McKinsey & Company

"Understand that things are not quite the fairytale they tell you about when you arrive. This is a "buttoned up" boys club at it's core. Your personality is less of an asset than you'd hope."

"Advocate for yourself. Ask for step up opportunities. You are awesome and you deserve the job you have - don't doubt yourself for one minute - you were chosen from a pile of amazing candidates. Our recruiting processes don't allow for mistakes - you earned this!"

"Na"

"I worked at McKinsey for about 7 years. It was a great experience, but I didn't know how political it would get as you get more senior in the Department. McKinsey is a Partnership and this is an important fact to remember - it's not just about your own performance but also which Partner is in charge and who is in their support network - as the lead Partners move around so do political allegiances, especially in the support staff departments. You might well be doing a great job but if there is no-one to bat for your team, you won't last long. Maternity leave was for the most part uneventful - they will leave you alone while you're on maternity leave but most McKinsey women prefer to keep in touch with the office and it is easy to do so most of the time."

"I've worked there for multiple years and have gone through multiple life stages and it has been a wonderful, supportive place through everything."