Beginning my journey
My first year at Pariveda allowed and encouraged me to grow far beyond my own limits and expectations. The opportunity to work at Pariveda was accompanied by feelings of excitement, nervousness, anxiety, and imposter syndrome. Naturally, I was excited to begin my career in consulting with some of the greatest minds I’ve ever met. However, I was a bit nervous to be transparent about the level of knowledge I possessed and what I thought I could offer as a team player. The mere thought of meeting and working with new people made me somewhat anxious; I knew very little about their communication preferences and didn’t want to make any mistakes, which ushered in the feeling of imposter syndrome.
My first project team was made up of primarily white men, however, throughout the duration of the project, I never felt unseen, unheard, or misrepresented. Everyone on my Pariveda team was intentional about making me feel supported and helping me to learn and grow in my career. This made me trust my team and colleagues so much more, which opened future opportunities for me to work on other initiatives that have contributed to the exponential growth I’ve experienced. The following project teams I joined were structured the same way, but my past experiences and outlook made the transition to these teams much easier, and I learned more about the client and systems much faster.
Connecting with others
As soon as I began working at Pariveda, I was exposed to the Expectations Framework (EF), assigned a mentor, and given Career Development Plans (CDPs). The EF serves as a blueprint for career growth, my mentor is my accountability partner, and the CDPs are my focal points for growth as it pertains to the EF. In all honesty, having these resources within my reach felt like a lot of responsibility, like it was my big break. Thankfully, I was met with an outpouring of support for my growth. Colleagues put time on my calendar to introduce themselves and get to know me, which made me feel like a celebrity, and I quickly identified who could assist me and in which way. I was unaware of the level of support I would receive at Pariveda, which quickly turned into abundance.
By joining internal groups, I have met and interfaced with team members in all Pariveda offices. Since there are many different groups to join at Pariveda, I have virtually networked with diverse pools of people at varying levels of seniority throughout the company. I found value in joining a myriad of groups. For example, I joined the Atlanta Culture Group as the Esprit de Femme representative (more on that later). As a member of the Atlanta Culture Group, we plan events and initiatives to encourage relationship-building and inter-office networking while also promoting an inclusive office culture. This is a super fun group to be a part of, and I definitely encourage others to get involved with both local and national groups!
I’m also a member of the Esprit de Femme Employee Resource Group (ERG). Esprit de Femme is where the women across the organization meet, discuss initiatives, and support one another in career growth. I find a lot of value in being a member of Esprit de Femme; we spend time planning ways to help women grow in their careers. We also bring attention to statistical imbalances between women of various ethnic backgrounds against our male counterparts. To me, the most impactful group I have worked with is the Black Fins ERG; the goals are so well structured and what is being accomplished is mind-blowing. The Black Fins ERG has so many resources, so much support, and so much to celebrate. It makes me so proud to be a member!
Reflecting on my first year at Pariveda
My first year consisted of much more than what I wrote here; very few words can describe the growth and fun I experienced during my first year. Like David Ogilvy said, “Where people aren’t having fun, they seldom produce good work.” I’ve produced some good work if I do say so myself. If you’re considering consulting now or at any point in your career, do it! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
