Senior consultant Gina on exploring a career in consulting. BE YOU. BE A CONSULTANT.
Gina is a DHL Consulting alumna who after a successful career with DHL Consulting transitioned into the role of Senior Expert - Employee Feedback at DHL Group.
For Senior Consultant Gina Dahmann, variety is the spice of life. After joining DHL Consulting in June 2020, she’s been enjoying a wide range of projects and tasks across the DHL Group.
“At the moment I see myself as a generalist, not a specialist,” she explains. “But I’m being given the chance to see and experience different areas of the business so that I can develop my professional expertise and personal skills, and become a specialized professional in the future. I think when you join as an Associate Consultant or Consultant, it’s a bit like the first year of university, because you learn a lot of things but also develop as a person. That’s what I find so fascinating about it.”
Gina Dahmann
Gina — who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Cologne, and then completed a master’s in corporate development — is now working on her third DHL Consulting project. “My first project was for Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Post and Parcels business,” she says. “It was very operational, strategic and hands-on. Then my second project was in the area of global HR. I’m currently working on a completely different logistics-related project for an external client.”
Management consulting didn’t always figure in Gina’s career plan. In fact, when she was at school she was interested in becoming a teacher. “But then I did some internships and discovered that, while teaching is a very cool job, it wasn’t right for me,” she says. “I realized that every day would be the same — albeit with different children. So I decided to study business administration, because I knew I could apply it to a variety of sectors. I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but then I found out about consulting and how it could open up opportunities for me to learn different skills.”
Gina first became aware of DHL Consulting in December 2019 at the WFI Consulting Cup, a recruitment competition held in Ingolstadt, Germany, where students work in teams to solve a real case study within 24 hours. “DHL Consulting was one of the consultancies attending the event,” she says. “Their representatives were really nice, talkative and open-minded and gave great feedback on my team’s presentation. I knew then that it would be a company where I could learn a lot, and be valued as a person.”
Right now, at a little over two years into the start of her consulting career, Gina is excited to explore all the possibilities it offers. “In five or 10 years, I still see myself within the DHL Group,” she says. “In which area? I don’t know yet. But I’m enjoying the process of finding out!”
What Skills Do You Need to Be a Senior Consultant?
You need good analytical skills so you can get to grips with a problem quickly and hone in on the solution. And you need the ability to explain ideas to the client in an easy and understandable way, so good communication is essential, too.
How Does DHL Consulting Empower its Women?
By giving us the feeling that we are all valued — not because we’re women, but because we’re doing a good job. I also like its transparency around equal salary, and I’ve never had the feeling that male colleagues are more highly regarded or have better career opportunities than female colleagues. Plus I think it’s great that our CEO, Sabine Mueller, is an excellent role model and an example of female empowerment. The fact that we have a female leader makes me proud to be part of the DHLC team.
What’s the Best Thing About Working at DHLC?
I really like being surrounded by inspirational people. There’s a really cool crowd here and I’ve been learning a lot from them. DHLC also makes a big effort to be truly international with team members from across the world. That’s what makes us really unique as an organization.
Do Clients Expect to See Diversity in the DHLC Teams?
I think clients expect us to always be open-minded and to constantly generate great new problem-solving ideas. The best way to do that is by having a diverse crowd who all have different opinions. There’s no point in everyone thinking the same because it’s not the way to come up with innovative solutions. Also, as a team member, it’s really useful to have people with a range of different skills, views and experiences within the company, because then there’s always someone you can turn to for help and advice on any subject.
Away From Work, You Love Sports. Do You Have a Favorite Sporting Activity?
I really like skiing. Unfortunately, during the pandemic this wasn’t really possible. I also enjoy doing workouts together with friends or a group, but when that hasn’t been an option I’ve been able to compensate by going out for a run by myself more often or doing fitness-videos at home.
How Easy Is It to Balance Your Professional Life as a Senior Consultant With Your Personal Interests?
It depends on my project workload, of course. But in general, DHLC takes a keen interest in our well-being. Take my current project leaders and managers, they’re always telling me to go out and enjoy myself, and then continue working afterwards if I feel that I need a break. That’s a really cool attitude. Moreover, I usually try to keep the balance by going out for a run in the morning and start working at nine.
Be You: Read more stories from the women at DHL Consulting.
