Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what, in your imagination, would be your long term dream job? (500 words)

What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what, in your imagination, would be your long term dream job?

My immediate career goal is to join McKinsey, BCG or Bain, beginning as a generalist consultant role. As an associate, I will own a single workstream on a project, directly manage a junior business analyst, and work with the project manager to incorporate our workstream into the wider project. This role will give me exposure to a variety of industries, businesses, and topics; I will have the opportunity to engage with high-level leadership in the client organizations, while building research, analysis, and presentation skills as well as an understanding of business strategy, stakeholder engagement, and relationships.

Over the next three to five years post-graduation, I hope to rise to the role of project manager and seek projects in sustainability, my area of interest. Over time, I would shift into the sustainability arm of one of these firms, such as McKinsey Sustainability, BCG Center for Climate & Sustainability, or Bain’s Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility practice. As a project manager with a focus on sustainability projects, I will lead teams of three to four junior consultants, oversee the day-to-day work, drive the overall project strategy and deliverables, and manage client relationships. I will deepen my knowledge of corporate best practices across industries and how organizational leaders approach issues of sustainability and corporate responsibility, learning to think strategically on how sustainability solutions best fit into a business’s mission.

My passion for sustainability grew out of courses on business and sustainability during my accounting graduate program at SCHOOL X taught by a compelling visionary, PROF Y. Prof. Y used his background in organizational strategy and design to frame the topic of sustainability not just as an important social issue, but a way to improve the management and operations of a business and create long-term growth in profitability. We learned about connecting sustainability issues to the goals of the rest of the organization and how sustainability can increase productivity through greater employee engagement as well as drive innovation. I researched topics such as Toyota’s net positive impact 2050 initiative and how Statoil can transition to renewable energy production. These courses implanted in me the understanding of the role businesses can play in solving sustainability issues.

My dream job is to become a Chief Sustainability Officer at a global Consumer Products firm, a role which requires expertise in strategy, influencing, and risk analysis and management, and the vision to be both an agitator and an executor of large-scale initiatives. Two role models I particularly admire, NAME 1, the Chief Sustainability Officer for CORPORATION1, and NAME 2, the Chief Sustainability Officer for CORPORATION2, both worked in management consulting before transitioning to sustainability in the Consumer Products industry. Their ambitious programs, including CORP1’s Sustainability Index for suppliers and CORP2’s “Sustainable from the Start” product development philosophy, have been influential far beyond their own companies. Like them, I hope to not only embed environmentally conscious practices and long-term thinking into my company’s strategy but also pursue actions that can create lasting sustainability solutions across the planet.