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Three first things (twice): from PwC UK to PwC Switzerland. Meet Kiera
24/03/21
Three first things
Life at PwC can be frenetic, funny and so many other things. Each one of us live and experience moments and situations differently and we want to tell you how this experience look like by asking our people three questions about three first moments they lived when joined PwC.
Kiera told us about her first experiences at PwC UK and how she lived everything again at PwC Switzerland.
Do you remember your first team meeting? What was striking about it?
I have two “first meetings” with PwC to look back on: I first joined PwC in 2016, originally based in the UK. On my first day, I was one of around 100 new consulting associates meeting in London to be onboarded to the graduate programme. I found the prospect of this a mixture of exciting and somewhat overwhelming (and I still wasn’t completely sure what consulting actually was). Thankfully, throughout the course of the day I discovered that consulting wasn’t just filled with über-competitive finance graduates and instead met a real array of people from former teachers to Chinese studies graduates and sports scientists. I found that we all shared a genuine interest in working in people-facing roles to help large organisations to solve important problems. Everyone was friendly, motivated, capable and, importantly, really fun to work with.
In February 2019, I transferred from PwC UK to PwC Switzerland, moving into the Research & Development consulting team in Pharma & Life Sciences. When first meeting my new colleagues, I instantly noticed that the 12 people from my team covered 10 nationalities and as many languages, with a range of backgrounds across academia and industry. I loved that! Our first team meeting was fast-paced and fun, with everyone sharing what client projects and business development they were focusing on. PwC emphasises the importance of building a strong network of global relationships and meetings like these allow these connections to happen. A small mention to a team member about something you’re interested in often leads to a conversation with a colleague on the other side of the world.
Do you remember your first project at PwC? What are the three learnings you were able to gain for the next ones?
In the UK, my first ever consulting project was with a global food manufacturer for a project managing the launch of a new product range. The three things I learned from this were:
- Anything can be interesting. Having a chemistry degree, I had absolutely no knowledge of food production, but soon found myself enjoying discussions about the ratio of tuna to mayonnaise or how exactly to package sushi so the avocado wouldn’t fall off. One of the great benefits of consulting is the variety of opportunities and by being open-minded you can really enjoy every awaiting experience.
- Going above and beyond makes all the difference. On launch day, there were some staffing issues at the factories and there was a risk of not being able to complete the orders. Therefore, my colleague and I got ourselves some wellies, hairnets and overalls and spent two days packing products in the factory. The launch was a success and the client team were so appreciative that we were willing to do whatever was needed to make it happen.
- Succinct communication is an invaluable skill. Clients are often dealing with multiple projects simultaneously and our queries may just be one item on a long to-do list. Being able to clearly summarise the key things that are going well or need more support helps them understand the most important updates without being overloaded with information.
What did you feel the first time you were in a more casual environment with your team?
The first weekend I arrived in Switzerland was our winter event in Davos. Meeting my new colleagues over a cocktail of fondue, kirsch and night-time sledding was a great way to get to know everyone (as was finding out who does the best Freddie Mercury impression ...). Consulting has a real camaraderie of swapping stories from tough client pitches, travel mishaps or where to find the closest pub near a remote client site in an obscure town. These team events are always a fun night out but they also make our organisation more open and connected – it’s much easier to email someone to ask for their help when you’ve had a drink up on a mountain together!
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