Jelinna is a third year Bachelor of Commerce (Co-Op) student who is majoring in Marketing. Having joined 180DC in Project Cycle 2 of 2019, Jelinna has been involved in 180DC for 4 project cycles and has since become one of the Consulting Directors for 2021.
As her time within the role of Consulting Director comes to an end and Jelinna steps into the role of VP for People & Culture, she looks back on her experience of being a Consulting Director and also the previous experiences she has had with 180DC.
Why did you choose to join 180DC?
In my first year, I came across 180DC through one of their recruitment posts. Whilst I had completely no idea what consulting was, the practical social impact element really stood out to me. Despite a busy schedule, being involved in 180DC was my way to continue volunteering and giving back to the community, whilst still being able to learn new skills and develop myself both professionally and personally.
Alongside this, there was great appeal of being able to work with clients including CEOs of incredible charities. I thought that being able to work collaboratively to solve some of their most complex problems would be one of the most rewarding and unique opportunities I would be able to experience in university.
How have you found your experience as Consulting Director?
As a Consulting Director, I worked closely with the Project Leader and oversaw the entire process of the project. Rather than working on the project with the team, the role of a CD definitely allowed me to apply my learnings from my past projects and help build the skillsets of all team members.
One of my most major learning experiences as a CD was when I created my first project brief all the way from liaising with the client and our industry mentor to delivering it to the team. I experienced what it was like to take ownership of such a significant task from the beginning to end.
Outside of being a Consulting Director, what other roles have you held within 180DC?
Prior to being a CD, I was a Consultant in PC2 of 2019 and then became a PL in PC1 of 2020. Overall, I’ve been in 180DC for 4 cycles and worked with 2 of my clients twice!
What has been your favourite memory in being part of 180DC?
I would say my favourite memory was when I finished up my role as a Project Leader and my team was able to all get together (Pre-COVID of course) and bond over some pizza, games, solid chats as well as an evening walk along the water.
Apart from that, I also loved attending social impact pitch nights in person and being able to socialise with everyone casually afterwards.
What is your advice for people looking to join 180DC as a consultant?
Since there are so many consulting societies across UNSW now, I would definitely have your unique reason as to why 180DC. Whilst it is fine if your reason is because you want to be more involved in social impact work or if it is because you want to experience consulting in a practical way, chances are, you are not the only one thinking that! I would recommend reaching out to existing members, getting to know their experiences and really understand what exactly makes 180DC stand out to you and what is something you want to learn specific to what the society can offer.
Thank you to Jelinna for joining us for this article! If you would like to get involved with 180DC, please like and follow us on either our Facebook or LinkedIn to keep up to date with our upcoming events including director recruitment in mid T3.