Rui Gomes Pinto BSc Management and MSc Risk Management, 2006

Senior Consultant, Ericsson

My degree offered a myriad of opportunities to practice working in small and large teams which has proved essential in the workplace.

After graduating from my BSc in Management in 2004 I decided to stay in the School of Management to study towards an MSc in Risk Management. I decided to pursue a postgraduate course at the University because it allowed me to develop a stronger academic profile needed to provide a competitive advantage towards future employers. I must admit that a postgraduate course also allowed me to explore my strengths, interests and aspirations with more time as I was not completely sure which career to pursue at the end of my undergraduate degree.

Apart from the content of my degree programme, I think one of most valuable things I learnt during my time in Southampton was the ability to structure and breakdown a problem logically, whatever the topic. Additionally, my degree offered a myriad of opportunities to practice working in small and large teams which has proved essential in the workplace.

Upon graduation from my Masters I did a six month internship in a business consulting firm in Dubai. Following that I took a position as an Analyst in Business Systems Integration Consulting at Accenture in London. I knew of the company through its large graduate exposure at the University of Southampton and liked their reputation for high performance, so decided to apply to their graduate scheme.

2 1/2 years later, I decided to look for sunnier climes and moved back to Dubai (not before treating myself to a six month backpacking adventure around South America!). Working for Accenture was great as it provided me with an excellent base to progress my career in Management Consultancy. Within 2 1/2 years I worked for five major FTSE100 clients in three separate industries (Financial Services, Communications / High Technology & Resources) in seven different cities across the UK!

In consulting it’s all about being dynamic and responding to constant change. How, when and where we work are variables that are continually shifting. In the Professional Service industry, we must always be several steps ahead of our clients; this is often very challenging as you can be deployed within a wide range of roles, industries or clients.

I am now working for Ericsson as a Consultant within their BSS/OSS practice in Dubai. Currently I am helping a major telecoms company in the Middle East to redesign their key Business Processes as part of a larger CRM transformation program. Joining a new Company and being immediately thrown in the deep end of an engagement was a little daunting at first but I am really enjoying working in a completely new industry and technology.