Hello everyone! I'm so excited to be joining the team of women bloggers and share my McKinsey experience on this platform. For this first post, I'd like to introduce myself, the São Paulo Office and my first impressions of the firm.
First and foremost, I hope you, your families, and your loved ones remain safe and in good health during this challenging time! Right now, I write from a small town in Brazil where I am working remotely at my parents' house, surrounded by my dogs. I’m a fellow business analyst in São Paulo, Brazil. I joined McKinsey almost four months ago, and I can confirm that the comparison of consulting years to dog years is true! In fact, one of the many great things about McKinsey is that the firm offers multiple opportunities in a short period of time!
Prior to consulting, I obtained a Law degree and gained experiences in different countries, getting to know different cultures and learning a lot about international relations. Even though I loved law, I felt that my profession restricted my curiosity and my desire to generate impact and solve different problems in the most varied situations. It was on one of my adventures, when scheduling a trip to Boston to take a course on humanitarian response to conflicts and disasters at Harvard, that I discovered the firm! I learned more about McKinsey through #aplaceforyou, a global campaign to attract talented women. It was through this initiative that I heard about different success stories of women in the firm and how McKinsey is a welcoming place that promotes diversity and encourages female leadership!
I believe you have already concluded how this story ends, right? A young graduate, moving to the financial center of her country in search of her dream job... and, yes: looking back, arriving at the São Paulo office and attending my onboarding was even better than I expected!
The São Paulo office is an environment of collaboration, serious work, but also of a lot of fun. We are about 700 colleagues, people from different backgrounds, cultures and styles, and, as you can see in the photos, the view from the office is just fabulous! We are located in front of the People's park, an area of 133,547 square meters, full of nature around it. You can find more than 30 types of bird species and plants there. It’s a great view to have while working or having a coffee break – mostly on Fridays when we typically work in the office as opposed to client’s site.
On one of those Fridays, precisely on March 6 2020, the office celebrated the International Women’s Day with a special breakfast and I could see how dedicated to women empowerment the firm is. The initiative made it possible for women to tell how McKinsey is committed to promoting diversity and creating an inclusive environment within the firm, our clients, and society more broadly. In addition, we discussed our achievements and what remains to be done. I know it may sound cliché, but I left the event feeling inspired, with a clear vision that this is a place for me, and that I was in a welcoming work environment where the community fosters a unique sense of belonging and growth.
Until next time,
Ana Carolina