Box Car Social on the Harbour front in Toronto, Canada
I recently sat down with my friend, Jesse, over a cup of coffee to learn more about his experience as a Deloitte consultant over the past 5 years. Jesse completed his HBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business and upon graduating accepted a job as a supply chain analyst at Deloitte in Calgary, Canada.
Jesse had many interesting speaking points, which I personally found useful, and which I will share with you today in this blog post.
Aneta: Why did you choose consulting as a career?
Jesse:
At Ivey, I saw a lot of my classmates going in one of two directions, Investment Banking or Consulting, so naturally it peaked my interest. Consulting is not the easiest field to get into, especially at the school we were in, because everyone is gunning for the same jobs and everyone has similar aspirations.
Even though I didn’t know much about consulting at the time, I heard about the variety of work consultants get exposed to – different projects, different clients, opportunities to travel. So, that was my first draw. I also didn’t know what I wanted to do at the time; I knew that consulting wouldn’t close any doors for me but rather would allow me to try a bunch of different industries and see what interested me the most.
Aneta: What do you think made you stand out compared to your peers?
Jesse:
Yeah, that’s a good question. When I was completing my HBA and applying to jobs, I didn’t have much luck landing a consulting interview. Looking back, I think it was because my resume was very similar to the rest of my classmates – I didn’t have something that helped me stand out. However, there was this supply chain opportunity at General Dynamics that popped up on our career board and after applying to it, I ended up getting the job. After getting exposure to supply chain there, I came back to Ivey and took a bunch of supply chain courses in my final year. I think the combination of the two is what landed me the interview with Deloitte. Deloitte worked out very well for me because it was my very first consulting interview and by the time other companies were getting back to me, I already signed my offer!
Aneta: Knowing what you know now, what is one piece of advice you would give your freshly graduated, younger self?
Jesse:
Take your time!
Take your time to graduate.
Take your time to travel after school.
Take your time to jump on opportunities at work.
When you take your time, you don’t sacrifice quality in favour of quantity. If you start sacrificing quality in favour of quantity, you begin to build a reputation as someone who doesn’t take the details into consideration and that is never a good idea.
Aneta: Do you have any advice for incoming consultants when they are on the job?
Jesse:
When you are in the trenches, make sure that you:
- Communicate succinctly – in person, on PowerPoint slides, in emails
- Don’t be afraid to challenge someone more senior on their solution because you’re there to contribute and add value
- It’s okay to say, “I don’t know,” if you don’t know the answer. It’s better to say “I don’t know” than to pretend you know the answer or attempt to make something up on the spot
- Be aware that all the work won’t be glamorous and you will likely have to miss out on a few fun social evenings with your friends
- Positivity is key!
Aneta Kosinska is a Polish-Canadian and soon to be dual master degree Ivey MSc + CEMS MIM alumni. Having worked on consulting projects in North America, Asia and Europe she has developed an international mindset with an edge in technology and culture management.
Image: Aneta Kosinska
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