Starting at McKinsey
My name is Rémi Said. I am 29 and I have been with McKinsey for 5 years. I joined the firm after graduating from the École Polytechnique in Paris. I went to New York for a year to study for a master’s degree in science. As soon as I finished, I moved on to McKinsey.
I started as an intern with a 4-month internship at the end of my course. After that McKinsey offered me a permanent position. So far I have followed the standard career path: I was a junior associate for two years, then an associate, and for a year now I have been an engagement manager.
Self-realization
What I like about McKinsey is the flexibility to pursue interesting opportunities. For example, I was offered the chance to work on McKinsey research on the economic impact of the Internet. It was a topic that nobody had studied in this way. We put together a study covering 15 countries and analyzed the Internet in each. This gave us a chance to present our work to the eG8 annual conference. The eG8 brought together 1000 CEOs from large global corporations in the Internet, telecom, and high-tech sectors. I helped to prepare McKinsey’s presentation and was at the center of important decisions in the sector.
The project also gave me an opportunity to connect with people from many countries—the United States, China, South Korea, Japan—working with them directly to get a better understanding of the local economies. McKinsey’s highly diversified international network is a huge asset and made this possible.
A second example of flexibility is that over the last year McKinsey has given me the chance to teach some classes at the École Polytechnique.
A unique environment
There are three things that really excite me about McKinsey. The first is the people—friendly and supportive. From the day you join you feel at home.
The second thing is flexibility. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, you can create time for yourself by being organized and by working in a structured way. You can make time for a professional life, a personal life, and a family life.
The third thing is diversity: diversity of projects, of people, of sectors, and more. This is something unique. You never have time to get bored.