Susana Monsalve-Jones
Listen to the interview (approx. 36 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2013 with majors in Music Production & Engineering and Film Scoring. Principal instrument: Voice.
Position: Management Consultant at Roland Berger, London (UK) office. Roland Berger is a multinational business consulting firm with around 5,000 employees worldwide, though the London Office has roughly 40 consultants, plus support staff. Susana puts in long hours advising companies in different industries on business and private equity deals.
Overview: After graduating in the summer of 2013, Susana got a job as an assistant at a studio in L.A., where she worked for a bit over a year. Roughly halfway through, she started feeling restless–the job started to feel unchallenging and she found she liked working in music less than she thought she would. Speaking with friends in other industries, she figured that she’d enjoy a business career more and sought ways to get into an elite business school. Always good with numbers, she studied for and did well on the GMAT exam. Aware that top schools like interesting work experience, Susana actively pursued and got an 8-month volunteer position , working in microfinance in Madagascar at the international poverty-relief organization Unbound. Her application to the Australian Graduate Schools of Management (AGSM)’s MBA program was accepted, and she started her studies in the fall of 2015.
As was common with her program, Susana did the second half of her program at a partner school, in this case, the London Business School. Many companies came there to recruit talented individuals, and shared what their industry and businesses were all about. Working as a management consultant appealed to Susana, and she liked what Roland Berger had to offer, so she went straight into her current job after graduating in the spring of 2017.
You can see Susana’s LinkedIn profile here. Susana encourages Berklee folks who are interested in management consulting to reach out to her.
Choice Quotes: “Two things I like about being a management consultant. One is that I’m always learning, reading about new things and being intellectually engaged. The other is being part of a high-performing team. Everyone here is incredibly smart and driven.”
“In a four-week project, week 1 you’re learning all about the industry. Early in week 2 you meet with clients and they give you a scope of the project. Then you start working with the team and developing a good story line: what you want to tell, the info you need, how you get the information. Weeks 2 and 3 you’re gathering the info & building an understandable power point presentation. Week 4 you talk to the clients, showing them what you have–answer further questions or see what they want more and add it in. Then you give the final presentation and you’re on to the next project.”
“For your first 5 years you’re a generalist consultant, and they want you to do lots of different things. I’ve done projects in the oil/gas,, nuclear, healthcare and IT industries. If during those 5 years you find something you really like, you can become a specialist.”
“Thanks to Berklee and my music background I think differently–more creatively–which can be useful in mgmt consulting. Berklee also exposed me to a very diverse group of people and I became very culturally aware very fast, which is important in my field too as we work with a large diversity of clients.”
“Don’t be afraid to try anything. It’s never too late, and if you change paths in a structured and wholehearted manner you can transition to nearly anything–like I did!”
See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.
Tiffany, dancing while a student at BoCo. “The Boston Conservatory taught me grit. While there, I also learned to think outside the box, and also to express myself fully.”
