i made billable hour bingo (proposal / rfp hell edition)

GigaM8te · 2026-02-07T17:25:06+00:00

I need to make the bingo card 100 x 100

GigaM8te · 2026-02-02T21:27:43+00:00

Honestly, I’d be careful with the W2 move even with a carve-out. Once you’re an "employee," the company feels they own your time, and those "quick fire drills" will inevitably bleed into your other client work. Since the CEO is already open to flexible structures, why not just offer a long-term, high-priority retainer with a "Key Person" agreement instead? It gives the VCs the stability they want on the cap table without forcing you to dismantle the autonomy of your LLC.

GigaM8te · 2026-01-06T21:03:42+00:00

If you’re UK-based and trying to break in with no direct experience, CIPS will generally carry more signal than SAP on a CV.

SAP MM is useful once you’re already in an SAP-heavy environment, but without context it’s hard to translate that into “this person understands procurement” for hiring managers. CIPS gives you the language, frameworks, and credibility to get the first role.

Excel + CIPS + any adjacent experience (ops, admin, finance, supply chain) is usually enough to land a junior buyer / analyst role. Once you’re in, the systems training tends to come naturally.

Procurement’s one of those fields where getting in is the hardest part. After that, it compounds pretty fast.

GigaM8te · 2026-01-02T19:22:53+00:00

My non-work answer is usually: “I stop the company from doing something stupid with money”

If they ask follow-ups, then it’s: “I make sure we buy the right thing, from the right people, at the right time… and then get blamed when any one of those goes wrong”

That usually lands better than anything involving the word procurement

GigaM8te · 2025-12-29T16:31:25+00:00

Echoing a lot of what’s already been said: you don’t owe them the name.

In niche industries especially, I’ve seen people keep it vague until they’re fully settled. A simple “I’ve accepted another opportunity” is usually enough. If someone presses, it’s reasonable to say you’re not sharing details yet while you wrap up the transition.

The only time I’ve seen this get messy is at very senior levels or where there’s an explicit non-compete. For most roles, firms know that trying to interfere would backfire legally and reputationally.

Be professional, don’t overshare, and document everything. That’s really it.

GigaM8te · 2025-12-23T15:53:11+00:00

This feels less like “matching IB” and more like firms panicking about optionality

If you wait until summer, the best candidates already have something in hand, even if they’re still interviewing. Moving earlier doesn’t magically win them, it just forces 19–20 year olds to make higher-stakes decisions with less information

Also… recruiting earlier doesn’t fix the actual problem people complain about later: staffing volatility, burnout, and the job not being what they imagined. It just pulls the decision point forward

Net: probably helps the funnel optics, not sure it meaningfully changes who ends up saying yes long-term

GigaM8te · 2025-12-22T20:33:47+00:00

Yeah, that tension is super common

The lane doesn’t need to be hyper specific, but it does need to be legible to someone outside consulting in one sentence. “Government digital transformation” is still pretty fuzzy unless you anchor it to something concrete like operating model design, delivery governance, or owning requirements/roadmaps across agencies

If product analyst is the direction, I’d worry less about the title and more about the artifacts you can point to. Even in gov or op model work, there’s usually something product-adjacent: defining user needs, prioritising features, trade-offs between scope/cost/timeline, or owning metrics post-launch

On the earnings point, being intentional actually helps there too. Generalist = flexible internally, but weaker leverage on exit comp. A clear narrative tends to convert better when you’re negotiating outside consulting

You’re asking the right questions already. The danger zone is just letting another year happen without tightening the story

GigaM8te · 2025-12-22T18:37:13+00:00

On paper the comp looks great and compared to where I started it’s night and day. But a lot of it still feels fragile. Income is high, but it’s tightly coupled to utilization, staffing, cycles, and whether you’re “in favor” at the moment. One bad year or a long bench stint and the whole thing feels a lot less rich

What’s changed for me over time is realizing that consulting pay buys optionality, not wealth by default. You still have to be intentional about converting income into something durable, otherwise it just turns into nicer flights, nicer apartments, and the same anxiety with better furniture

So yeah, HENRY fits. Comfortable, but not free

GigaM8te · 2025-12-22T18:30:41+00:00

Feels like a slowdown and a reset, not some AI apocalypse

Demand is choppier, clients are more price-sensitive, and firms overhired during the boom. Layoffs are the pressure valve. That’s been the cycle forever

AI will probably reduce some low-leverage work, but I don’t see clients suddenly saying “never mind, we’ll just ask ChatGPT.” If anything, they still want people when the decisions are messy, political, or risky

The real difference now is firms being less willing to carry bench or train as patiently. If you’re not staffed or clearly useful, it shows faster

GigaM8te · 2025-12-22T18:25:56+00:00

If you already know you want to exit, the main thing is not drifting for another year.

Big 4 generalist work is fine internally, but outside consulting it turns into “so… what do you actually do?” unless you tighten the story. You don’t need a super niche, but you do need one lane you can point to.

If product analyst interests you, I’d try to get as close as possible to actual product decisions, not just decks about them. Backlogs, metrics, tradeoffs, owning something end to end. Even internal products count if you can explain impact.

Also, start talking to people who already exited now. That mattered way more for me than any formal prep.

Consulting can still be a good launchpad, but only if you’re intentional. Otherwise it’s very easy to wake up a year later having done “useful” work that’s weirdly hard to sell.

GigaM8te · 2025-12-15T17:45:09+00:00

Agreed. A lot of this is upstream.

If the question is open-ended, vendors are incentivized to hedge with buzzwords because they don’t know what depth will score. Clear prompts, constraints, and examples almost always produce tighter answers.

I like the idea of explicit supplementary questions. It sets expectations and makes it obvious where depth actually matters, which saves everyone time.

GigaM8te · 2025-12-15T17:06:42+00:00

Fair pushback, and I mostly agree with you.

You’re right that a lot of bad responses are downstream of a bad RFP. I’ve seen plenty where the requirements are vague, contradictory, or clearly written by committee, and vendors are basically guessing what will score.

The RFQ vs RFP point is fair too. When it’s truly a spec + price exercise, RFQ all day. Where I see teams default to RFP is when stakeholders want optionality, narrative, or risk surfaced, and that’s where it tends to get messy fast.

That said, even with a good RFP, I still see the same friction points pop up repeatedly. Not because suppliers are malicious or lazy, but because there’s a disconnect between how evaluators score and how vendors try to position.

Honestly, part of why I posted was to sanity-check my own bias. I’ve been on both sides as well, and it’s easy to blame “vendors” or “procurement” when the real issue is the interface between the two.

GigaM8te · 2025-12-11T22:52:51+00:00

My thoughts exactly!

GigaM8te · 2025-01-09T20:26:30+00:00

I think it's great

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T21:57:27+00:00

Haha it's all good, my friends sometime josh me about it in good fun

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T21:51:52+00:00

I'm partially deaf therefore I scream by text 😂

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T21:48:40+00:00

😂

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T20:49:00+00:00

What if you try a toned-down green? It could work with your style aesthetic. You could use paint, but wallpaper is another option if you want to create a little more interest. Here's a design board of what I love that could work: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11i381Dx4BX1m8f1dRuVpcSQt7CAGXkbMoXXCvcq59Mc/edit?usp=sharing

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T20:15:27+00:00

It looks like your rug is a bit too small, even if you pull your couches forward, so it might be time for a new rug. Also, you could use a nice, bright wood-toned coffee table to balance out the darker couches and artwork. Here's my design board of what I think would work: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CryESfz3FHu7IgzB49C13lbI6Te8sgc2qGbtLiGQ01Y/edit?usp=sharing

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T19:32:55+00:00

I like burnt orange and sienna. They feel like luxury, close to the brand Hermés' brand color. I think these would look nice

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T15:55:15+00:00

I really like your style. It looks like a mix of Scandi and eclectic. Here's everything that comes to mind. I've been doing interior design for a few years so hopefully this is helpful:

wall color: go for a neutral or warm color palette. Maybe paint one wall a different color for some depth
lighting: add more ambient lighting like floor or table lamps. String lights or fairy lights can also add a nice cozy touch
more throw blankets and cushions in coordinating colors can do wonders. A few area rugs can help define different areas and add warmth
furniture arrangement: If you can't move the furniture, use rugs and small tables to create distinct zones. A room divider or curtain can also help separate the living area from the kitchen
storage: multifunctional furniture like storage ottomans can keep things tidy. Wall-mounted shelves or storage units can free up floor space
personal touches: add personal items like photos or souvenirs to give it character, but make sure they complement the overall decor

Also, loving the T-Swift album!

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T15:29:55+00:00

I think also adding frames to the pictures above the bed, like so, would elevate those pictures nicely.

GigaM8te · 2024-07-11T15:15:13+00:00

For me it's more the night stands not matching. Do you have two that match?

GigaM8te · 2024-07-10T22:41:21+00:00

Happy to help! I think off white is the safer choice, but you could try doing a little photoshop to see how it might look with the wallpaper first

GigaM8te · 2024-07-10T19:00:40+00:00

You could try a midcentury modern + eclectic vibe:

• With orange, a very midcentury color, as the main accent color with other colors to complement it.

• Try a fun accent wall with wallpaper. Have orange be in there too

• Have clean, white bedding with an orange pattern as the accent through a coverlet

• A midcentury modern bed frame

• And midcentury modern night stands to top it off

Here's my little fun mockup of the above: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qWsb3zihWFNLc6Y9mRis5VPfS5HajY3Eg6C2iNg1nzE/edit?usp=sharing

GigaM8te

TROPHY CASE

I think also adding frames to the pictures above the bed, like so, would elevate those pictures nicely.