Duwain

Careers

Why I joined McKinsey

I met a former partner from McKinsey during a college internship and he really piqued my interest. I was interested in the team-oriented type of culture, working with multiple people, and trying to solve problems in teams, which led me to apply.

I can’t believe that a short time ago I was in class trying to finish homework assignments and now I’m working with some of the largest companies in the world. McKinsey is giving me the opportunity to help top companies think about what they are doing and why. I’m really fortunate to be able to work somewhere where I’m passionate about what I’m doing and have significant impact.

Opportunities

My first study was a healthcare payor study, an industry I never thought I’d want to explore. I learned so much, and now I’m very interested in the topic. I can watch the news and see what’s happening with the healthcare debate and really understand what’s going on. I never would have known I liked healthcare if I didn’t have the opportunity to work on it. I have met several different consultants and each has had a different experience driven by their individual interests. If, like me, you don’t know exactly what you’re interested in right away, you can explore different opportunities and figure it out over time. As a business analyst I have several career path options open to me. For example I could work abroad, or do a rotation program in the social sector or functional practice like organization or high tech. I love that McKinsey has so many different avenues and pathways for me to pursue. It is one of the main reasons I stay excited about being at McKinsey.

Building Leadership Skills

I’ve always thought about leadership in the sense of leading other people, but one of the things I’ve learned at McKinsey is that you can be a leader in other ways. One of the ways McKinsey is developing me into a leader is through problem solving leadership. In my problem solving leadership journey I mastered leading my own problem first and over time I received more responsibility and support. On my first study my focus was on a subset of the overall problem. On my second study I was leading a small group of people in solving a specific problem for the client. And on my third study, I lead two separate client teams, combining problem solving with team leadership skill building. What I’m doing is directly contributing to my leadership development, skills that I can use in any setting, whether it is personal or professional.

BCSS Community

When I was evaluating different job offers about the level of support I would get as a member of the black consultants community, McKinsey was definitely distinctive. During the interview process, a member of the community talked to me to tell me more about McKinsey. After I got my offer, so many people from the community reached out to talk to me, answer questions, and make sure I was comfortable. BCSS gives me a level of extra support, of people looking out for me and making sure I am as successful as possible. It has also jumpstarted my ability to connect with people as mentors, for help and for networking. In terms of mentorship, there’s an honesty about sharing experiences, mistakes and all, that I really appreciate.

BCSS Meeting and Mentorship

My first BCSS meeting included a day committed to new hires. We spent time talking about how to put tools we’d learned about into practice and several other things that were helpful to new hires. I left the training focused, with a list of 15 things I wanted to do differently. The #1 action item for me was to build my professional network within McKinsey by focusing on developing long term relationships with my teammates. Now I consider the engagement managers and partners I work with as mentors, and I spend a great deal of time building and cultivating relationships with them. Because of these relationships I can leverage their knowledge, experience, and support long after our study together is over. This has really contributed greatly to my growth and development because I have many more mentoring relationships and sources of insight, which helps in trying to navigate my way through my professional career. I also just enjoy meeting different people and learning from their experiences.

What I do in my free time / my hobbies

Since I went to college in Cleveland I have a lot of friends who are still in the area, so I spend my weekends catching up with them. Either that or I am with my family or my girlfriend. I also really like watching football or basketball on the weekends.