My Community is the Key to My Career Success – Here’s How I Found the People Who Want Me to Succeed

After spending three years working for a large consulting firm, I began yearning for something different – a firm with a strong sense of community where I could see the broad impact of my individual contributions. That’s when I found ZS. Since joining, I’ve focused on quantitative market research in the pharmaceutical industry – working directly with clients and impacting their business decisions. I love working in ZS’s Boston office – it feels like home when you can come to the office and everyone knows you by name. People learn who you are as a person, what it’s like to work with you and what you value.

Upon joining ZS, I knew I wanted to get involved with the Black and Hispanic Alliance (BHA) – an affinity group of ZSers committed to building awareness around the Black and Hispanic ZSer experience.  I originally wanted to get involved to be part of a community of likeminded ZSers looking to increase the representation of minorities. What I wasn’t expecting to find was the opportunity to make such a broad impact through my involvement with BHA – helping with our recruiting strategy, educating my colleagues and continuing to make ZS a welcoming, inclusive and engaging environment for people of all backgrounds.

Even as a new ZSer, I was empowered to drive BHA’s presence in my local office and my colleagues have been incredibly supportive throughout the process. At ZS, there’s never a shortage of people who want to help you reach your goals. I was also surprised by how much support I received from ZS’s other affinity groups, such as the Women’s Leadership Initiative, Pride@ZS, Veterans@ZS and ZS Cares. Though each group has different priorities, we find strength in numbers through ZS’s inclusion and diversity initiatives and together, we are able to make a broad impact across our firm.

I’ve been with ZS for just over a year now and I have a feeling my favorite memories with BHA are still to come. One thing I’m most excited about is coordinating with our offices to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, a U.S. holiday held from September 15 through October 15 that celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America. Many of our U.S. offices are planning unique activities throughout the month and I can’t wait to see what’s to come.

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