Name Antti Title Senior Business Analyst, Helsinki Education Master of Science, Helsinki University of Technology

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss
I had a vague understanding about my future career options, let alone my own preferences and desires, when approaching the final leg of my studies. I was certain, however, that I did not want to end up doing same tasks every day until I retire. Consulting was rumored to be a fast-paced project type of work with no days alike. In addition, I was told consulting had other upsides such as continuous exposure to various industries, working jointly with bright minds and having a steep learning curve, so I decided to give it a try. Now after some months with A.T. Kearney the daily tasks have proven to meet the expectations and have even left me speechless with the pace and results we reach on a daily basis.

Keeping Your Eye on the Ball
The fast pace in projects quickly convinced me that the academic approach of answering all questions, often in a chronological order, was going to make anyone burn out in no time. 80% of impact can often be delivered by 20% of efforts and hence it is essential to know where to lay your focus. As a student I had heard consultants using jargon, such as storylining, strawmans, hypothesis based problem solving; words I later learned stand for important tools for keeping your eye on the ball. And it is truly amazing how spot-on hypotheses and storylines we can build already during the first moments of an engagement just by bringing together the SMEs and other bright minds from both the client and A.T. Kearney. After having the initial story in place, solving the cases is often a relatively straightforward process.

Access to International Network of Experts from Day One
Being able to build the spot-on hypotheses and thorough understanding of the topic already during the first days of an engagement, and naturally also to crack the case later, irrespective of industry, geography, or type of the engagement, requires extensive network of experts around the globe. That network and the knowhow of the people in it are the most important assets of our company and a factor which keeps increasingly impressing as the days go by. The moment you start at A.T. Kearney you automatically become an important part of that knowledge pool and also get the privilege to have access to and support from the people in the pool. I, for instance, have enjoyed being part of the network by solving a case in London, with two colleagues from India and Slovenia; having a training for 8 participants with 7 different nationalities in Paris; and playing soccer in a team consisting of Nordic consultants against a team from China in Rome, just to give a few examples.