TBD

Status_QuoHow do I do well as a first year at MBB? How do I stand out - what separates the superstars from the "average"?

Hard to sum this up in a forum.

1) Be assertive in the sense that you're eager to be involved and learn from the rest of the engagement team. Don't be an aggressive egotistical douche. Volunteer to take on tasks that the engagement manager might not initially think to send your way. Overall, just try to leave an impression of "team player", "willing to step up", "capable", "doesn't need hand holding", etc.

2) Try to demonstrate that you can contribute intellectual capital. You want to minimize the amount of time that you are viewed as a spreadsheet monkey. Look for opportunities to contribute ideas rather than simple task execution - but make sure they are on-point, otherwise you're worse off than had you just kept your mouth shut. Your teachers may have told you there is no such thing as a dumb idea, but they steered you wrong. There are plenty of dumb ideas, and if you can't tell the difference, you're in trouble.

3) Look for things about your skill set that set you apart from other folks that you meet, or things that could set you apart over the next few years as you develop. Becoming an expert in an industry, or set of technologies, or type of engagement will help set you apart. Ultimately, you want to put yourself in a position where engagement managers are asking to have you staffed on a study. If you establish a good rapport early one with someone at that level, it's not out of line to ask them what they look for in 1st / 2nd years that they seek out for their engagements.

There is a lot more. A lot of it comes down to dumb luck, unfortunately. If you end up on a shitty engagement, with a shitty engagement manager, in a shitty industry that you hate, you're going to have more trouble than if you click with a bunch of people right out the gate, and you have no control over that. Generally though, if you're hard working, smart, and easy to get along with, you'll probably be very successful.