Working as a graduate consultant at Third Horizon Consulting
Every year, Third Horizon Consulting admits a batch of young professionals into its graduate program. Three former graduates reflect on how the traineeship helped them launch their career.
“Kicking off my career as a graduate at Third Horizon was both exciting and intimidating. Exciting because I was kicking off my career with an eclectic bunch of highly motivated, intelligent and, most importantly, friendly individuals. Intimidating because I had no idea how I was going to catch up and reach the level of competency I had seen in the more experienced consultants,” said Art McGee.
McGee joined Third Horizon Consulting at the start of 2015 after completing his Master of Management from the University of Sydney. As part of the graduate program, McGee worked on two large business transformations. At NSW’s largest procurement services organisation, he supported the design and build of a new Shared Service Centre, as part of the client’s transition to new procurement model.
At a federal government institution, he contributed to a project aimed at improving the unit’s expenditures, including both departmental and administered fund expenditure. “From day one, I was challenged, given genuine responsibility for client work and held accountable for my outputs. There was always a host of different people to talk to when I needed help or guidance.”
“We offer a great opportunity to launch your consulting career. At Third Horizon we will work with you to help you reach your full potential – quickly.”
“As the months passed, without me realising, all the on the job training, formal lessons and personal feedback helped to turn me into a consultant just as competent as those I had seen before me,” McGee said.
Fast forward five years and McGee is currently a Manager at Third Horizon Consulting, specialised in commercial assessments, operating model design and process improvement, primarily within the infrastructure and utility sectors.
A career kickstarter
Thomas Bergin joined the graduate program with some corporate work experience, but looking back at his start, he said that it nevertheless felt “like I was in the starting blocks for my career.” Client work he supported included developing an organisational transformation model and a channel strategy for a Victorian government department, and helping a utilities company with an outsourcing strategy and tender review.
“At Third Horizon you are guaranteed to be allocated work that you have not been exposed to before. Although this may be unsettling, embrace different challenges and know that these unfamiliar tasks are merely opportunities to learn – who knows when this knowledge may be leveraged throughout your career,” said Bergin, who now works for PwC.
Nikita Iyer meanwhile admitted that while she was daunted with the prospect of starting a new job in a new country (she joined from PwC in India), in retrospect her move was the “right choice” for three main reasons. “People, work and career progression. I’ve met and worked with really talented and capable people from all three offices.”
“Third Horizon recognises and rewards you with more responsibility and faster career progression. I’ve enhanced my skills, developed new capabilities and learnt where my interests and strengths lie through the projects I’ve worked on.”
After completing the graduate program, Iyer ascended the ranks to Senior Associate before moving on to join The Australian National University, where she now works as a Financial Analyst.
Neville Bagot, Managing Director of Third Horizon Consulting, said that he is proud of the firm’s graduate program. “We put every effort into ensuring that our graduates are challenged on a diverse range of industries and competency areas, develop core consulting skills, integrate with clients, meet new friends and have fun along the way.”
