Written by Tanvi Ahuja
Are you interested in consultancy as a future career? If so, certainly a myriad of questions about the field would have popped into your head. To provide key insights on what it is like to be a consultant, we interviewed one of our 180DC Consultants, Sukhmani Randhawa. She has worked on projects for NFP clients last year and is back on board again to help more clients this semester. Read this article to discover valuable insights into what a typical week looks like for a 180DC Project Consultant.
Q. What tasks are you typically faced with in your projects? How often do you collaborate with your fellow consultants?
Usually, specific tasks vary for each project depending on the sort of work required. But in general, every project entails research, idea generation, insight evaluation, designing slides and writing reports. In terms of working with others, the team at 180DC is very collaborative, even in times of COVID-19. Talking about projects, we collaborate most during the idea generation period, however, when it comes to working on tasks, we are more likely to tackle those individually.
Q. How do you get assigned to and gather data for a client?
We are put into teams of seven; two of whom are our team leaders. We are then assigned to clients at the start of the semester. The executive team handles this process. They consider the nature of the project with the strengths of individuals when assigning them to teams and subsequently teams to clients. When it comes to gathering data it really depends on the project, some projects will involve a lot of desktop research while others would require us to conduct our own surveys and interviews.
Q. What is the best part of your week as a consultant? How do you juggle your tertiary studies, work and consulting projects all at the same time?
The best part would have to be team meetings for sure. It’s really interesting to see the project progress and what everyone has been working on. To answer the latter part of your question, good time management is important to handle everything at the same time. Being organised is essential and it is important to tell your team if you are under the pump any particular week.
Q. How often do you interact with clients?
It is mainly team leaders that interact directly with clients rather than team members. Sometimes team members do sit in on meetings, but in terms of deadlines and expectations, team leaders are usually the ones who are responsible.
Q. Would you recommend the consultant experience to other students at MBS?
Yes! It has to be one of the most rewarding and valuable experiences I have had at university. The training sessions are phenomenal! You get to meet such interesting people and you get to work on projects that will make a difference for an NFP organisation. What more could you ask for?
Before we concluded our interview, Sukhmani went on to describe what it is like to be a consultant in one line:
“Being a 180DC consultant gives you the opportunity to work in a creative environment with inspiring people to develop solutions that will have a meaningful social impact”
As Sukhmani’s answers encapsulated, we would also vouch for consultancy as an enriching experience, especially when you’re a part of the 180DC cohort. After all, what is more rewarding than meeting like-minded passionate people and working together on projects that make a difference for an NFP, right? Stay tuned if you are keen to know more about how we make an impact for our NFP clients and learn more about the work-life of a 180DC consultant.