teaching them how to conduct experiments, complete simulations, and publish papers. There are so many ways on campus that you could use your extra time to give back to others.
When it comes to giving back, you can even think bigger than just pursuing activities on campus. Volunteer every week at the nearby soup kitchen. Clean up litter at nearby parks. Host a camp for primary school students to learn from college students. You could even use this time to do a volunteer trip abroad. This choice would be rewarding emotionally and would be a great experience before starting to work full time.
4. Travel
Speaking of travelling, this is obviously an attractive, but expensive, option. You might want to use this last chance to visit a nearby city or state before you leave school. You might want to visit and explore your next city, searching for apartments, restaurants, and attractions. Another good idea would be to visit family and friends, since once you start as a consultant you might not have immediate vacation days to use.
If you have already found time to do the above, then feel free to visit somewhere new. Use this time to cross a place off your bucket list. From the Great Wall of China to the Pyramids of Egypt, this may be the best time to squeeze in a personal trip, as the life of a consultant can be busy and unpredictable.
5. Start Consulting
One final option is simply to start consulting. You can talk to your manager to see if they will let you start early on a part-time or remote basis. You could get a head start on your career, building up your network, learning new skills, and gaining experience. This might allow you to knock out training and expedite the learning curve before working full-time.
Alternatively, if this is not possible, you could gain similar skills by participating in a consulting club. Usually, these clubs offer pro-bono consulting opportunities, host competitions, and require student leaders to run efficiently. Partaking in any of these activities will build consultant knowledge and better prepare you for your coming career. If your school does not have a club, consider freelance work either online or at a nearby start up.
The Bottom Line
You spent years and years earning degrees, preparing your resume, practicing interview answers, and comparing offers. Once you accept a job, the easiest thing to do would be to relax. However, your new-found free time offers a unique chance to do something new.
Learn a new skill, try a new activity, give back, travel, or consult.
Use this time wisely, because once it is gone, it is gone forever.
Ricky Hollenbach is a Thermal Sciences Associate at Exponent Scientific and Engineering Consulting. He solves problems in the thermal-fluids, heat transfer, and turbomachinery disciplines. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Duke University.
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