Secrets of the City

Min went through a "standard" career path for lifelong City workers. He started in consulting at OC&C, left to work in private equity and now works in a VC firm focused on climate technology start-ups. Although his career path was standard, his story is anything but. Min realized after less than a year in PE that he wanted to quit. In this episode, we get a refreshingly honest view of what he liked and disliked about his job. We also unpick how important it is to align your personal and professional values. Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia, 21st April 2023.

Imran is the living embodiment of the fact that nobody's career goes in a straight line. He trained to be a doctor at Oxford and Harvard, then worked as a consultant at McKinsey, before he started his own telemedicine company. Now he's an angel investor. Through his journey, Imran has had to learn how to balance life and work in the most demanding careers. From his experience as a founder and investor he also knows what it takes to run a successful business - creating products, raising funding, building a team. We unpack this wonderful career and more in today's episode. Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia, 30th Jan 2023.

Taariq joined the 'City life' before he even went to university through an internship at Accenture. From there he has gone from strength to strength - including a full-time role at Accenture, an Analytics consultant at OC&C and most recently a strategy manager at RELX. We speak about the differences in work and life across these firms, as well as what drove Taariq to move to a corporate strategy role. Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia, 11th November 2022.

Kam has been on one of the more unconventional journey through the City. He joined Roland Berger straight after Cambridge University, but after 6 months he quit his job and took the plunge of starting his own company. His goal was to "see how it went after a few months" but more than 6 years later his business is still going strong. On the episode we discuss Kam's brief stint in consulting and how it helped set him for success today. Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia, 10th September 2022. 

Only once you've aced your CV, cover letter and interview does the hard work of consulting actually begin! But how do you succeed once you've got your dream job? From my experience, the people who thrive in this industry often have three traits in common. Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia on 24 January, 2022.

I often get asked why I decided to go into consulting. I was lucky enough to have tried out a few different jobs before I graduated from university, and consulting stood out for many reasons! On this episode I talk about my motivations for becoming a consultant, and how the job has lived up to those expectations. This will help inspire you and teach you if consulting is indeed what you want to do! Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia on 5 November, 2021.  

When someone tells you they're a "consultant", what do they actually mean? Consulting is a term that encompasses a lot of different jobs, and can often be confusing if you don't work in the industry. Today we unpack 5 of the most common consulting types - strategy consulting, operational consulting, financial consulting, HR consulting and IT consulting. We also talk about how "management consulting" fits into all this. Equipped with this knowledge, you should be in a better position to work out what type of consulting is for you! Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia, on 4th September 2021. 

Last time we spoke about how to write the perfect CV. Most employers often also ask for something else: the dreaded cover letter. Candidates can spend days trying to write and perfect their cover letters - only to realise they then need to write another one, and another one, and another one. So how can you write the perfect cover letter, every time and with the least amount of effort? Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia on 13 June, 2021. 

The CV is arguably the most important part of any job application. Without a good one, you won't even get the chance to show off your skills in an interview room. So what should you do to make your CV stand out? Listen now! Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia on 18 April, 2021. 

Since I became a consultant, I often get asked "so what do you actually do?" The answer? Listen on to find out! In this episode, I will walk you through a typical day that I go through at work. Hosted by Aayush Sonthalia, 20th March, 2021.