Imagination vs. Reality
The idea is to work a lot, travel, make big money and have little free time. And yes, I do work a lot and I travel a lot too. In my job there are also these typical, mostly male shirt wearers from academic households. Many such management consultants often remain on a completely professional level in discussions with clients. Luckily that’s not the case in our company. But whenever I meet such colleagues, I think it’s cool to break the typical picture. Because I am myself as a management consultant and that means that I am easy to deal with. I sometimes talk to the customers about their children or their next travel plans. I realize I’m younger than most and may know more videos on Tiktok than my client. I don’t try to hide that side of me. I’m professional, but still myself.
What also distinguishes me from the clichéd management consultant: I don’t boast that I work a lot. This culture of bragging about long working hours probably exists everywhere, but maybe even more so in a management consultancy. I’m rather proud when, for example, I moderated a successful workshop and got good feedback for it at the end. What people often don’t think about: In management consulting, you have the chance to learn an incredible amount quickly and to build up a network right at the beginning of your career. For example, I try to give very specific support to clever women who want to work in management consulting.