When I was in the recruiting process for our office in Hong Kong, about 1.5 years ago, I connected with Yash, back then a business analyst from our India office, who helped me think through my decision to join McKinsey. I remember being inspired by his passion for the firm. The opportunity to have a lot of fun, while gaining new experiences in different geographies and industries, was why he decided to join McKinsey. It was also an important reason why I accepted my offer.
Time has really flown by since then, and even though I had some ups and downs in my journey, I am thankful that my whole experience at McKinsey has always been interesting. Some of the highlights include taking Chinese executives to visit fintech start-ups in the US, reflecting on how I can "make my own McKinsey" at FLITE (training program for business analysts), and working with an engagement manager who had my best professional interests at heart and helped me to pursue projects in my areas of interest.
Last month, I caught up with Yash to see how our paths have evolved. I found out that we both decided to take advantage of McKinsey’s mobility opportunities. Yash was living in Miami and I moved to New Jersey. We also had a great conversation about the purpose of our work at McKinsey. Yash and I reflected on both the successes and challenges of trying to live out our values day-to-day in our engagements. I’m happy that many of us at the firm care deeply about making a positive difference and truly live our values. And this, for me, is pretty much what is distinctive about McKinsey. It’s a place where you can pick up the phone and call a colleague thousands of miles away to chat about work and life. It’s a values-driven organization filled with really interesting and thoughtful individuals, like my recent team - the picture for this post was taken during the holiday season.
Until next time,
Felicia