A day in the life of YOUNG IMPROVEN consultant Giovèn at IMPROVEN

Young IMPROVEN offers young talents the opportunity to grab professional opportunities and kickstart their careers. Especially for young consultants has IMPROVEN an intensive developprogramme composite which is a combination of vocational and skills training, courses and working in projects. Within the programme, there are three tracks: Business, Finance and Data. This gives participants the chance to develop and specialise in the field than suits them best.

In this article, we take you inside the daily life of Young IMPROVEN consultant Giovèn (26). He chose the Finance track of the Young IMPROVEN Program. 

From Portugal back to the Netherlands

Giovèn was born in the Netherlands and later raised in Portugal. He studied Marketing Management in Lisbon, after which he completed his master's degree in Management with a focus on finance. After several years of working experience in the financial sector in Portugal, he decided to return to the Netherlands. Intrigued by the consulting world, chose Giovèn for IMPROVEN because of the application process that focused not only on his work experience, but more importantly on his personal attributes. This personal approach appealed to him, as a result of which he started the Young IMPROVEN Program in the Finance track.  

Day to day

What Giovène's day looks like depends on his assignment with the client. Take, for example, his first assignment at a large municipality in the Netherlands. Here, he was responsible for describing and managing the processes surrounding the implementation of an ERP system. He took over this assignment from a colleague, who guided him during the familiarisation process. The familiarisation process consisted mainly of reading in and having discussions with this colleague, after which he conducted interviews with employees of the municipality. How he approached this assignment? "You start broadly and work towards detail. First you delve into the subject matter, then you draw up sketches and test each process component with the departments involved. You fine-tune it further and further until it meets the wishes of all stakeholders," Giovèn explains. 

"I find that I am learning a lot in terms of communication. It is sometimes difficult to get hold of people for an interview. I try to read people, besides that I try to find a balance in not applying too much and not too little pressure."

His second assignment involved incorporating processes into a business process management system, at the same municipality. For this, he followed a short training course, while continuing to act as a point of contact for questions about the ERP system and the procurement processes surrounding it. This assignment required more intensive cooperation with an internal team, with him working longer days on site at the customer's premises. 

Now Giovèn has already started his third assignment at the municipality, with a colleague from the Young IMPROVEN programme. Together, they analyse parts of the financial administration in detail. The relevant processes are also critically examined and the findings are coordinated with the various management boards. In this assignment, he has a fixed day on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the client's location. He likes to go there to spar with both client and IMPROVEN colleagues. He also chooses to work at IMPROVEN's office on one fixed day a week, mainly to work together on internal projects and thus be able to connect with colleagues. 

The YOUNG IMPROVEN development programme

As part of the development programme, Young IMPROVEN consultants attend a training course every week. One of the trainings that runs like a thread through the development programme is the training on Consulting Skills and Personal Effectiveness. "You get a lot of theories, of which you take small things with you. It stays in your subconscious anyway." Through both the assignment at the municipality and this training, Giovèn gained a lot of new experience in communication. "I notice that I am learning a lot in terms of communication. It is sometimes difficult to get hold of people for an interview. I try to read people, besides that I try to find a balance in not applying too much and not too little pressure." During the training, each other's case studies are discussed in detail, allowing Giovèn could learn from both his own experiences and those of his colleagues.  

"During the Finance trainings, you get a very different insight into the practice than at university. The people giving the training courses have years of experience in the field. For example, we have already learned a lot about the government approach around public finance."

Of course, the development programme also includes professional training. Giovèn benefits greatly from his background in Finance, but indicates that the development programme is also suitable for starters with a more general study and work background. "During the Finance training courses, you get a very different insight into the practice than at university. The people conducting the training courses have years of experience in the field. For example, we have already learned a lot about the government approach around public finance." 

From Data Excellence to social activities

Besides client challenges, there are also interesting internal challenges. Internally, Giovèn is part of the data excellence team, which deals with data issues both within IMPROVEN and at the client. For example, he initiated an internal project to improve a process, deploying automation and dashboarding in PowerBI together with the team. In addition, meetings are held with the entire data excellence team on strategy and annual plans, on which he has also contributed ideas and proposed plans. 

Furthermore, Giovèn is part of the core marketing team of the Young IMPROVEN Programme. This team provides articles, LinkedIn posts and newsletters on behalf of Young IMPROVEN. As such, he is involved in creating the optimal marketing strategy, creating his own content to publish. 

Giovèn finds the IMPROVEN company atmosphere very fun and accessible but certainly also instructive because of the experience of the more experienced consultants. Moreover, IMPROVEN really makes it a party by organising many social activities, which appeals to him a lot. For example, one of his favourite activities was the beach volleyball tournament.