Sean Kilgarriff: Associate at BCG

What is your background/ experience with ISCG and what are you currently doing?

My first involvement with ISCG was in 3rd year of Financial Maths at UCD as a consultant performing market analysis for a digital marketing company. After enjoying the project I came back the following year as a project leader for a team developing the growth strategy of a leadership development non-profit.

Before joining ISCG my understanding of the consulting industry was purely surface level. Getting a taste for the structured problem-solving approach and impact potential of consulting helped solidify my decision to focus my attention on strategy consulting. I have since started as an Associate at BCG.

In the first 6 months, I have gotten to experience a wide variety of projects, from optimising the CFO function of a client for efficiency & effectiveness to analysing customer behaviour at petrol stations. I’m thoroughly enjoying work! I’ve had countless learning opportunities, and there’s a very strong feedback culture at BCG, which is really important. Moving to London was made far easier by how nice, and friendly everyone at work is too.

What did you enjoy most/find most beneficial about ISCG?

I found getting to test what the work of a consultant would look like was a very valuable part of ISCG. Committing to however many hours of CV prep, networking and case studies in final year is far easier when you’re confident it’s for something you’ll enjoy.

I really enjoyed the client interaction and presenting side of ISCG too. Class presentations weren’t overly common while studying maths so the extra practice was helpful! Meeting others interested in consulting was also a huge addition for sharing tips and practising cases. Some of the best advice I received in final year was from someone I actually met through ISCG. I feel there’s a great atmosphere within ISCG and people are always willing to help.