My first year as a BA

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to start my blog and share my McKinsey experiences on this platform. For this first post, I'd like to share my first-year BA experience and an inseparable part of it—the Chicago BA community.

It's graduation season, which means I'm hitting my one-year mark at the firm soon. I joined the firm without what one might call a "traditional" background and really just found out about what McKinsey does (and the consulting industry) my last year in college.

So, even after I decided to join McKinsey, I was not 100% sure of what was to come. Among the many things that exceeded my expectations at the firm, the one thing that I'm constantly grateful for is the fellow BAs (I'll write more about the amazing mentors and inspiring leaders in blog posts to come).

There are about 80 BAs in Chicago and we have an ongoing group chat about everything from weekend hangouts and dinner plans to desperate PowerPoint template requests and doctor recommendations. I make an active effort to go into the office every Friday to see everyone and catch up on life (and it’s also for the great catered lunch). They have become my go-to people to message or call when I need someone to rely on during the week days, and my brunch buddies on the weekend.

First year BAs at Chicago Office retreat in Arizona

I'm also actively involved in recruiting for my alma mater, Northwestern. The Northwestern network is incredibly strong in Chicago. We recently won the right to decorate the Chicago office in the Northwestern theme for a whole year. Wait for the picture when we take over "Goose Island," the central hangout place in the Chicago office later in June!

I can't wait to share more with you about the community (beyond BAs), the amazing teams I work with, and exciting projects I'm on.

Until next time,
Jane