Please give a brief background on yourself and your career.
I was raised in Waterville, Maine and have lived in Bloomington, IN, New York City and Boston in the past three years. I studied Psychology at Wellesley College and graduated in 2012.
After trying to find my footing for a couple years post-Wellesley, I now work in Knowledge Management in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice at Bain & Company. Prior to my current role, I was a temporary coordinator in Bain’s Global Recruiting department, where I was doing data and general program management support. After 6 months, I interviewed for the role in the M&A practice and am so happy I did because I enjoy the work.
How has your career changed since you originally envisioned it at Wellesley? What other careers did you consider as a student?
At Wellesley, I was very much on a linear path that (I believed) would lead me straight to a career in healthcare. During my four years, I was involved in research labs at both Wellesley and MIT, interned at UNICEF and mental and behavior centers and even traveled to Uganda to teach, thanks to the Global Engagement Grant. It was only natural that I then went to work in global health after graduation. I worked in global health for a year before I started exploring what else was out there.
Between global health and now, I freelanced in social media marketing, worked a bit in the film and TV industry and even dabbled in retail. Almost a year ago now, I was searching to get back on track career-wise and was looking through the job posts on MyCWS. It was there I found a 6-month temporary job at Bain & Company. While in that temporary position, I learned more about consulting and the fascinating work Bain was doing. Fortunately, at the end of my contract, an interesting position opened up and I was able to interview for it and ultimately get the job.
Going from global health, to social media, film/TV, and retail to the M&A practice at a consulting firm was not at all how I envisioned my post Wellesley life. It was more messy, difficult, and scary than the plan I had created at Wellesley but certainly one that I would choose again if given the choice.
How has Wellesley contributed to your career?
Well, thanks to the CWS I have my current job! I am 100% confident I would not have my current position if I hadn’t found and applied for my first job at Bain as a temporary project coordinator. So, in that sense Wellesley has contributed very directly to my career.
Wellesley also contributed to my career in more intangible ways. During my 6-month temp job (and consequent 6-month job hunt), I spoke to many, many Wellesley alums, sharing stories with some, resume tips with others. Through these talks, I learned that I was not alone in the where am I going, what I am doing and how did I get here stage. The Wellesley community has been invaluable and I’m grateful to be a part of it.
What is a typical work day or work week like for you?
I started about one month ago, so this could change. Currently, I read a lot during my workday. I need to be on top of M&A activity so I spend 1-2 hours every morning reading the news and doing related research. Part of my job in Knowledge Management is capturing and sharing content from our M&A cases, so I’m often on calls discussing Bain’s M&A cases with managers or doing internal research on previous cases for relevant content. My days are busy, but it’s an exciting time to be in M&A!
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into your area of interest and expertise?
In general, my advice is:
- Read a lot and stay informed
- Apply even if you’re not ready
- Find the best people to be in your corner. They will support you when you fail and cheer you on when you succeed
- It might seem daunting, but changing careers can be done
- Don’t feel held back by your major
What do you wish you had known as a student?
I had tunnel vision while at Wellesley and didn’t allow myself to explore opportunities outside of healthcare. I wish I had known that changing majors or goals was not a sign of weakness. That being said, I’m quite happy with how things turned out.
If you could come back and take one class at Wellesley what would it be?
I took ASTRO 101. It was fascinating. I would love to go back and take another course.