Background
News & Views
Our Professionals
In the Community
Careers
|
What Our People Have To Say
Sarah Phelps
Consultant, MBA, Smith School of Business, University of Maryland,
2000
When I was finishing business school I had a lot of trouble
envisioning the perfect job. I wanted to leverage my past experience,
keep my MBA skills sharp and fully employed, stay challenged,
and be able to balance a professional and personal life. I was
convinced that one of these things would have to be sacrificed
because, like the old adage says: you can’t have everything.
I never thought I’d find the perfect combination in the
challenging field of consulting.
Before going to business school, I had extensive experience
in mergers and acquisitions. Through our capital practice, I
am able to leverage that background and apply the experience
to new situations. In fact, everyone here brings some kind of
unique and applicable background to the mix. When it comes to
project assignments, every effort is made to enable consultants
to leverage their experiences or, if you want to try a new area
they’ll channel your work in that direction. You get the
opportunity to leverage your background as much or as little
as you like.
I find myself drawing from each aspect of my MBA regularly and
there are always people willing to help me bridge the gap between
what I learned in the classroom and how it applies to the client’s
situation. Although we focus in a specific industry, our engagements
tend to have a wide scope often including a mix of marketing,
operational, branding and strategic considerations, in addition
to the financial analysis surrounding a business problem. Our
specialization opens the doors of leading organizations to us
and our reputation often proceeds us.
The financial services industry is such that every project presents
a unique challenge. The industry is in perpetual motion and
gains complexity at each and every turn and with each economic
change. The list of businesses that touch financial services
is diverse and includes banks, credit card issuing organizations,
retailers and payment processors. This complexity and diversity
makes every project unique and challenging and forces you to
go beyond what you know to achieve your best and uncover a fresh
perspective.
As a new consultant here I am constantly encouraged to take
on more responsibility and challenge myself. After the first
month, I was going on client visits with partners and drafting
client documents. On the other hand, I am also afforded the
latitude required to balance a professional career and a personal
life. Even though client demands sometimes require a sacrifice
of personal time, the importance of personal demands is understood
and respected by everyone here.
Why First Annapolis? I can answer that in one word….freedom.
Here you have freedom to make as much of your career as you
like and to balance a challenging professional life with whatever
personal goals you choose to pursue.
Scott Calliham
Joshua Prangley
Sarah Phelps
|
