McKinsey is committed to advancing individual and collective knowledge—and this focus on people extends well beyond the firm.
SPARKING CURIOSITY AND PASSION
After high school, I enrolled in a four-year degree in business administration and economics. A year later, when my state funding came to an end, I started a sales job at a leading telecommunications provider to pay for my studies. That decision, based purely on my love of smartphones, defined my career path and sparked my curiosity about the telecommunications sector that connects billions of people every day.
While at my previous job, I joined McKinsey’s Gap Year Program, where I worked with inspiring and knowledgeable people in the Client Capabilities Network on a broad set of telecommunications projects. This helped me identify the research area for my PhD, which I went on to complete while working for a scientific institute. Motivated by my Gap Year experience, I applied for a position at McKinsey—and rejoined the firm one day after handing in my PhD thesis.
BROADENING MY EXPERTISE
I help my colleagues understand the details of the telecommunications industry and support them in solving tough real-world problems. I also work directly with clients, sharing my industry expertise. A particularly rewarding part of my job has been contributing to the firm’s perspective on 5G.
McKinsey’s vast network enables me to reach out, collaborate, and develop expertise in new areas such as cloud technology. For instance, during a cloud project, my team helped a client develop a new strategy for the European market. We reached out to a colleague based in Singapore, who had experience in shaping similar strategies in other markets, and she helped us identify the strategy’s potential risks and opportunities—greatly enhancing the analysis we provided to the client.
INVESTING IN PEOPLE
McKinsey is committed to advancing individual and collective knowledge—and this focus on people extends well beyond the firm. A great example is Speed Up Buddy, an NGO founded by one of my colleagues, which supports students who are the first in their families to attend university. Being a first-generation student myself, I’ve experienced how tough it can be without support—and I know it can make a huge difference when you have someone to bounce ideas off. So I joined up as a mentor at Speed Up Buddy; it’s been a wonderful opportunity to play my own part in investing in people.