Recent College Graduates, have no fear.
As you stow your caps and gowns in cardboard boxes and gaze across the landscape of Corporate America, you may be wondering what comes next. You may be concerned about the obstacles that lay ahead, and you may worry that your college experience is lost forever.
I am here from the future to tell you that such is not the case, especially in the world of consulting. Here’s why:
5) Road Trips – Travel is an ever-present part of consulting life, so think of it like the road trip you took to Panama City Beach last year… except now you wear business casual and rack up hotel points and airline miles as you go.
4) All-Nighters – OK, maybe it’s not quite like finals week your freshman year, but there are times when you are up against a client’s deadline and you feel the euphoria of working through dinnertime towards something significant.
3) Microsoft Office – It is still your best friend. You just learn even more ways to create elaborate formulas, manage your calendar, and splice information.
2) Social Networking – If you are reading this blog, you understand that employers have jumped on the social media bandwagon, making sites like Facebook and LinkedIn an important way to build your network and personal brand beyond the campus stratosphere.
1) Group Projects – Consulting is about teamwork and collaboration. At Protiviti, consultants work together to come up with the right solution to a problem. The big difference is that the meticulous professor has morphed into the client (and your teammates will root for their own alma maters on the weekends).
And, if nothing else, the hold of the college experience sneaks up on you in the strangest ways long after graduation. For me, this morning, it was (don’t judge) a Meatloaf song on my iTunes. Sitting at my desk, with a spread of papers before me, I was transported back to the desk in my dorm room and the caffeine-induced hysteria of knocking out my last term paper. Just as you will some day, I cranked up the volume and relished the memory.
– Bridget
