I was recently hired by a top consulting agency and I'm kind out of my element, thus I really need to know a few basic things about what's expected from a young consultant.I've already checked out the following threads:[list][*]http://forum.top-consultant.com/UK/74577/8/How-To-Impress/[*]http://forum.top-consultant.com/UK/39544/4/Tips-For-A-Grad-Wanting-To-Make-A-Big-Splash/[*]http://forum.top-consultant.com/UK/26421/9/Advice-For-Becoming-A-Great-Analyst/[*]http://forum.top-consultant.com/UK/63357/8/What-Do-Junior-Consultants-Do-In-Strategy-Consulting-Firms/[/list]And yes these threads are great and some of their information really is useful, but still I have some lingering doubts and I'd like to ask for your assistance.The first question that bothers me has to do with luggage. Since I don't like to carry more than my handbag I really would like to have a few suggestions on what should carry with me.I expect to take my laptop with me almost all of the time, and one or two suits (one dressed, one in the case).Now I'd like to have something that could accommodate that, be stylish (please don't ask me to define stylish) and resistant.Since I don't want to carry more than hand luggage I'd like to know what are the best models of beard shaving machines that are out there (I don't think that razor blades are permitted in hand luggage).Than we have the question of the documents of client organizations that one should carry. I know we must protect their sanctity/secrecy and I'd like to have a few suggestions of what I should get in order to do that.Now I'll talk a little bit about what I already have:1- Nice suits2- A nice watch3- A moleskine weekly notebook, a teNeues CoolNotes notebook, The Ten Day MBA, The McKinsey Way/Mind/Engagement4- Lots of willpower and desire to succeed.Also if you have any other suggestions (be it in the form of past threads that I failed to notice but you feel that are relevant) don't be afraid to let me know about it.

Can anybody please provide some help?Thanks.

McKTrainee - your projects are going to be several months long in duration, so you are going to be returning to the same hotel week in week out. Any decent hotel out there will have the facility to store your luggage over the weekend between stays. So my suggestion to you would be to get yourself a decent lockable hold luggage wheelycase and then travel to the client location with that (and your regular razor) in the airplane hold at the beginning of the project, then plan on leaving this and its contents with the hotel each week when you travel home.Travelling too light in consulting is never a good idea. Plans change and you're bound to find yourself staying at a client's location for a night or two more than you'd planned. So much better that you have spares of everything with you and aren't trying to live out of hand luggage each week. Plus it'll make your hotel room more homely if you have a few of your belongings and "luxuries" there with you.Good luck getting your career off to a good start.Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com

I think you might find that your colleagues and clients will care more about what you deliver than how much you paid for your watch. They're paying your firm a high day rate for you because they expect results which they can't get out of their own people.

For electric shavers, I'd recommend braun series 5 or 7. I've got a series 5 and a philishave sensotouch 3D. Braun is linear, Philishave is rotary, and I'm told people tend to firmly like one type or the other. I like both, the 3D is easy to use, while the Braun has a bit more of a "learning curve" - but after a few months I rather prefer the Braun.You don't need anything special to carry client documents. You really shouldn't be lugging around too many print-outs anyway, as it's easy to lose them. Most of the time you'll read on your laptop when travelling, and leave hard copy at the client site.

@Tony RestellThanks for the input and I specially like that you took your time to point out that I should always take into account that plans might change in this line of business. I made a mental note of that.@Big4WhoreThanks for taking replying to the one part of my post that was tongue in cheek. Like I said: I have more than enough willpower to deliver what I'm supposed to deliver. If that wasn't the case I don't think that the Big 4 company in question wouldn't have contacted me in the first place.I intended that last bit as self deprecating humor to make fun of my insecurities and my perceived notions of strategic consultants. But as we all know irony is somewhat hard to convey in the web.@baykusThanks a lot for your suggestion and I'll take a look at them and see which one suits me better.The other day I also picked up Drucker's The Essential Drucker.Once again thanks a lot to all of you.