Click here to learn more about Monocle\u2019s Analyst Graduate Programme.<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nPrior to joining, I had completed an internship while finishing my master’s degree in finance, intending to pursue a future in investment research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I quickly discovered that spending hours in front of a screen, with very little human interaction, simply wasn\u2019t for me, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a nerve-racking realisation that the role I’d spent years preparing for wasn’t the one I wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, life had other plans. A recruiter from Monocle \u2013 then a relatively small consulting firm of around fifty people working in the financial services \u2013 reached out to me, offering a position as a research assistant to the CEO, David Buckham. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was adamant that I didn’t want to do more research, but the recruiter encouraged me to meet with David and learn more about the business. That conversation changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consulting had never been a career I’d imagined for myself, but the more I learned about the work Monocle was doing, the more I realised it offered exactly what I’d been missing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every project was different, every engagement meant working with new people, and every challenge required me to learn something new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also discovered that Monocle had just launched its graduate programme with twelve candidates already selected, and I knew that was where I wanted to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After some convincing, David agreed, naming me the unexpected “thirteenth graduate”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The training we received was comprehensive, covering everything from technical skills to banking fundamentals, industry knowledge and business acumen, as well as the interpersonal skills needed to build trusted client relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was also intense by design. Deadlines were tight, creating a fast-paced environment that exposed us to the demands of consulting, but in a safe setting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This made our later transition onto client projects far less daunting \u2013 we already understood the pace, the pressures and the expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also spent time with Monocle’s leadership team and, as we heard their stories, the true intention of the programme became clear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was not a crash-course to prepare us for our first client engagements \u2013 this was about building consultants from the ground up, instilling the same foundations, values and ways of working that had enabled Monocle’s leaders to take the business to where it was at that point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wasn\u2019t simply learning how to write code or deliver presentations. I was learning how people I genuinely admired thought, behaved and led. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For someone just beginning their career journey, it was like being handed a roadmap by people who had already successfully walked the path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That experience was invaluable, as was the sense of belonging that developed within our graduate group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone shared similar values, attitudes and aspirations, and friendships naturally followed as we embarked on this intense period of personal growth, never competing but always pushing one other to become better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A decade later, I’m still close friends with many of those people and our relationships have only deepened as we’ve tackled challenges together, encouraged one another to further our learning, met on the sports field or at Mission Monocle outreach initiatives, and celebrated one another’s successes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I completed the programme with new skills, new mentors and new friends, but most importantly, I gained clarity about the career I wanted to build and confidence that I’d found the right place to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, I’m an Associate Director, leading several teams in our London office, having had the privilege of growing alongside a company that has evolved into an international business of more than 320 people, serving major financial institutions across South Africa, the UK and Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Monocle continues to expand, my goals remain unchanged: to keep learning, keep contributing and keep growing with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I could offer one piece of advice to new graduates wondering what comes next, it would be this: choose your environment as carefully as you choose your career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find a company you can mature with, that is led by people you genuinely believe in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of your career, you don’t need to have all the answers, but you do need to be in a place that will help you find them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Monocle Analyst Graduate Programme offers exactly that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it has been refined over the years, its core purpose remains unchanged: to prepare young professionals for a long and successful future in consulting, guided and supported by people who will help shape a rewarding career and fulfilling life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could the Monocle Analyst Graduate Programme be the right fit for you? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Click here to learn more about Monocle\u2019s Analyst Graduate Programme.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the start of your career, you don’t need to have all the answers, but you do need to be in a place that will help you find them. The Monocle Analyst Graduate Programme offers exactly that. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":867885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2082372063772242330","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[5534,25668,23371,25968,1398,16196,19840],"class_list":["post-867879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-analyst","tag-apply","tag-graduate","tag-graduate-programme","tag-jobs","tag-monocle","tag-monocle-solutions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867879"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867910,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867879\/revisions\/867910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}