Student Perspectives

Rewarding work is about having visibility into the impact you are having and always learning from others.

Consulting gives you that visibility, plus you are learning all the time. Both of those are important to me.

I want to be inspired by smart, accomplished people. I found that at Berkeley Haas and I know I will find it at McKinsey.

Feeling connected, being part of a community is a big part of my life. I made a lot of lasting connections at Berkeley Haas.

A career pivot within the consulting sector at a school with the right culture

I had no business experience, so an MBA was essential to pivot from law and public sector policy consulting to strategy consulting.

Knowing all of the big firms recruit at Berkeley Haas was important to me, as was going to a top-ranked school.

I also wanted a culture where I could be successful and happy. The collaborative culture here attracted me. Everyone is genuinely helpful and invested in each other’s success.

Resources

My peers, the Consulting Club and the dedicated case interview coach, Peter K, in the Career Management Group were very supportive when I was preparing for interviews.

Later on, as co-president of the club and as a Peer Advisor with CMG, I was able to return some of that support. I made so many friends through the club.

One of the good things about the Peer Advisors is that we all came from different backgrounds, so we were able to support a real mix of first-years.

Hands-on learning in and out of class

In the class Designing for Tech for Good, my team consulted on a project with Electronic Arts on how to create a more positive gaming culture. It was so cool to work with a company whose games I love, and to feel that we added value to addressing a real-world problem.

In Power & Politics, I gained theoretical insights into some of my own experiences living and working in different cultural environments. It was great to have my experiences validated and to learn how to succeed in the workplace.

Leading People helped me realize that I could move away from being a performance-driven leader and taught me about the importance of paying attention to the emotional aspects of leadership.

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