I knew I would work closely with clients, but I have been thrilled and amazed at the depth of those relationships even early in my tenure.
Joining as a business analyst, I knew I would be challenged to develop modeling skills and get to work closely with amazing colleagues. I also knew I would work closely with clients, but I have been thrilled at the depth of those relationships even early in my tenure.
I received excellent support as I got started at the firm. I had limited experience with Excel before joining – while I’d done some programming as a student, I hadn’t built models at all. I was a bit wide-eyed when my first engagement manager opened Excel and without using the mouse, worked through the data with ease. When she saw my reaction, she stopped to spend several hours with me talking about the shortcuts and helping me practice setting up a model. I’m sure she could have completed the task in 15 minutes on her own but her mentorship set me up for success in future projects.
The collaborative process at McKinsey has also been incredible to see. I can think of so many examples of being in the team room with colleagues past the officially scheduled problem-solving session because we’re excited about the work and engaging with one another is the best way to generate innovative ideas. I saw this firsthand when I had the opportunity to spend a year on a project called Generation through a fellowship with the McKinsey Social Initiative. The goal of Generation is to solve the dual problem of high rates of youth unemployment and high demand for skilled employees in entry level positions. My work was focused on developing a healthcare training program in the US, and it was incredible to see McKinsey donate time, expertise and resources to this effort.
I’ve since experienced this support and collaboration in my work with the Center for US Health System Reform. I’ve worked with McKinsey’s most senior experts on Medicare to publish papers about the current state of the industry and assess the impact of potential legislative and regulatory changes for all types of healthcare stakeholders. There are a couple of leaders from that program who have helped me parlay my knowledge of the industry into client engagements. Now that I have expertise from these efforts, it’s been incredibly rewarding to serve public and private sector leaders, navigating the complex and evolving landscape of healthcare policy. Having the chance to work with established thought leaders in this area has helped me develop a breadth and depth of knowledge I couldn’t have imagined a few years ago.
