Joining ZLU as Senior Consultant after a doctorate

Following my Ph.D. it was obvious for me that I didn’t want to stay in academia but go down a different career path. After numerous publications and conferences, ultimately doing research got kind of boring and too theoretical without noticeable chances for implementing the gained insights in practice. Searching for appropriate career alternatives in which I could also deal with developing creative solutions for challenging problems – but this time with a focus on implementation – I opted for consulting.

Through the participation in various research and consulting projects during my doctorate, I already gained useful project experience. Thereby, I kept associating with representatives from middle to top management. With the decision to enter the consultancy industry I wanted to professionalise these experiences.

Being a smaller management consultancy highly specialised in Logistics, SCM and Operations, ZLU convinced me due to the appearance and performance of its employees, the open and team orientated working atmosphere, the project assignments with the chance to quickly take over responsibility, as well as the direct contact to ZLU and client decision makers. ZLU is a company where all doors are open to each employee showing initiative and entrepreneurial mindset.

My first impressions were absolutely confirmed by starting as Senior Consultant in the automotive practice of ZLU. Thereby, the focus of ZLU on implementation and leadership was especially appealing for me after more than 3 years in academia. Learning by Doing through project assignment from the second working day onwards goes without saying.