Almost every morning I awoke with a sense of excitement, knowing that anything could happen and that by the end of the day I would have learned something new.

Joining McKinsey

I was halfway through my second bachelor’s degree when I decided to take a brief break from university. I wanted to explore different career paths and see if I could translate my knowledge into work experience, so I applied for an internship at McKinsey, motivated by its claim to be solving the most challenging problems for the world’s leading companies.

A dream project

My very first project indicated that I was in for quite a unique experience. I received the client’s name and some information about a study it was conducting. From there, I was given the responsibility of working on the organizational transformation of a leading global institution.

The project was meaningful and inspiring. Growing up, I had dreamed of working at this agency—and there I was, with my own work stream, navigating my way through a delicate political situation. I was thrilled to have my finger on the pulse of such a significant project and excited to have been given such an opportunity on my very first assignment.

Consulting: A holistic education

Consulting provided me with a holistic education at the highest professional level and an integrative view of business, economics, law, social science, and the humanities. It taught me to keep my mind open when approaching economic and social challenges and to use critical thinking and rigorous analysis in forming well-founded opinions. I learned a lot about the power of communication (and, yes, PowerPoint skills are an integral part of that) and how to work on teams with people who have different mind-sets and backgrounds. What made McKinsey a truly unique experience is the people I met and worked with. Despite the differences, I recognized unifying traits in all my colleagues: their willingness to learn, ambition to excel, and openness and passion to do so together as a team.

Every day was different

Management consulting is very time consuming and demanding and certainly not for everyone. But to me, the work we did each day was not only exciting but also very rewarding. Almost every morning I awoke with a sense of excitement, knowing that anything could happen and that by the end of the day I would have learned something new.

I am grateful for all the opportunities and challenges that helped me grow both on a personal and a professional level during my time at McKinsey.

Education

University of St. Gallen
BS, Business Administration and Law & Economics