Vice President, AlixPartners, New York, NY, USAMy job requires me to travel a lot. I board a plane on Monday morning, spend a week at a client site and fly back home on Thursday evening.
Typically I try to start my day at the gym, before I get to the office. Then my day is never the same. As a consultant I constantly work on new projects, for new clients, in different industries. I usually spend my day preparing various analyses, communicating with the client, brainstorming with our team or preparing deliverables and client presentations.
I love consulting and the opportunities it brings. The learning curve is very steep and I am learning new things every day. I always work in teams and interact with clients on daily basis which brings another level of diversity into my everyday life.
Two projects are never the same. We always work on different issues for different clients. You have to learn and adjust very quickly. You work in a high degree of ambiguity. You often feel you are starting from zero and that can be sometimes challenging. However, at the end of every project I feel a great deal of achievement. Not only have I helped the client but I learned a lot and developed new skills.
I wanted to study at a university which would allow me to live in an international, multicultural city such as London and offered a business degree that would prepare me broadly for my future career. I did not want to focus on Finance or Marketing, I wanted to learn a bit of everything, and Middlesex University offered a degree that fulfilled this.
The variety of the courses offered throughout the 3 years. I was able to study everything from finance, through marketing to leadership.
The course that influenced me the most was Managerial Leadership. I very much enjoyed the coursework and how it made me think of myself and the traits and abilities I have and how it can influence my future career. It helped me to better understand myself and know what I want to achieve.
Middlesex University prepared me well for my future career progression. I was able to gain a good foundation of all areas of business and therefore decide what I want to do after graduation. I then proceeded with my education at London Business School with a Masters degree.
I have to say the skills that have helped me to progress the most, and made my career so far very successful, are the soft skills. Obviously without the solid technical skills and knowledge I gained at school I would not be able to succeed, but without emotional intelligence the pure technical skills only get you so far. It's the ability to see beyond your tasks and add true value to anything you do. It's the ability to communicate and persuade to excel and progress.
After graduating from Middlesex University I completed a Masters degree at London Business School. Then it was all about a strong belief in myself and passion for what I wanted to do.
Attending career events, talking to company representatives, networking, researching about potential employers… that all helped to get my CV and Cover Letter well prepared and get the attention of employers I approached.
After more than 5 years in Consulting I am still passionate about what I do. And despite all the travelling I still enjoy being a Consultant. Over the years I have honed down my career to advising clients in the retail industry. Retail is changing dramatically and being part of this shift is very exciting. I want to continue to advise my clients on how to become more customer-centered, more omni-channel and how to succeed in the “retail world of tomorrow”.
Find your passion and go explore it. It’s much easier to wake up every day and go to work if you love what you do. Ask yourself tough questions and find what makes you happy. Then it’s just about lots of hard work, persistence and determination. Do not give up because it will not be easy. But the reward is going to be that much more worth it.
