Reading time: 3 minsTell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
My name is Ella, and I came to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) directly from university, where I studied a degree called Maths, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics. Whilst I was at university I completed some internships in finance, then joined BCG full-time once I graduated.
What is your role and how long have you been at Boston Consulting Group?
I am an associate at BCG, having joined just over a year ago. Every associate at BCG starts as a generalist, which means we work across a lot of different topics and industries rather than specialising early on. Since joining, I have worked with clients in healthcare, consumer, and the public sector.
What inspired you to join Boston Consulting Group?
I knew that I wanted to join a firm that would give me experience across a wide range of industries and allow me to learn quickly in a supportive environment.
What has been the single most important thing you’ve learned so far?
The most important thing I have learned so far is how to get comfortable with a new client context quickly. Every project is different, so you get a lot of practice adjusting to new scenarios and getting immediately stuck into a problem. This allows you to build confidence in starting out, and working with the team and the client to find your way to a solution.
What would a ‘normal’ day look like for you?
A normal day would start with coming into the office for 9am, to have our morning 'check-in' meeting where each member of the team talks through their priorities for the day. It would then generally be a mixture of work and meetings, such as internal 'case team meetings', where we talk through the content with the entire project team, or client meetings. In between calls I would be working on whatever content was most relevant to my workstream (the area of the project that I am responsible for). This could be an analysis on Excel, creating slides on PowerPoint, conducting expert interviews, or a whole range of things. Towards the end of the day, we would have our 'check-out', where we would align on remaining priorities before we finish.
What aspect of the consulting industry do you find the most interesting?
I love being able to learn so much about different clients and industries. By being immersed so fully in one company for the course of a project, you learn a lot very quickly about things you would never have imagined getting the chance to work on!
What is the company culture like at Boston Consulting Group?
The culture at BCG is incredibly collaborative, with everyone within the team willing to help out however they can. We have an apprenticeship model that allows you to learn on the job, so people are always happy to show you the best way to do something and to support with your development.
Finally, any tips for anyone who’d like to apply for a role at Boston Consulting Group?
I'd recommend speaking to as many BCGers as possible to figure out if consulting is for you! Throughout recruitment periods we run a lot of events, both in-person and online, so there's plenty of chances to meet consultants and ask any questions you might have.
If you decide that you do want to go for it, then learning about the process - which is slightly different to a normal interview process, as it centres around a case study - and most importantly practicing is the most important thing I'd recommend.