Master's student Yvette Janse is sure: after her studies, she wants to go into consultancy. ConQuaestor was not at the top of her list, because the finance profession did not really appeal to her. Until she discovered that the Young Executive Program (YEP). at ConQuaestor offers so much more than finance assignments. "This program allows me to really boost my career in management consulting."
Anyone who wanted to schedule something in Yvette's schedule in recent weeks was out of luck. The nearly graduated master's student was and is extremely busy. She is working on the finishing touches of her thesis for her master's degree in Culture, Organization and Management as well as working part-time at ConQuaestor within the YEP program for Management Consulting.
Although working is on the back burner for now, as she is putting all her hours into graduation. After that, she will start full-time in the Young Executive Program. She can't wait. "I'm looking forward tremendously to applying everything I've learned during my studies in practice," she says.
Why consulting at ConQuaestor?
Yvette enjoys helping others get ahead. And she sees this reflected in the consulting profession. "I get energy from helping clients solve a problem. I chose ConQuaestor because the people and the organization really appeal to me. The click during the interviews was good. I also like the fact that it is a smaller company with little hierarchy. You interact quickly and it feels very personal. They really look at who I am and my ambition. I am given room to learn and assignments that fit my development. They throw me in at the deep end, but I have a senior and other colleagues I can always turn to with questions. So I get the chance to learn by doing and that's where I learn the most."
Young Executive Program (YEP).
In the YEP, Yvette receives many interesting assignments in addition to many trainings. These are both content and skills training. Yvette explains: "A course on CSRD is scheduled soon. This is a hot topic with many of our clients, so I can advise them on that with my knowledge. But I'm also looking forward to the skills training courses on soft skills that I will need at the client. In terms of assignments, management and operations issues particularly appeal to me. But I am also open to finance projects. I would like to develop myself broadly. The YEP offers the perfect combination of theory and practice. And ConQuaestor is investing heavily in its management consulting practice. I find it super fun to contribute to the further design of our department. So actually we have a kind of internal management consulting assignment here too!"
Hard work and sociability
During Yvette's time at ConQuaestor as a student, she was soon allowed to work independently. "I collaborated on a presentation for a client, about an IT transformation. I immersed myself in the client question, gathered information and produced some great slides that we will continue to implement with the team at this client. I enjoyed turning a mountain of information into a nice concrete approach. The fact that I help an organization move forward with this really gives me a good feeling. My colleagues also make me happy. Our team is small and close and there is a friendly, approachable atmosphere. We work hard, but there is also room for a joke and fun. We regularly have drinks or go out for coffee. That makes working together extra fun and gives you energy to bang together again afterwards."
Making social impact
Finally, Yvette explains what it means to her to make social impact in her work. "If possible, I prefer to do assignments with organizations that are a bit more socially involved, such as public organizations. Then I feel that my work really adds value to society and that makes it extra meaningful. Fortunately, ConQuaestor also does a lot of work with interesting bodies within the public sector. I also find it fun and instructive to work for commercial companies as well. In that respect, I am in the right place at ConQuaestor, because both the clientele and the assignments are very diverse. I am therefore very much looking forward to my start."
Like Yvette, do you want to boost your consulting career? Then click here for more information and opportunity to apply for the Young Executive Program.