Alastair Croker BSc Accounting and Finance,  2015

Associate - Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

I am currently an Associate at the Boston Consulting Group in the United Arab Emirates where I support strategy development and implementation programmes for leading organisations in the region.

Joining one of the world's leading management consultancies has enabled me to experience and interact with key decision makers across industry and government. This has been invaluable experience.

How did your time at Southampton help you to grow as a person and help you get to where you are now? My work requires the ability to take large amounts of information and distil the essential elements and communicate key insights to different audiences. This skill set started at Southampton, researching and writing my dissertation and working closely with peers on pieces of work, provided the foundations for my current job.

What advice would you give to a student starting their degree at Southampton? Enjoy your first year and decide what you want to get out of your time at university and afterwards. It really is possible to balance doing well academically and having fun. The social skills you build will more useful than you can imagine. Aim high, Southampton and its alumni can open important doors for further education or job opportunities.

What tips would you give to current students looking to start a career in your sector? It is highly competitive to enter a leading management consultancy and you must stand out. Doing well in your undergraduate degree is important but you can excel in other areas outside of your academic studies. Try to build a strong work ethic and social skills while retaining a sense of humour! When you are working long hours, you want to be around people who you enjoy working with.