McKinsey Korea

Upon receiving my MBA, I decided to go back to consulting. Having tested various trades such as marketing, consulting, and investment banking during my career, I came to the conclusion that consulting is the area that I feel most passionate about and most enjoy. At that time, I had only one criterion: choose the best firm possible. To me, the best meant two things: a place that provides me with ample learning opportunities while at the same time creating the highest client impact possible. After a few years at McKinsey, I feel I am now qualified to say McKinsey meets my definition of “the best.”

Learning Opportunities

The firm’s greatest assets and strength lie in its unbelievable network of experts, many of whom are considered the best in their respective fields. These bright people come from all over the world, bringing with them a distinctive cultural flavor that has enriched my life. Although I work in the Seoul office, for most of my projects I have a chance to work with at least one or two colleagues from other offices. McKinsey always brings in the best resources to deliver the best client service, and interacting with my colleagues is really one of the greatest learning opportunities there is. More specifically, I improve my problem-solving skills significantly working with them and gain at the same time the best expertise in areas of interest to me such as renewable energy (such as solar, wind, and Li-ion batteries).

Client impact

What surprised me once I joined the firm is that we always recommend what is right for the client rather than what they would like to hear. That is our DNA, and, based upon my personal experience, I am proud to say the firm is one of the few institutions to actually put the client’s interests first. Clients that have a shorter history working with us and are not used to this experience may be surprised at first, but I have seen many cases where they come back to us once they realize the value of our recommendation. For instance, in one of my projects, we recommended to our client to not buy a targeted company even though the CEO showed high interest in it and appeared to have his mind made up. Our analysis demonstrated low growth potential and very little upside potential. Naturally, our CEO client was not happy about our recommendation, but we proved to be right in the end and he is now one of our closest clients. We have earned his trust and that’s what we strive to do in our client work every day.

If you are considering consulting as a career, I would encourage you to think about McKinsey and join us. This is a place where one can grow and learn from peers about issues that go well beyond the profession of consulting and supporting clients.

Education