Essay #1: Describe your greatest professional achievement and how you were able to add value to your organization.
My role as a member of the Deloitte Consulting project management team responsible for the successful integration of a big merger of two international Broker Dealers was an interesting. In addition to the set of business challenges faced during any client engagement, this project and my responsibilities during it, was particularly challenging due to the turnover of the project team and client relationships. I used my communication and problem solving skills to create ideas for the Partners and Senior Managers to consider.
I was tasked with providing project management support. One of the problems the team worked on was gaining the confidence of the client team.. To help combat this early lack of trust, I was assigned the responsibility for the Broker Dealer Consolidation Project Plan, the key tool in ensuring that the merger integration was kept on track and under budget. Although the original project plan was compressive, it was complex and took a while to understand. I was asked to make it into a manageable set of items with high-level milestones and tasks critical to the overall success of the engagement. I worked with the Director of the client's Project Management Office (PMO), creating a streamlined reporting process that helped make it simpler. It was a difficult task but with the support of team management we accomplished our goal.
The second major obstacle impeding our relationship with the client was the turnover of staff on the project. I was scheduled to roll off the project but was asked to stay, because I had developed strong relationships with the client during the revision of the plan. I was disappointed because my career development was going to be slowed down but I agreed and stayed focused on helping strengthen our relationships. I did take a larger role in daily status meetings and creation of executive...