What's your job about?

I work as a business analyst at EY Port Jackson Partners (EY PJP) across our corporate, government, and deal practice areas. As a business analyst, I work alongside other members of the firm on a project basis. The nature of the work varies day to day and on the specific phase of the project we are in, though there are a few recurring themes:

• As a business analyst, analytical research is where I spend most of my time. This can entail qualitatively and/or quantitatively building a fact base around the key problem statement of our project.
• The team will then get together in an internal team meeting to discuss the analysis, the implications this has for our hypothesis and story structure, and what we should focus on in the near future.
• Finally, we test our hypothesis and analysis with our client in a series of collaborative meetings.

The most interesting part of this role is the value you bring to firms who are faced with unique and ambiguous challenges. Coupled with the accelerated learning opportunities from working directly with partners and SMEs, this makes for a very exciting professional journey.

What's your background?

I have lived in Sydney my whole life, attending both primary and high school here. I then went on to complete my Bachelor’s in Commerce and Science at the University of New South Wales.

While at university, I was unsure of what role I wanted to pursue, so I took the opportunity to experience a range of internships within the e-commerce, banking, and technology sectors. Unfortunately, this had not left me any clearer on where to begin my professional career, though I recalled the advice given to me during one of my internships, which promoted consulting as a great way to gain a core set of skills and experience in different industries to discover if I had any particular interests.

Close to my graduation, I was fortunate enough to be offered a role at EY PJP and have been working here since early 2022.

Admittedly, I was quite nervous prior to starting, as I had no experience working in consulting or extensive knowledge of what consultants do. However, EY PJP has a great culture and network of members who hold your personal development and wellbeing in the highest regards, which made my transition from a fresh graduate into a business analyst much smoother.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes! Consulting is a degree agnostic field due to the benefit of bringing together the insights of members with a diverse background. At EY PJP, and for consulting in general, it is less about what ‘technical skills’ you have but more about your ability to think and write in a structured and logical manner.

Some important skills to have and develop in consulting are clear and succinct communication, problem-solving and understanding the'so-what’ of analysis, having a curious mind (which is important since you’re continually faced with ambiguous problems in unfamiliar industries), and being a collaborative team player.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

I am naturally a very curious person, so being able to gain insights into the business model and market dynamics of various firms in different industries is genuinely interesting. Along the course of the project, it is also satisfying to go from not knowing much about an industry to becoming an SME on a particular issue within the industry and having your analysis used as a key component of the final deliverable. Adjacent to this is the fact that we get to work with some of Australia’s largest companies. It is quite rewarding to know that you are helping drive change in firms with wide-spread influence and reputation in the Australian economy.

What are the limitations of your job?

There are more pros than cons when it comes to consulting, though two in mind that stick out are:

1. Close to deliverable deadlines, the workload tends to spike, meaning there may be a few days over the course of a project where you may need to work longer hours to finish work before a deadline. However, in general, the workload is very manageable, and hours are reasonable.
2. You are required to bear a lot of responsibility over your outputs, which may be presented to partners within the firm and executives/CEOs outside the firm. This can be daunting when you have just started your career, though the advantages this brings in accelerating your professional development and confidence are far more beneficial.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Spend less time rote learning material and more time trying to understand the 'so-what’ of the content being taught.
2. Not knowing what pathway to venture into the future is absolutely fine and should not be a cause of concern, though try and experience a range of opportunities to narrow down the list.
3. When applying to a firm, aim to get a sense of whether the work they do aligns with your interests and if the culture fit is apparent. In my opinion, these are 2 of the most important factors in choosing where to start your career.