Hello From our US Office
Elizabeth is a DHL Consulting Alumna, currently working as a Senior Solutions Design Manager at DHL Supply Chain. Hi, my name is Elizabeth. I work as an Associate Consultant in the DHL Consulting Americas office, located close to Miami. In this article I want to give you a glimpse into the daily practices at our consultancy, the topics I work on in a typical work week and the aspects of life that I particularly appreciate at DHL Consulting Americas.
Hi, my name is Elizabeth. I work as an Associate Consultant in the DHL Consulting Americas office, located close to Miami. In this article I want to give you a glimpse into the daily practices at our consultancy, the topics I work on in a typical work week and the aspects of life that I particularly appreciate at DHL Consulting Americas.
Monday Morning: Kick-starting the Week First at the Beach and Then With My Team
My alarm clock rings at 6 or 6:30 am and I take my typical morning run down the boardwalk into Miami Beach, before preparing for the day and heading to work. I treasure the last few cool mornings, before the South Florida summer heat sets in! I’m in the office by 9 am and start off with a weekly planning meeting with my team. We’re working on a digitalization strategy project to help our client identify partners for automating a set of their processes. We divvy up tasks for market research, interviewing companies, and creating slides for status updates and current findings on potential partners.
“Jour Fixes”: Problem Solving as a Group and Jointly Shaping Our Communications
Our work priorities are driven by weekly meetings – “jour fixes” in DHL Consulting lingo – which we hold with our project partner(s) and the client at least once a week. In our partner jour fixes, we share our latest status update and analysis results with the project partner to receive feedback and refine the work. In our client jour fixes, we present most recent results to the client and gather feedback on upcoming priorities or receive support in data gathering. Both jour fixes provide times for group problem-solving and shaping messaging in presentations to communicate with management.
Working Away: Researching and Interviewing International Startups and Analyzing Their Digitalization Potential
This week I am researching partners in the North America and Asia regions who could potentially digitalize our client’s targeted process. I analyze their different technological capabilities, current funding, and customers to understand if they fit our client needs. Another consultant and I interview startups, which we already identified as potential partners. On Wednesday, we document and discuss our findings with our manager to narrow down our list of potential partners. By the end of the week, we have finished our partner survey across several regions and can move on to prioritize our top partners.
On a typical day we aim to leave at 7-8 pm, although sometimes we work longer hours based on client and project needs. Many DHL Consulting clients are based in South Florida or Germany and so we travel less frequently than the typical consultancy. We will often work on projects in Germany and stay for an extended period of time or take occasional business trips to work on site with the client.
Fri-yay!: Socializing in the Office and Taking Part in Trainings To Become Better Connected
DHL Consulting prioritizes Fridays as a more relaxed day in the office. We wrap up our week’s work, conduct our bi-weekly office update, and participate in other trainings or internal brainstorming meetings which contribute to developing DHL Consulting (e.g., technology upgrades, volunteering activities). We often enjoy going out for lunch or a beer together after work and then head out for the weekend in the late afternoon.
After work on Fridays I typically go home and relax or complete chores, then meet up with friends or colleagues for dinner and going out. I live in Miami and enjoy all the activities that city life has to offer on Saturdays and Sundays. I became involved with a local organization called Habitat for Humanity, which works to build housing for low-income families across the United States. I enjoy working at the housing construction sites and helped organize a volunteer day with our office last year. I love exploring the food and going out scene with friends or colleagues, spending time by the water, and experiencing the street art and Latin American culture in the city. There’s always something new to discover!
My Personal Conclusion
All in all, I greatly enjoy living in a city like Miami and working in an environment, in which we collaborate strongly together as teammates and which challenges me to better myself every day.
I can count on my colleagues not only as teammates on consulting projects, but also for friendship outside the office. Our group problem solving allows us to bounce ideas off one another and provide feedback on each other’s work, making it the best possible. Our regular events and hang-outs outside the office bring us together further and build the glue that holds our teams together on both a business and personal level.
I’m incredibly thankful to work in this environment which DHL Consulting offers!
Interested in exploring new opportunities?
I hope I gave you an inspiring glimpse into life as management consultant in our US office. If you are interested in the job opportunities of DHL Consulting please check out the current job offers.
Interested in exploring new opportunities?
I hope I gave you an inspiring glimpse into life as management consultant in our US office. If you are interested in the job opportunities of DHL Consulting please check out the current job offers.
