Paulo
Associate
Dry run as a summer associate
McKinsey is a firm with limitless possibilities.
Before joining the Toronto office, I worked in engineering in Brazil. Though I knew a little bit about consulting, I wasn’t really sure if it would be the right fit for me. I decided to go to business school because I wanted to face new challenges and develop new skills, and in the end, consulting seemed like a sound choice. After talking to many McKinsey people on campus and at the office, I decided it would be a great place to pursue my development goals and joined the firm as a summer associate to get a taste of life at McKinsey.
Despite my high expectations when I started, my summer experience was richer than I could have imagined. During my 19 weeks at McKinsey, I worked on two great projects—one in health care and one in energy—that had direct impact on the lives of many people. Further, I was extremely impressed with the level of coaching I received. I had the opportunity to travel all around Canada and to the United States, where we had a fantastic summer associate retreat. When the summer ended, I was convinced McKinsey was a great place for me and my career, and I decided to join full-time.
Developing through feedback
At McKinsey, feedback is the primary tool used for everyday development, and the learning curve is incredibly steep. It was overwhelming at first, and many times I have asked myself if I’ll ever get to my peers’ level, but the structured approach and quality of the coaching motivate me to carry on and make me feel comfortable throughout the process. I know I can always count on other McKinsey folks to help me develop.
Tapping into resources
On a recent study, we reached a point where we needed some deep technical expertise to back up our recommendation, and, although I had been on the ground for only a couple of months, I knew I didn’t have the knowledge to get to the level of detail the analysis required. Instead of investing long hours trying to come up with something useful, I simply picked up the phone and talked to a partner from the Luxembourg office who has been in the industry for 20-plus years. Two days later he was on the ground with us and not only did a fantastic job but also taught us what he knew—where else can you get this level of support?
Diversifying my experience
At McKinsey, it’s possible to work with top senior management on an energy project one day and on the front line with health care staff the next. Although this may sound like a drastic change, the transitions between projects are always smooth thanks to the support of great professionals in staffing and on the teams.