What's your job about?
Nous Group is a management consulting firm with 330 people across 8 locations in Australia and the UK. Nous provides consulting services in 3 core areas – Business and Digital Strategy, Organisational Performance, and Public Policy. I work in our Organisational Performance practice group, working with clients on projects relating to culture, leadership, organisational development, and change management. I never have two identical work days. This may sound like a cliché, but it’s true. I knew that consulting would provide me with the variety of work I craved but I didn’t realise just how much. In one week I could go from developing an insights pack for a financial services client, to launching the organisational development strategy for a client in the healthcare sector, to working in a warehouse trialling change with a client in the FMCG sector. Nous is the sort of place that has allowed me to rapidly try out different industries and types of projects.
What's your background?
I was born and bred in Sydney. Throughout uni, I was lucky to do two big trips overseas. The first, on study exchange to Canada (to a small university town called Kingston). The second, on completion of my postgraduate, I spent the better part of a year travelling through Europe, and South America. These experiences were incredibly rewarding and allowed me to meet different types of people and experience new things. Throughout uni, I held a number of job and internships. My first role was as a Human Resources Intern at Multiplex (a construction management company). I also joined the volunteer organisation 180 Degrees Consulting whilst at Macquarie University. These two roles combined sparked my interest in consulting in the people and human resources space. Following this, I did my research on organisations that worked in this space. I found Nous and the Big4 consulting firms. I applied for internships and was lucky to get a role as an intern at Nous and EY (in their People Advisory team). Both roles provided me with amazing experiences and learning opportunities. For me, Nous was able to provide the perfect combination of types of projects, clients, size and responsibility. I started with Nous full-time as a consultant in early 2018 and I love my role.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Absolutely. Everyone at Nous has a totally unique education background – business, law, science, psychology, arts, history. You name it, someone from Nous probably has it. We also recruit people with wide-ranging experience – we have ex-musicians, ex-marine biologists, ex-lawyers. Nous has the perspective that the more diverse our people are, the more we can develop creative and enduring ideas for our clients. Although we come from diverse backgrounds, there is one thing we all have in common. We are a high-performing, curious, self-motivated bunch of people, interested in solving challenging problems faced by our clients. If you are interested in the work we do at Nous, and aren’t sure if your background fits, get in touch.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
There are many things that I love about my job. Two key things stand out. First, I get tons of responsibility. Within my first few weeks, I had facilitated a workshop for senior managers, been involved in client meetings and even managed a small project. I never expected to have this much exposure at this stage in my career. Nous’ flat hierarchy also means that you get a lot more responsibility and a level of trust that I haven’t seen in other organisations.
Second, I do work that matters. I get the opportunity to work on projects that have a positive impact and improve the experiences for employees, customers and citizens. And this doesn’t just mean doing work for non-profits and public-sector clients. This ranges from improving the culture of an organisation focused on improving cancer outcomes for all Australians, to partnering with a financial services organisation to create better customer experiences, to re-designing the domestic violence system in Australia. It is refreshing to work with others who share this passion.
It goes without saying that the people and culture at Nous are incredible. I come to work happy and excited each day and have made many friends that I know I will have for life.
What are the limitations of your job?
Consulting is a fantastic career, but it is not a perfect match for all people. If you want a consistent 9-5 job, consulting probably isn’t for you. In saying that, not all consulting firms are the same. Some firms demand 70+hr weeks from its consultants. Nous is NOT one of these firms. On average I work 45 hr weeks, however, there are peaks and troughs based on the stage of the project. If you are interested in consulting as a career, you must be comfortable with the flexible nature of the work. In saying that, Nous has a self-managed culture, so I can work whenever and wherever I want every day (as long as I am meeting the needs of my team and the client).
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