I decided I didn’t want to just report on issues. I wanted to help solve problems.
I received my bachelor’s in journalism and communication from the China Youth University for political sciences. I was passionate about social issues, and I wanted to be a journalist who brought awareness to the social issues that exist in China.
By my fourth year of school, I had grown so frustrated because, as a journalist or reporter, you see so many issues in society up close and personal, but you just talk about them. It was at this time I decided I didn’t want to just report on issues. I wanted to help solve problems.
How I found McKinsey
I went to the University of Wroclaw to get a master’s degree in global studies and learn about globalization, international relations, and the international economy. I first learned about McKinsey’s Public & Social Sector Practice from my lecturer. At the time, I had never heard about McKinsey, and I had very little knowledge about consulting and the business world. I spent years dreaming of working at famous news agencies so I had never considered consulting work.
After earning my masters and returning to China to work at a cultural promotion agency in my province, I applied for and was offered a capabilities and insights role within McKinsey’s Europe, the Middle East, and Africa regional-research team, specializing in the public and social sector. I accepted the offer and moved back to Poland to begin my McKinsey journey.
Fulfilling the social warrior in me
In my role as a senior capabilities and insights analyst I still get to do the research, interviewing, and writing I always wanted to do, but now I see the impact of it in a much different and more fulfilling way. I interview experts to gather recommendations and insights and draft reports and build other assets that support client engagements.
I have also had exposure to many key social and economic issues, such as how to mobilize development finance to support developing countries, how to measure social returns of investment, or how to support small and medium-sized companies as they work to survive COVID-19, etc.
As a journalist, I might have been able to report on social issues, but at McKinsey, the insights we provide help international organizations and governments make decisions that drive social impact and move the needle in a meaningful way.
Contributing to the arts
At McKinsey, when you are proactive and you look for opportunities to develop, you’ll be supported. For example, I had the idea to build a central library for knowledge about the cultural sector after working on several relevant client projects. Simply by reaching out to colleagues I knew had a similar interest in the cultural sector, I was able to bring the idea to fruition.
Together with a firm leader and several other colleagues, we created a cultural-sector tribe to support client projects focusing on museums, performing arts, ballet, theater, and more. The idea has been growing and colleagues from different regions have since joined us in our efforts.
Previously, most of the cultural-sector work McKinsey did was pro bono, so it was scattered. We collected data and found that over the past five years, the firm has served more than 100 organizations around the world. Now we want to broaden the work and make it financially sustainable. The goal is to use our global network of experts and breadth of resources to drive impact for clients going forward.
My McKinsey family
I came to McKinsey not long after my degree. I didn’t know anyone in Wroclaw other than my classmates, and the firm gave me the chance to work with people from all over the world. It was a big leap, but my team made it less overwhelming.
When you join McKinsey, you receive mentorship and coaching from smart, talented people from the start, but it also goes way beyond that. Even early on, I could call my local colleagues and say, “I need to find a doctor—who do you recommend?” Or as I was moving, I could ask, “How do I set up my internet?”
My colleagues and I spend time together outside of work going to restaurants, cooking together, and other fun activities. Several of us are passionate about hiking, and we often get together to hike the oldest mountain in Poland and enjoy the amazing landscapes. My colleagues have become my friends and support system.
More about me
Being from southwest China, I had not experienced very cold winters or snow, but now that I am in Poland, I have gotten into winter sports and learned how to snowboard.
Living outside of China has also made me start to notice the difference between societies and cultures and it fascinates me.