I joined Oliver Wyman early last year as a Graduate in the Sydney Office. Prior to joining the firm, I had spent some time interning at several other companies, taking on more technology strategy focused roles. I chose to join Oliver Wyman not only because I was extremely interested in the nature of work that was being done but had such a positive experience interacting with people at the firm during my interview process. After having been at Oliver Wyman for a year now, the development opportunities and strong sense of culture at the firm are what really stands out to me.
Last year alone I had the opportunity to work across eight different projects across a variety of industries and capabilities. The diversity I was able to experience in such a short time presented a significant learning curve, which was both enjoyable and challenging. I was able to develop my knowledge and skills in a short time because of the strong mentorship and support that was provided to me throughout my projects. Throughout these projects, there was always a big focus on understanding what my personal goals were and my team worked very closely with me to ensure that we were not only delivering quality work for the clients but that I was also continuously learning and doing work that was aligned with my personal interests.
The mentorship I was able to experience throughout my time on projects was extremely valuable and is something that Oliver Wyman extends to the broader community. I was involved in running our annual Case Competition for students across 12 Australian and New Zealand universities in collaboration with a student society to foster learning and development opportunities. As part of this competition, we engaged around 500 students who were able to work on a real consulting problem for a client company. We worked closely with the students to help strengthen their ideas and develop fundamental consulting skills. Being involved was such a positive experience as we got to see how they evolved throughout the competition.
Outside of projects, there is a big emphasis on the culture and ensuring individual needs are well supported. For me, the social events have been a big highlight, particularly as we were in and out of lockdowns during this time. It provided us with the ability to connect with those around us beyond projects in more casual and fun settings. Our events were not only focused internally but also on how we could contribute to society as a whole. A memorable event that I had the opportunity to organise was our Charity Auction, which was dedicated to supporting two local charities. It was exciting to see how involved the entire firm was, volunteering unique items and experiences up for auction and the impact we were able to create for the broader community.
My first year at Oliver Wyman has been an incredible experience and I'm very excited for the year ahead.