You started working for CNC as a Junior Consultant in London, today you are a Senior Consultant and project leader with a wide scope of responsibilities. What are the career opportunities at CNC and how did the company support your development?
CNC has grown significantly over the last decade, which has created a wide range of opportunities for personal and professional development. I have been especially impressed with the willingness of senior colleagues to share their expertise and knowledge and this is something my peers and I aim to emulate with our own teams across the CNC network. Combine this great store of knowledge and advice with the right attitude and skill-set and the sky is your limit at CNC. Testament to this is the number of colleagues who have worked their way through the ranks from intern or Associate positions to become an integral part of the senior team.
Before your start at CNC, you worked as a financial journalist for mergermarket. In which areas do you benefit from your experience as former journalist and what were your main challenges when becoming a consultant?
The first hand experience I gained as a journalist has proven especially beneficial when offering media relations counsel to our clients. I am able to advise on what journalists are looking for, how best to approach them, and how to tell a story. I am also able to call on a diverse network of media experts from across Europe, as well as the US, to understand their perspective on key issues. Where CNC adds value for clients in my eyes is the range of professional backgrounds that CNC consultants have – our former bankers, politicians, lawyers and business professionals all provide targeted, expert advice to the organisations we support. Having “been there and done it” makes our service offering stand out.
However, I think it is safe to say that not every journalist will automatically be a good consultant. Joining the “dark side” means having to adapt to different circumstances (and changing your view of corporate PR!). I personally found that the most difficult aspect of the transition from journalism to consulting was fully understanding the diverse service offerings that CNC provides. As a former journalist covering M&A and distressed situations, I was very comfortable advising on financial communications, whereas it took time for me to be comfortable building and using expertise in other areas, such as CSR and branding. This has been a rewarding challenge, and some of the projects I’ve recently enjoyed the most have focused on sustainability. The constant learning curve at CNC keeps the job interesting and ensures I am also stretched personally.
In collaboration with Human Resources, you are responsible for managing the internship programme in London. What qualifications and skills are necessary for a successful internship at CNC UK?
CNC focuses on cross-border projects, which is certainly true for the London office where we have a mix of nationalities, cultures and backgrounds. We often find that candidates who are strong at languages and have lived, studied or worked abroad are especially successful at CNC. A proactive approach, the ability to work under pressure and an eye for detail are also core competencies. Our interns are either studying or have graduated (at BA or MA level) and typically have degrees relating to business, politics or languages. We have strong relationships with many of the UK and Europe’s top universities and business schools and we frequently advertise internship positions via their career services.
