Laura Greco

Country of origin: Spain

Placement: Accenture

I decided to take a placement year because I knew that it would be the perfect opportunity to gain real industry experience before graduating. Despite have working as a summer intern before; I realized that having a full year dedicated to a job would be more enriching and I was definitely right. I would recommend any student to take a year away from the university to learn in the real world.

What is funny about consulting is that it is almost like having two jobs – the project that you are assigned to and your role within the company. Throughout the year I was involved in two projects and in both I was responsible for reporting statuses, summarizing data, preparing PowerPoint presentations and even translating slides. Outside of projects, managers will often ask help with other things such as preparing proposals for clients. In addition, Accenture really values training and gives plenty of opportunities to develop your skills.

The placement is really a lot of work –you do not get special treatment for not having graduated yet. You are expected to deliver as an analyst would, which to me is the best type of placement as you will work hard but you will also learn a lot too.

I learnt so much throughout the whole experience, in consulting you are always learning new things. From Excel formulas and shortcuts to PowerPoint presentations, swim lanes on Visio, etc. Colleagues are always willing to help you regardless of their career level, which is the best thing to grow within the company. I was in contact with other analysts, consultants, managers and even managing director, I also got plenty of feedback both informally and formally and this was key for my professional development.

It is very hard to put down in a few sentences all the things that I learned throughout my placement year. If I had to pin down to just one, I would definitely say time management will make a huge difference during my final year as a student. During my placement, I constantly had to deliver work of high quality and time was always a bit tight (this always seems to be the case in consulting), I had to plan extremely carefully to be as efficient as possible. Organization is key and that is something that I definitely developed during this last year.

I think LUMS prepared me really well as I felt that there was a great balance between them giving the right directions and having the independence to chase after what interested me.