With work being a major portion of your life because it takes up a large part of your day, the people that you spend it with will make or break that experience.
What made you get into consulting?
I wanted to get into consulting in university so my professor gave me a couple business cards of some individuals who I could reach out to, one of whom was David. I messaged David highlighting my strengths and got an interview. One thing to learn from this experience is that no matter what, you just need to reach out and try, and something may or may not come out of it, but you never know unless you put yourself out there. Make sure you add a personal touch of what you bring to the table and why they should give you a shot
What are some of the main things you have learned in your role?
This being my first career-style job, it’s very important that I appreciate the people I am learning from more than the position or monetary gain. It’s very important to have a good first leader and people who are around you. That sets the stage for the rest of the year, kind of like a first impression into your professional career.
Second, Being okay with facing challenges and problems that you can’t solve and not getting frustrated about them. In consulting, you get a lot of scenarios where you are being asked to do something and in that moment you may not know how you are going to go about it, but it shouldn’t dissuade you or make you think negatively about yourself.
Adding onto that, it’s very important not to be infected by impostor syndrome. That is, when you walk into a place and feel like you are a scam and you’re not as good as the other people around you. I think everyone feels that way at some point. We are around a lot of smart people and sometimes it’s hard not to compare yourself to others who are around you who are a lot more experienced than you and smarter than you.
Two weeks ago, I had a task I had to do which took me about 5 days to complete, then one of my co-workers (who had a lot more experience than me) came along and completed it in a much shorter time. I learned that it’s important not to compare yourself to other people. Other people are in different chapters in their life, so you need to be cognizant of that and just take your own path and only compare yourself to how much you progressed from your first day walking in the role.
What has been your favourite part about working for TPG?
The people for sure. I am friends with everyone. I can talk to people about anything, I can crack jokes. It just makes work fun. When I go to work, I know I will be seeing the team of people I am currently working with. Working together, we become more like friends than co-workers.
With work being a major portion of your life because it takes up a large part of your day, the people that you spend it with will make or break that experience.