Views expressed in guest blogs are the author’s own. 

Though I’d worked towards securing a job in management consulting since sophomore year of college without ever examining my decision along the way, I was suddenly confronted with the strange feeling of having a relatively long span of open and unplanned time in front of me. I had spent all of my summer breaks working various internships and jobs that would get me closer to that elusive full-time offer, but now, for the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to work towards a specific long term goal. I didn’t have an obligation to be “productive” at all, but I felt an itch (maybe that’s just internalized capitalism, but I digress) to take advantage of the opportunity.

After a catch-up call with one of my favorite professors in May, he reached out again, asking if I might be interested in doing some data analysis work for the company his son worked at. I figured it would be a good way to build on my data skills and had good initial conversations with the people I met from the company, a small private equity resourcing business. The job turned into a mini consulting project where I analyzed the company’s data to determine an ideal customer profile. More importantly, my boss became a mentor and friend, one of the first people I reached out to when I returned to Nashville. She previously worked as a lawyer and lived abroad for years, both of which are future possibilities I’ve considered. The chance opportunity I took as a way to pass the time turned into a rewarding project and hopefully lasting connection.

As I was working on the data analysis project, my mind also began to wander to think about how I could use the time until my start date to push myself and explore something new. I majored in public policy in college and had a longstanding interest in the public sector, but to be frank, I didn’t apply to a single public sector internship while in college because money had always been a big concern for me and (at the time) many of the opportunities in that space were unpaid. However, given my newfound economic freedom, I explored fall public sector internship postings. With the help of my university’s career center and a couple of former professors, I applied to several nonprofits in the area, eventually getting an offer for a fall internship doing policy analysis for a Georgia-based civil rights organization.

It was an exciting time to be involved in Georgia politics, with several important elections and changing political tides at play in the state. Getting to see the issues I learned about in the classroom play out on the state political stage was thrilling. For the first time, I had the chance to interact and work with policy analysts and lawyers, and I seized the opportunity to ask them about their experiences being trained and working in their fields. Though I knew I would be starting my professional life in consulting, I got a glimpse into what working in law and policy might look like.

Even better, the experience gave me a conduit to more sustained involvement with both the organization I worked for and the public sector in general. When I started at Deloitte (which ended up being in early December), I had a clearer idea of what kinds of work I was interested in. I got involved with a pro bono consulting group that works with Atlanta-based nonprofits, and my current client project is a collaboration with a nonprofit in the health equity space.

When I think of my proudest moments, the examples that come to mind are always the ones where I jumped into something new headfirst and a little unsure and came out on the other side knowing something new about my abilities and goals. Of course, I’m thankful for the big moments—the graduation, the job, etc.—but I’m equally as grateful for the little detours and meanderings off of the path—the one-off projects, connections, and explorations that allow me to pick up my head and look around.

Views expressed in guest blogs are the author’s own.

From the moment I signed my full time job offer in the fall of 2019, I didn’t give my future career another thought until the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced my hand (as it did for many others). Luckily, my offer was not rescinded, but my start date was pushed back from my expectation of August to mid-January.

Though I’d worked towards securing a job in management consulting since sophomore year of college and had never felt a need to examine the decision once I made it, I was suddenly confronted with the strange feeling of having a relatively long span of open and unplanned time in front of me. I had spent all of my summer breaks working various internships and jobs that would get me closer to that elusive full-time offer, but now, for the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to work towards a specific long term goal. I didn’t have an obligation to be “productive” at all, but I felt an itch (maybe that’s just internalized capitalism, but I digress) to take advantage of the opportunity.

After a catch-up call with one of my favorite professors in May, he reached out again, asking if I might be interested in doing some data analysis work for the company his son worked at. I figured it would be a good way to build on my data skills and had good initial conversations with the people I met from the company, a small private equity resourcing business. The job turned into a mini consulting project where I analyzed the company’s data to determine an ideal customer profile. More importantly, my boss became a mentor and friend, one of the first people I reached out to when I returned to Nashville. She previously worked as a lawyer and lived abroad for years, both of which are future possibilities I’ve considered. The chance opportunity I took as a way to pass the time turned into a rewarding project and hopefully lasting connections.

As I was working on the data analysis project, my mind also began to wander to think about how I could use the time until my start date to push myself and explore something new. I majored in public policy in college and had a longstanding interest in the public sector, but to be frank, I didn’t apply to a single public sector internship while in college because money had always been a big concern for me and (at the time) many of the opportunities in that space were unpaid. However, given my newfound economic freedom, I explored fall public sector internship postings. With the help of my university’s career center and a couple of former professors, I applied to several nonprofits in the area, eventually getting an offer for a fall internship doing policy analysis for a Georgia-based civil rights organization.

 It was an exciting time to be involved in Georgia politics, with several important elections and changing political tides at play in the state. Getting to see the issues I learned about in the classroom play out on the state political stage was thrilling. For the first time, I had the chance to interact and work with policy analysts and lawyers, and I seized the opportunity to ask them about their experiences being trained and working in their fields. Though I knew I would be starting my professional life in consulting, I got a glimpse into what working in law and policy might look like.

 Even better, the experience gave me a conduit to more sustained involvement with both the organization I worked for and the public sector in general. When I started at Deloitte (which ended up being in early December), I had a clearer idea of what kinds of work I was interested in. I got involved with a pro bono consulting group that works with Atlanta-based nonprofits, and my current client project is a collaboration with a nonprofit in the health equity space.

 When I think of my proudest moments, the examples that come to mind are always the ones where I jumped into something new headfirst and a little unsure and came out on the other side knowing something new about my abilities and goals. Of course, I’m thankful for the big moments—the graduation, the job, etc.—but I’m equally as grateful for the little detours and meanderings off of the path—the one-off projects, connections, and explorations that allow me to pick up my head and look around.

Helena Augenstein

She / Her / Hers

Strategy & Operations Analyst | Deloitte

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