Sara
Change Engineer
It's hard to write a day in the life of a consultant. What I love about my job is that every day is completely different from the next. There is always a new challenge and usually at least one unexpected thing happens each day. Constant change keeps us fresh and "on our toes," and that enables us to better serve our clients. I heard once that to survive in a specific consulting firm, one must be a "contortionist"—I think that's true and that's what makes this career and working at Infinitive so much fun.
So it may not be a typical day—since there's really no such thing—but here is one day:
6:00 – Wake up slowly and let the dog out into the back yard. While getting ready, I replay the day before and start to prioritize the list of things that need to get done today. There is a lot to do today, including prepping for a meeting with a SVP tomorrow. I feed Kirby the dog and then Katie the cat and get in my car for my 12-minute commute to the client site.
7:00 – I make my daily stop at the local Starbucks and run into a couple of clients. I love the familiarity- I always see a client during my morning stop. We chat briefly and then go to the office. I have been working with this client on different efforts for two years and I know virtually everyone in the building.
7:15 – I say hello to the receptionist and head for the stairs. I can't justify the elevators for one flight of stairs. I like to get in early so I can finish some things before meetings begin.
9:00 – I love working sessions! I meet a client to discuss training and resources.
11:00 – I quickly compile the results from our session this morning and send a follow-up meeting invitation for next week. We agreed to take a few days to digest what we created and to figure out the remaining missing pieces.
1:30 – I meet with my Account Executive and some key clients to prep for a presentation tomorrow. We review accomplishments for the last 30 days, planned accomplishments for the next 30 days, budget and forecast, and our observations regarding additional areas which require focus.
4:00 – I have to switch gears for my next meeting. There are some questions about another project I support for a different client group.
5:00 – I am so excited about our team event this evening! Our CEO and other Executives came from DC to meet with the Richmond-based Infinitivians. My coach is one of them, which is great because we don't get to meet face-to-face very often. Just as I am walking downstairs for the team meeting before dinner, I am pulled aside by my clients into a last minute discussion regarding the status of a project. After talking through some of the challenges, we decide on the best option to meet all of the client's needs. Once we have all agreed on the approach going forward, I race downstairs to the team meeting, knowing everyone will understand that I was late.
After the meeting, we head off to the team event—bowling! We all change into our Infinitive orange t-shirts and pick names out of a hat to determine teams. I can't bowl because I hurt my back but I stay to cheer everyone else on. They handed out awards at the end of the evening for Highest Score, Most Creative Style, and Team Spirit. I received one of the two Team Spirit awards.
