Who are you and what do you do?
Hi, my name is Laura and I’m the newest recruit in Oliver Wyman’s Sydney office! Before becoming a Consultant at OW, I was fortunate enough to work for some of the world’s largest companies including Amazon, American Express and several other global management consulting firms. As a result, the question I’ve been asked most frequently in my life is undoubtedly ‘So, what exactly IS consulting?’
In a nutshell, consulting is about coming together to tackle an organisation’s toughest challenges. Since OW works across a variety of industries including Financial Services, Transportation, Energy and Retail, you quickly learn to become an expert in an industry that you might’ve never interacted with before. Since no two projects are ever the same, you’re constantly being pushed to learn and grow.
What made you pick Oliver Wyman?
Honestly, when I got my first consulting internship in uni, I picked it for all the shiny reasons. I wanted to work with smart and interesting people; have a different project each quarter; and of course, travel was always a big plus. However, after working in consulting and broader corporate strategy for over 3 years now, I’ve realised that the industry and OW, in particular, has a lot more to offer.
The key reason why I picked OW is because of the impactful work that we do. From a project perspective, we work with leading organisations to deliver game-changing strategies whilst on a social impact level, there are so many amazing volunteering events and pro-bono projects to get involved with. To me, OW is the place where you go not just to fix a problem, but to really build something new. The culture has a huge emphasis on challenging conventional thinking to help chart new futures for our clients and communities.
What are the people like and how is working in a post-COVID world?
As an off-cycle hire, I was able to strategically time my start date at OW in late November, just in time for the Christmas party season. During my first few weeks, I was surprised to find how welcoming and friendly everyone was! There were plenty of social events, ranging from pottery classes and yoga to your casual Friday night drinks.
While our offices are currently WFH, I still find that people are making the effort to reach out, get to know to me and help me with my personal & professional development. There have been various training sessions and mentoring programs to help you get started and ensure that you’re well-equipped to reach your goals.
Ok I’m sold, how did you prepare for the interview process?
My biggest advice would be to talk to as many people as you can from OW to get a sense of the culture, type of work we do and the people that we’re looking for. Go to university alumni panels, our corporate networking events or just shoot one of us a message on Linkedin – anything to show your interviewer that you really know what OW’s about and why you want to be here.
Meanwhile, most consulting interviews are known to be fairly rigorous so to prepare, I would recommend doing some practice cases (with friends if possible), staying up-to-date on industry news and a little bit of mental math practice doesn’t hurt either.
Last question, what’s the best place to grab a coffee by your office?
Bonnie Coffee on Margret, but I would also HIGHLY recommend the hot choc from Three Chocolatiers in Wynyard Station.