Author: Lieselotte Ceusters
Hi, nice meeting you!
I’m Lieselotte, 26 years old, living in Antwerp, travelling during days off, going for a run in nature to relax and always in the mood for food.
I studied Business Engineering at the University of Antwerp and HEC Montreal and launched my professional career when I graduated in September 2019 as a Consultant in the Financial Services Industry focused on Enterprise Risk Management. During the last months in my previous job, however, I realized that I wanted to take my career in different directions and in July 2021, I joined BrightWolves.
The biggest driver to make the switch was my curiosity. One thing that happens when being active in a specific line of work, is that you become more and more of an expert about a given topic every year. What I liked most about my time as a student was discovering new things and working on many different topics. So when I started to think of different ways in which I wanted to take my career, it became clear to me that Management Consulting was a great option as it would allow me to experience problem-solving across a whole set of industries. Now, I can explore different lines of work and later become an expert in the area that energizes me most. So I made the switch!
Application process and onboarding
Overall, it was amazing how quick but flexible it was in terms of feedback and planning.
Two things stood out for me:
Applying while being in a full-time job can be tricky, so I appreciated that I got to determine the timings to prepare for each round of interviews.
It was incredibly helpful that BrightWolves invested time in resources to help me prepare. I did not only receive some tips and tricks prior to my first round but there was also a quick feedback cycle after each round throughout the process.
My industry experience was quite limited. So even though I came in as an experienced hire, I did not have a real specialization – which is not per se necessary. When you come in, it can be that you already have a sense of where you want to go, but it’s also perfectly normal that you don’t have a strong preference yet – like me. You can just explore a whole set of industries and functional areas in the latter, and chart your own journey.
My onboarding at BrightWolves started with a 2-week immersion camp and many opportunities to get to know the whole team. Besides that, the Wolfpack invited me to team building events before my start at the firm, which gave me the feeling that I was part of a warm and close team.