You have just finished a project, the next one is not yet confirmed, and your calendar shows empty slots. For a junior consultant the feeling is uncomfortable: you wonder whether you did something wrong, whether the firm "no longer needs you", whether it will show up at your review. This period goes by several names: intercontrat in French, bench, or "beach" in the jargon of Anglo-Saxon firms. It is a normal part of how the profession works. This article explains what it covers, what the firm expects from you in the meantime, and how to turn it into a springboard toward a better project rather than a waiting room.
What intercontrat is
Intercontrat refers to the interval during which a salaried consultant is not assigned to any billable project. You remain employed by the firm, you keep your contract and your place on the team, but your time is not being sold to a client. The word "bench" says the same thing as an image: the player is on the sidelines, available, and will be called when a project matches their profile.
Three situations look alike from a distance and should be told apart:
- the short gap between two projects, a few days or a few weeks depending on how calendars line up;
- the wait for a specific project, already sold but with a delayed start;
- a prolonged absence of any proposal, which calls for a real conversation with the staffing manager.
Only the third deserves worry. The first two are mechanical consequences of how firms sell and plan their projects. To understand who decides assignments and under which constraints, our article on staffing in consulting firms sets the frame; this one focuses on what you, the consultant, can do with the time between two assignments.
Why it happens to everyone
A consulting firm sells team time on projects of limited duration. A project never ends exactly on the day the next one starts. Several reasons create gaps, none of which is the consultant’s fault:
- client calendars: a steering committee pushed back, a budget released later than planned, a project that stops earlier than the contract said;
- seasonality of demand: some periods of the year see fewer projects start, and peaks of activity follow quiet spells;
- fit of profiles: a project requires a particular sector skill or language, and the firm waits for the right profile instead of placing just anyone;
- team adjustments: a partner revises the composition of a team, a client asks for a more senior profile.
Beginners tend to read these gaps as a verdict. They mostly describe the state of the order book at a given moment. Discontinuity is part of the rhythm of the job, not an anomaly. In our account of a junior consultant’s week you see a project period that is full; intercontrat is its flip side, more rarely described.
What does differ from firm to firm is how this period is managed: follow-up by a staffing manager, sponsorship by a mentor, or an almost informal handling in a small structure. Ask the question in interviews or when you join, rather than discovering it in the situation.
What the firm expects from you
During this period nobody asks you to be invisible. First, you are expected to remain available and responsive: answer the staffing manager quickly, give your exact availability dates, say clearly what interests you. A consultant who disappears for ten days without news leaves a poor impression, even if the lack of a project is not their doing.
You are then expected to be useful to the firm. Typical contributions fall into three groups.
Commercial proposals. The firm answers client requests, sometimes within tight deadlines. An available consultant can contribute. This is the subject of the next section.
Internal work. It takes the form of capitalising on a finished project (documenting a method, organising reusable deliverables), contributions to a practice (sector watch, summary note, presentation material), or help with recruiting and onboarding newcomers.
Training. This is the time to fill a gap noted in your last review: financial modelling, public speaking, a language, a data visualisation or analysis tool. Many firms offer a catalogue of internal training; if yours does not suggest any, ask.
Finally there is a less visible expectation: staying part of the team. Drop by the practice that interests you, have lunch with a manager, attend team meetings. In consulting, a large part of assignments is decided through mutual acquaintance. Our article on a consultant’s first project shows how much the quality of relationships built from the start weighs afterwards.
Contributing to commercial proposals
Taking part in pre-sales is the most valued contribution during intercontrat, and the most instructive. In its job profile of the management consultant 🔗, the Apec lists prospecting, negotiation and writing commercial proposals among the possible activities of the job; its organisation consultant profile 🔗 explicitly mentions answering calls for tenders. This is therefore not a side chore: it is part of the profession, simply experienced with less visibility than a project.
Concretely, a junior may be asked to:
- understand the client’s need from the specifications or earlier exchanges, and restate it as a clear problem;
- look for context: the sector, the company’s situation, public comparable cases;
- propose a structure for the engagement: phases, deliverables, team, timeline;
- format the pages of the proposal according to the firm’s standards.
This exercise teaches what the junior on a project does not always see: how a problem becomes an offer, how an engagement is priced, how the firm sets itself apart. It also puts you in direct contact with a partner or manager, who appreciates seeing how you structure reasoning under time pressure.
To be asked, you have to make yourself known. Write to the manager preparing the answer, offer help on a precise scope ("I can prepare the sector context and the planning section") and meet the deadline. A proposal delivered on time and clean is worth more than a general promise of help.
In the same spirit, this work can be highlighted later. Our guide to presenting projects on a consultant CV explains how to mention a contribution to pre-sales without passing it off as a client project.
Positioning yourself for the next project
Intercontrat is also the only period when you have time to think about what you want to do next. Here is a simple approach.
Take stock of the last project. Which tasks were formative, which did you dislike, what feedback did your manager give? Note three skills to consolidate.
Make a precise request. "I would like a different sector from the previous one and a project with direct exchanges with the client" is something a staffing manager can use. "I want a good project" is not. Tie your request to a development goal, for example a point from your last review.
Stay flexible on what matters. A consultant who sets too many conditions becomes hard to place. Distinguish what is important (a learning opportunity, a manager known for coaching) from what is merely comfortable (a city, a sector you already know).
Let the right people know your interest. If a project starts soon in a practice that attracts you, ask for a short conversation with the manager concerned. Come with questions and ideas, not just availability.
Update your CV while memories are fresh. A finished project is described better the week after than six months later. The strategy consultant CV template and the management consultant one show projects described by problem, role and result. To keep this version clean without redoing the layout at each addition, the ConseilCV editor handles it and exports a PDF that applicant tracking software reads without trouble: your time goes to substance, not formatting.
When intercontrat lasts too long
A period without a project is not a problem in itself. It becomes one when it settles in, or when it repeats without explanation. A few signals justify acting:
- you no longer receive any project proposal, even one far from your preferences;
- your contacts in staffing are vague about dates;
- you have declined several assignments in a row;
- your next review is approaching and you have no recent feedback to put forward.
In these cases, ask for a frank conversation with the staffing manager or your mentor. Ask factual questions: which projects are being prepared, which profiles are sought, what in your profile is holding back an assignment. An answer pointing to a precise gap (sector knowledge, a language) gives you a roadmap.
Then widen your options: accept a less expected but well-supervised project, join a structuring internal initiative, or consider another office if the firm allows it. Our article on reviews and the up or out principle recalls that the committee assesses all of your contributions, not only your billed days: document what you did during intercontrat.
If the situation persists despite these steps, it may signal a mismatch between your profile and the firm’s needs. This is not a personal failure: some consultants find a better fit in another firm, in a company, or in a specialised practice. For that, a CV that clearly presents your projects and contributions lets you start again without losing time.
Sources
- Apec, job profile Management consultant 🔗
- Apec, job profile Organisation consultant 🔗
- Onisep, job profile Consultant 🔗, for an overview of the profession
Frequently asked questions
Is intercontrat held against you at your review?
A period without a project is not assessed in itself, since it depends mostly on the firm’s calendar. What is looked at is what you do with it: contributions to proposals, internal work, training, responsiveness. If it repeats, talk to the staffing manager early.
Can you decline a project offered during intercontrat?
It is possible, but to be handled carefully, especially early in your career. A refusal needs a serious reason and should be discussed quickly. In general, it is better to accept and state, for the next one, what you wish to avoid.
Does intercontrat appear on the CV?
No, it does not need to appear as such, since you remain an employee of the firm. However, the work done during this period (pre-sales, internal project, training) can be mentioned under a dedicated heading, without presenting it as client projects.
What if the firm offers no training?
Identify a skill useful for your next project, find a resource (an internal course from a colleague, external training) and present it to your manager or the staffing manager. A precise request is more likely to be accepted than a vague one.
Are the rules the same in every firm?
No. The handling of periods without projects varies with the size, model and culture of the firm. Ask the question during interviews: it shows professional maturity.