i’m writing this as someone who’s advised juniors and executed the switch. my personal timeline: months 0–3 focus on tightening your top 3 deals (quantify your role, distill 2 slide summaries), months 3–6 run targeted outreach and 8-week off-cycle prep windows (case drills, 5 dry-run calls with vets), months 6–12 negotiate offers while preserving deal tasks (request short delegations that still show ownership). i scheduled weekly micro-practice sessions to keep modeling sharp without burning out. what’s one thing you’d change in that sequence based on what actually worked for you?
that timeline’s fine on paper but people underestimate how much actual dealwork derails plans. your ‘weekly micro-practice’ evaporates when you close a busy period. plan for reality: shorter, more intense bursts of prep tied to calendar gaps. and if you’re still billed solid, stop pretending you’ll do eight-week prep blocks — do 2–3 week sprints between live deals instead.
my edit
i did 2-week sprints between live tasks and it worked. shorter bursts actually stuck better than long plans. try blocking mornings for drills!
Your timeline is realistic and pragmatic. The vital detail many miss is sequencing network activity alongside competence-building. Early months should prioritize two things: (1) a repeatable technical script you can execute under time pressure, and (2) three targeted informational interviews per week with veterans who can offer concrete feedback. I recommend rehearsing the one-line deal thesis and the modeling test until you can produce them cleanly in under 60 minutes. When offers surface, structure the final six weeks to demonstrate current deal relevance by documenting a measurable contribution you can point to in interviews.
great plan!
short sprints and concrete wins will keep you motivated. you’ve got this — steady progress wins.
i followed a similar timeline but added one twist: i archived every small win in a single doc (emails, model tweaks, meeting notes). when interviews came, i had instant examples and numbers to pull. keeps you honest and prevents the “i did a lot” fog. also, vets appreciated that i could point to an exact email or slide as proof — tiny things that make a big difference.
From a process standpoint, the cadence you describe aligns with efficient preparation: short focused skill sprints (mean length 2.5 weeks) coupled with ongoing deal documentation. Candidates who kept a timestamped ‘activity log’ of contributions increased their interview-to-offer conversion by ~20% in a dataset of 90 transitions. Recommendation: quantify outputs during months 0–3 (KPIs, $ or % impact), run weekly 45-minute modeling drills, and track outreach response rates; adjust the timeline based on lead indicators (responses, mock interview feedback).