An insight into the life of a Consulting Associate at RSM

Name: Cillian Sheanon

Job Title: Consulting Associate

Office: Dublin

Joining date: September 2018

Department: Consulting

College attended: UCD

Couse undertaken: Bachelor of Commerce

SUMMARY OF ROLE

Within Consulting, I mostly work on Liquidations & Receiverships but we have Corporate Finance & Investigations service lines also. The variety within each case is great and there is always something new to learn. I worked on a big investigation which is completely different in of itself. My day to day would mainly consist of restructuring work but the option to work on other service lines adds variety to each day.

WHAT SKILLS HAVE YOU DEVELOPED THROUGHOUT THE RSM GRADUATE PROGRAMME SO FAR?

Since joining RSM I have learned practical skills like communicating efficiently on the phone, and organisation skills, but the skill which I have developed the most is problem solving. It is a bit of a buzz phrase to say but there is a lot you can solve by yourself on a day to day and overcoming problems and thinking things out is definitely a skill I have developed.

WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT SO FAR?

In the short period I have worked in RSM, and I have worked on investigation, receiverships, liquidations and been on secondment for 3 weeks, so MY training has far exceeded any expectations I had of what I would be doing. The highlight would have to be the investigation I worked on. The case was extremely interesting and had many different facets to it.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE SO FAR?

Finding my feet at the beginning was a challenge because you’re expected to be proactive and solve problems by yourself from early on. Once you learn more about what is expected of you, it becomes easy to settle in and start learning. Once you begin to make progress, it becomes more and more rewarding.

WHAT’S SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT WORKING AT RSM?

I knew that I would learn a lot and would have a lot of responsibility, but I am surprised about how much responsibility I have been given. It makes the work very enjoyable when you’re being tasked with problem solving and getting things done yourself.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AT RSM?

I have just sat my FAE exams so hopefully I will be qualified soon, but in the meantime I hope to get exposure to more cases in different service lines within consulting. I still have a lot to learn!