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Chief Editors: Ayush Agarwal (210100035@iitb.ac.in), Ishita Poddar (21b030016@iitb.ac.in)
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As a part of our on-going Career Series, we are covering the experiences of several recent alumni who joined various companies and universities after their stay at IIT Bombay. If you are interested in contributing a piece, please feel free to get in touch with us.
The content on this website is strictly the property of Insight and the Students’ Gymkhana IIT Bombay. If you wish to reproduce any content herein, please contact us:
Chief Editors: Anshul Avasthi, Chirag Chadha
Mailto: insight@iitb.ac.in
Nupur graduated from IIT Bombay with a B.Tech in Civil Engineering in 2011. After being recruited by McKinsey & Co., she spent close to 3 years working out of the company’s Middle East and London offices. She is currently pursuing an MBA at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
What all options were there in front of you while graduating? And why did you choose to take up a job?
I chose to take up a job because I felt that working in the real world would be great for my learning journey. For me personally, real-world education far surpasses classroom education in terms of the opportunities it gives you and the risks it forces you to take. I questioned the value of classroom education for myself, as I felt that despite spending 4 years at a premier institute, I still felt unequipped to go confidently into the industry and display my engineering skills. This is why I did not want to immediately pursue a Masters. I also wasn’t sure if I wanted to do an MBA in the future, but foreign business schools strongly recommend (and to a large extent, require) work experience for applicants.
Industry-wise, I was looking at most of the prominent jobs in consulting and FMCG.
Why specifically McKinsey?
I was sceptical about choosing an industry as I felt I was interested in multiple things. Consulting provided the perfect opportunity to play around in different industries, get experience, and at the same time postpone decision making.
My interactions with the people at McKinsey were very pleasant, and I found people to be warm, friendly and helpful. I was also impressed by the global reach the company had, the time and effort they invested in developing their people (personal and professional development and well-being are big focus areas at McKinsey) and felt it would open up a host of opportunities for me, which it most certainly did.
[pullquote]Problems ranged from helping a client identify why they were dramatically losing customers, to developing a company growth strategy to take to the Ministry for approval.[/pullquote]
What is the profile of your job like?
I joined as a Business Analyst in the Dubai office and then transferred to McKinsey London with Energy Insights, a McKinsey Solution. The first 2 years, I was a generalist – getting staffed on projects from different industries (banking, mobile phones, internet solutions, fertilisers, aluminium, etc) in different countries in the Middle East. Problems ranged from helping a client identify why they were dramatically losing customers, to developing a company growth strategy to take to the Ministry for approval. My work often involved working closely with client teams at junior levels for tasks like designing customer surveys, analysing customer usage data, etc, and also running meetings with CXO-level executives to discuss the insights, recommendations and conclusions from our work.
The constant change in tasks, pace, McKinsey teams, client teams, and locations, taught me how to be quick on my feet and how to approach a completely new problem and try and make sense out of it. In my 3rd year, I was encouraged to transfer to the London office to pursue Oil & Gas with Energy Insights, which is an organisation within McKinsey, specialising in consulting services for Oil Field Services and Equipment Firms. The team also has dedicated specialists who develop McKinsey knowledge on the oil and gas space (e.g. natural gas supply perspective, oil rig perspective, etc), for those looking for a more technically challenging role. Working in a new geography is always a pleasantly challenging experience and I got to see the cultural similarities and differences between Dubai and London through this transfer.
Was your experience different from what you had expected before taking up the job?
It was very similar to what I knew before, in fact, it was a very fun and engaging journey compared to what I expected. Every job will bring its set of challenges, but I felt hugely supported and listened-to while at McKinsey. I was actually surprised by how nice, resourceful and helpful people were – it was clear that everyone had a personal commitment to go the extra mile to bring more to their client or co-worker. It taught me to set a higher bar for what I expected of myself. If I had to go back, I’d do it again.
[pullquote]Every individual has the “obligation to dissent” as opposed to the choice to dissent, which ensures that varying views get heard and debated regardless of hierarchy.[/pullquote]
What’s the culture at McKinsey like?
The culture is extremely nurturing and tailored towards individual development. The firm goes out of its way to accommodate individuals’ learning preferences in industry, lifestyle, choice of office location, etc. It follows an apprenticeship model where everyone is mandated to coach, mentor, and help those around them, which makes it an overall risk-free atmosphere for learning new things. Every individual has the “obligation to dissent” as opposed to the choice to dissent, which ensures that varying views get heard and debated regardless of hierarchy. Putting the client first, while delivering on McKinsey’s commitment to its people, is the overall culture.
What are your long term plans post MBA?
I am still figuring out my long term plans, but at Wharton, I am looking at jobs in renewable energy, or general management. I have loved living in different geographies, and so far the US has also been nice, so not sure where I’ll be geographically. I encourage you all to try to get a taste of living a new country for a while, just for the amazing personal development it brings.
[pullquote]Make sure you’re always asking yourself if you’re happy with what you’re doing and what the plan 2 years from now is likely to be.[/pullquote]
Any specific advice that you have for students sitting for placements?
Don’t get carried away by the wave of confusion. Try to pick about 2 industries you think you’d like, based on anything – what seniors have told you, what you perceive of them, etc. You have to start your career somewhere and your career will be long and fruitful after graduating from a place like IITB, so instead of stressing about it before it’s even started, make the best decision you can, with the information you have, and make sure you’re always asking yourself if you’re happy with what you’re doing and what the plan 2 years from now is likely to be. Hopefully that’ll keep you thinking of what’s best for you. As they say, over-analysis can cause paralysis. Also don’t get over-calculative with trying to weave in your personal life with your professional life – trust that things will fall into place if you make the right decisions one step at a time.
0Bain & Co., BCG, A.T. Kearney, Strategy &, PwC Diamond and several other management consulting firms also recruit students from IIT Bombay regularly. Keep following Insight for more interviews written by alumni working across different sectors.