Project Assistant (Consulting) Review

Work varies depending on the project, client and phase the project is in. Most of the day involves attending various meetings with different stakeholders and contractors, liaising with them over their scope and the project's progress. Day-to-day tasks and actions then come out of these meetings, which include things like modifying the programme and preparing change papers or financial bids. There is also plenty of downtime to work on your own professional development based on what you have learnt and seen as well as the end of placement presentation.

Personally, there was quite a steep learning curve. The initial cooperate training and online courses gives a great overview of the company and the things you could phase in the workplace. From there, most of the skills learnt are inter-personal skills, dealing with difficult people and issues. Along with them, learning what a lot of different acronyms mean has been a big thing, as well as a new appreciation for the financial and political side of projects.

Personally, the amount of responsibility I have been given varies depending on the senior member of staff I have been working with. One of them only really allowed me to sit in on meetings and review documents for errors. Another one allowed me to lead meetings and get actively involved in discussions and consultations. However, all of the experience has been valuable and taught me that you won't get anywhere if you don't ask. During any downtime I made sure that I was working on my professional development and actively asking if there is anything I could get involved with.

There is plenty of support and guidance available if you ask. You Line Manager is around to make sure that you are achieving your goals and to help you meet them if you aren't. There is also all of the team in your project, some who are obviously more helpful than others. I found someone who was able to mentor me through understanding how a Chartership application works and what is necessary to meet the requirements, something that was very important to me.

The company culture is surprisingly relaxed. Due to a lot of working from home and working out of client offices, personally I never got involved in any social events or activities. However, the ability to be flexible over lunch breaks and finish times has been useful. There are also different social groups that you can choose to get involved in if you so wish, as well as charity initiatives and similar monthly events. However, working from home can get quite lonely so it is important to manage your time.

I have definitely enjoyed my time at Mace and that is certainly because of the people. Everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and made sure that I know what I am doing. I have been able to do things that you just don't get to do in an acedemic setting and found out a lot about myself and the industry. I have learnt that while consulting isn't what I expected, nor necessarily what I want to do straight out of university, I have found people doing roles that I hadn't thought of as a career. So it proves that you wont know if you like something until you try it. And I would certainly consider going back to Mace, but in a different position more suited to my interests.

Yes

Make sure you prepare for the interview. If it is online then there's nothing wrong with having your notes in front of you but don't rely on them too much. Just be open and honest about what you have achieved and done. Make sure you have lots of examples, and don't worry if they are like 5 or 6 years old, anything and everything is relevant. Also make sure you do your research, look at the companies values and mission and see what what you have done and what you believe in match up to them.