A former McKinsey employee recently opened up about the lessons in professionalism she learned during her time at the company that her degree from IIM Ahmedabad did not prepare her for. Ruchi Aggarwal, who runs her own mentorship firm in Mumbai, said that the first thing she discovered she lacked was the "executive filter".
"When I joined McKinsey, I discovered my degree from IIM Ahmedabad wasn't enough," the 30-year-old said. "I lacked the executive filter. During my first presentation, a partner interrupted me: 'Ruchi, tell me the one thing we should do. Just one.' I froze. I had prepared 15 recommendations, not one. I wanted to have backup recommendations -- like a menu. And I would let the partner pick the answer. But in real client meetings, top executives don't want to hear a menu. They want a curated, accurate answer."
She told Moneycontrol that the experience was an eye-opener about what is not taught at business schools.
"At IIM-A, the question was always 'How much do you know?' At McKinsey, the question became 'How clear can you make it?' Aggarwal said.
At IIM Ahmedabad, she had the best professors, peers, and the environment to build a very strong business foundation. Aggarwal was also among the top 10 students McKinsey selected during campus placements.
"But when I joined McKinsey, I realised that there is so much learning left to do outside of academics. A degree – even the best one from IIM Ahmedabad – is not enough. You always have to build on-ground skills to make real value," she said.
Aggarwal worked with the company for two years until 2020, when she launched her consultancy firm, Mentoresult.
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