Nobody tells you what the first weeks at a consulting firm actually feel like. Not the ‘exciting challenges’ version you read in job ads, the real version. The one where your calendar fills up before you’ve figured out where the coffee machine is, and you’re suddenly juggling five different client situations at once without a clear sense of what’s urgent. 

A lot coming at you, all at once

The first thing that struck Mitiku was the pace and the variety. Unlike previous roles where a project had a clear start, a clear phase, and a clear end, Leadout’s work is more fluid. Multiple client situations running in parallel. An email here, a vendor renewal there, a contract expiring sooner than anyone realised.

“At first, I didn’t know how long anything took. So my day would be done and I felt like I hadn’t really done what I set out to do.”

For Mitiku, the first months were about absorbing. Learning the rhythm. Figuring out how long things actually take so he could plan properly. That took time.

The moment it got real

There was one episode that stayed with him. A contract at a client was about to expire, and the team was informed late. Suddenly, we had to move fast: interviewing multiple vendors, collecting offers, comparing costs and benefits, and getting everything across the line in time.

“I remember working really hard to get it done. It was stressful. But honestly? I also found it genuinely interesting. I got to see the whole vendor negotiation process, the real thing, not a textbook version.”

That’s a pattern worth noting. What was difficult was also what was most instructive. The pressure created the learning. And there was plenty more of it to come.

Read on below.

What actually grew

Ask Mitiku what he can do now that he couldn’t do seven months ago, and he doesn’t reach for technical skills first. He goes straight to the soft stuff.

“I used to hold back a lot. I’d have a question for someone at the client and I’d hesitate, thinking, who am I as a junior to be asking this? Now I just ask. We’re working toward the same goal. There’s no reason to wait.”

That shift, from hesitation to ownership, is one of the clearest signals of growth at Leadout. And Mitiku felt it accelerate precisely because the environment demanded it. No one was going to do the thinking for him. He had to build his own structure, make his own calls, and flag things before they became problems.

He also grew in how he communicates problems. Instead of vague questions, ‘I’m not sure what to do here’, he now comes with structure: what the situation is, what’s blocking him, what the next steps could be.

“I feel like I’m going from crawling to walking to running. I’m not running yet. But I can feel it happening.”

What made the difference

Mitiku is clear on one thing: the feedback loop at Leadout is different. Not just in frequency, in quality.

“At my previous job, everything was fine. No real feedback. No real challenge. Here, when something could be better, they tell me. And then they ask me to think about why, not just what to fix, but how I’m approaching it.”

That kind of feedback is uncomfortable sometimes. It’s also what makes people grow. And for Mitiku, it’s one of the clearest reasons he feels further along now than he expected to be.

If you’re looking for a role where everything is figured out and you follow the process, Leadout is probably not it. But if you want to actually build something, feel your own progress, and work with people who take your development seriously, that’s exactly what Mitiku found.

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