Arjen and Wietse both made the switch from a corporate job to consulting at Summiteers more than 1.5 years ago. We spoke to them about how they experienced this and whether they would ever want to go back.

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First, the open question, what has been your experience so far?

Arjen: “At first, I thought it was quite a tough switch. From a longer period in the same company, within which I have made many steps, to a completely different sector and a completely different profession. It was a bit of a struggle. For a moment, you feel very “consciously inadequate”. On the one hand, very fun and challenging, but also confronting. For me, the switch really meant learning a new subject. Fortunately, after a year, I already noticed that I had mastered it much more and that it eventually calmed down a lot more.”

Wietse: “Very recognisable. From day one, you feel like an 'imposter syndrome'. You may be an experienced professional, but it took me quite a while to become convinced of the baggage I brought with me to consultancy. You have to find your footing in that again.”

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What do you take with you from your previous role in a corporate environment when you look back on it now?

Wietse: “Especially when it comes to operational roles, you know the drill. You don't get anxious so easily when things go differently or go wrong. You have experience in stakeholder management and you are confident that you can do that, now you just have to convince people of other things. In addition, from my previous role, I also did a lot of process optimization. I always say: whether it involves money, data or documentation, ultimately, a process is a process. In essence, you can often copy the experience of improving it almost one-on-one.”

Arjen: “I think I'm taking three things with me: mainly the experience in working on a project basis; so being able to formulate projects and bring them to a successful end, I also recognize stakeholder management from Wietse's story; so knowing who you need if you want to achieve a certain decision-making, and, of course, managing teams. Especially at Summiteers, we have the proposition that we do not come in with a large team, but rather work a lot with the people who work for our customer. In our role, you must therefore be able to coordinate well and help people with their personal development. That means that you can apply the experience you have gained as a line manager very well at Summiteers.”

‍Wietse: “In addition, I think that because we have experience within the corporate sector, we may also better empathize with the customer's position: what does someone have to justify internally, how is it going, what can they be helped with, assessing urgent matters... We really try to adapt ourselves to the customer and our experience helps with that.”

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Where do you see the biggest differences? What is it like to look at the line from working in line now?

Wietse: “The first thing that comes to mind is that it's a blessing, haha! Personally, I really enjoy working. In general, you have a certain pressure that you have to carry out top-down, while I really love equality and open conversation. From our position, we can easily have that open conversation without being hampered by hierarchy. Especially when, as we do a lot at Summiteers, you are busy naming behavior and saying: this is what is happening or this is going wrong. From the outset, this is sometimes accepted, but unfortunately not always appreciated. That's different when you come from the side.”

‍Arjen: “I also like to stand side by side with politics, and what I notice a lot is that, as a consultant, you quickly work at a different level in the hierarchy. So that, as an external person, you can and may think along more quickly at a strategic level. This is also because of what Summiteers does: strategy execution often starts a little higher in the organization. We often work with very smart, result-oriented and ambitious people. That is very inspiring. What actually doesn't really change, what makes me enjoy the most, whether you're working in line or on the side: you're working with people. Although it also took some searching to determine what your team actually is, where your base lies. The customer colleagues with whom you spend so many hours, or your colleagues at Summiteers?”

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How did you eventually learn the consultancy profession?

Arjen: “Basically, at Summiteers, we believe that you learn the most by doing, in other words, learning on the job. Feet in the mud and go for it. I also believe in that. We always work with a senior colleague or one of the partners who helps you get started and with whom you are in regular contact about what you're up against. In addition, you also have an accountability buddy with whom you specifically talk about learning objectives, but the biggest part is learning on the job and learning from colleagues and customers.”

Wietse: “That's where it starts in finding out what areas your learning lies in, so that you can consciously develop in them. It helps enormously that there is a nice structure where we have regular formal check-ins. By simply sharing what you're up to, those conversations often trigger valuable questions and input. Ultimately, the more assignments you have done, the more facets you will encounter and the more you will learn. Because you change assignments much more quickly as a consultant, you grow very quickly.”

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Why ultimately choose to switch?

Arjen: “Well, in my case, I was very aware of the fact that I wanted something different. I had been working for the same employer for 10 years and had really had many different roles there. I was just curious about the outside world and wanted something new. In fact, I did not make the conscious choice for consultancy, but mainly chose the company that is Summiteers. Based on that, I came up with trial and error: oh yes, maybe consultancy is something for me. By now, I think that's also the case! In particular, I think that a number of things that are very important to me in my work come together at Summiteers. I like variety, playing chess on multiple boards, conceptual puzzles and engaging in behavior. In addition, I find personal development and a good work-life balance very important.”

Wietse: “For me, there is a lot of overlap in this. I was already interested in consultancy during my studies, so I had focused on it earlier. Then, however, I got my dream starting position with my old employer. I really enjoyed it here for 10 years, but with each career move, the visions are increasingly falling apart. I wasn't really aware of that until I saw Summiteers' vacancy. It just sounded much more like the environment I was looking for again: doing fun things with fun people, new challenges, variety, learning new things and getting plenty of space to do what I find important and interesting. Solving complex issues, going in-depth with people about behavior and personal development. Then, to my own surprise, the choice was suddenly made quickly.”
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‍When you look at this consultancy role compared to your previous role, do you ever want to go back?

Wietse: “You should never rule anything out in life, but at the end of the day, I love finding new challenges in life over and over again. So far, I see from everything that Summiteers wants to do in the future that I can continue to shape those new challenges myself. That's why I think I can keep enjoying this job for a long time.”

Arjen: “What I notice is that I got an 'itch' every 2 to 3 years within the line, I've been doing it for a few years, and it's starting to look more and more like the same thing. Due to the nature of the work, because, as a consultant, you always do several and very diverse projects side by side, it remains a challenge and, after 3 years of Summiteers, I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I like sitting in it like that. Who knows, maybe I'll be a pilot later! That's what I wanted to be before.”
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Concluding: For people who are reading this and are unsure about making the switch to consultancy, why should you or shouldn't you do that?

Wietse: “I think if you really like stability and the same environment, you shouldn't do it. It depends a lot on your personal needs. Arjen and I have very much the same needs, so it makes sense for us to take this step. After a while, I think the diversity within a corporate will run out. Then you'll do the same thing higher up the tree at a heavier level. Larger responsibilities, different regions... Ultimately, I experience that as the same problem with a different guise. So I think something like consulting is a pretty sustainable solution for myself!”

Arjen: “If you really like having a permanent team around you and working with the same people a lot, which a lot of people like, you shouldn't do this either. In this profession, you should be able to enjoy making new contacts, working in new environments, discovering new things about yourself. In any case, this is now a very good environment for me to take a lot of steps in my personal development.”
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‍About Summiteers

‍Want to know more about Summiteers' consultancy world? On our website you can read more about the assignments we do, our team, and of course you can contact us!

Read here more about Arjen

Read here more about Wietse