Associates, can we talk about the silent treatment
So I came into PwC as an SM after spending my whole career in industry, which means I’m watching this from a slightly different seat than most people at my level. And there’s one thing I keep noticing.
Yes, a lot of associates are still finding their footing technically. That’s normal, you’re new, nobody expects you to know everything yet. But the bigger issue I keep seeing isn’t the technical gaps. It’s the communication around them. Associates go quiet on an engagement, and I end up having to track them down over and over just to figure out where things stand. When I ask if they need help, it’s almost always “nope, all good!” Then the deadline hits and it wasn’t actually all good.
I promise it’s not just me being paranoid. A bunch of us at the SM and Director level have quietly compared notes and noticed the same thing. It’s honestly a big part of why office days are getting pushed harder lately.
Here’s the good news though: you have way more tools in your back pocket than any associate class before you. AI, honestly, at your fingertips, with permission to actually use it. That should be closing the technical gap fast, if you’re using it right.
So my one piece of advice, if you take nothing else from this post: stop trying to be the smartest person in the room. Instead, get really good at talking to the smartest person in the room. Don’t make your manager hunt you down. Beat them to it. Tell them where you are, what’s tripping you up, what you need. That one habit will make you stand out more than any technically perfect answer ever will, and it’ll buy you a lot of grace while you’re still building the technical skills.
You’ve got this. Just talk to us. 🙂