Jaymi Olsen – Mid-level Project Manager for a Global Software Company

What was your background before joining AGCP?   

I originally wanted to be a lawyer, but after some on-the-job experience, I realized the legal path wasn’t the journey I wanted to take. I finished school with a Law and Constitutional Studies degree, unsure of what direction to take my career. I stumbled into corporate compliance after a close friend mentioned an opening at her company, and I happily joined just a few short weeks later. While I may not have been looking for HR or Risk and Compliance roles, it was clear after a few months that I was good at it, so I stayed for five years! In September 2022, the “tech slump” lay-offs impacted the company. Unfortunately, I got laid off after recently being promoted to a leadership role. I knew this was my opportunity to seek a long-term career and partner with an employer that would champion me on a path to achieving my professional and personal goals. I met with an AGCP recruiter and had a fantastic experience chatting and learning more about the company. I knew I had ended up in the right place! 

Why did you decide to go into consulting? 

I would say that consulting “found me” since I didn’t exactly go looking for it, but I couldn’t be more blessed and thankful that it did! As I mentioned, I felt lost after graduating with a degree I no longer felt aligned with. So, while I didn’t actively decide to pursue consulting, ending up in this field was meant to be. I’m a problem-solver at heart, so I love assisting clients with any issues, projects, or objectives they need my help with. Consulting feels aligned with my skillsets and is such a rewarding industry to be a part of.   

What does your typical workday look like? 

Apart from the surprises that typically come with waking up on a farm, most days start by heading out to the pasture to feed the horses and goats their morning hay. This activity is usually followed by pouring myself a large cup of hot coffee with coconut creamer, my favorite! While I wait for my computer and monitor to load, I walk around the living room, giving each of the four dogs a morning kiss and a scratch behind the ear. Usually, the cat will also come around to say hi. Once I’ve given all the furry family members attention and food, I plop myself into my desk chair and jump into that day’s tasks. I oversee a large global alias on behalf of my client. Since 90% of my collaborators are outside the U.S., I kickstart my workday by sifting through this alias. Here, I address various matters such as queries, audits, involvements, and requests. I also receive critical information through this alias, prompting me to update standard operating procedures across my client’s organization. This process remains ongoing throughout the day. Following this, I dedicate time to work on an internal tool in collaboration with a major external vendor. My role is to review and analyze the data provided by this vendor, subsequently organizing and uploading it into the tool for people across the global company to use. I send frequent updates to my team to keep them looped in, and meetings with my client are usually bi-weekly and as needed. But overall, I’m very autonomous in my role since I’m the sole owner of these processes. When I finish these larger tasks on any given day, I actively seek information, updates, or opportunities that would be useful for my client to know or have completed.   

What advice can you share with someone interested in consulting? 

Many people think leadership means being the face of a group and the one calling the shots. In consulting, being a leader usually looks vastly different because you often work on tasks or projects that belong to someone else, such as your client or their team. Leadership as a consultant means setting up your team for success, always having a helping hand ready, and proudly uplifting others around you. While you may not make significant business decisions, you must be confident enough to offer meaningful advice and solutions, even if it takes some research. Ultimately, consulting is for you if you like to solve problems, enjoy collaboration, and feel comfortable offering solutions! 

Thank you, Jaymi, for sharing more about your journey! We’re so excited to watch you grow and thrive here at AGCP. 

We’d love to chat if you want to join our team of outstanding consultants! We look forward to hearing from you soon! To learn more about current openings at the firm, click here.