Welcome back to our Conversations series! This week, we are featuring Jillin Yan, a member of the 2018-2019 Investment Committee. After graduating with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) in 2019, Jillin joined McKinsey & Company as a Business Analyst and is currently working at August Robotics as a Business Strategy Manager, based in Hong Kong. We are excited to share Jillin’s story and perspectives with students.

University life:

At university, Jillin was heavily involved in a range of student clubs. In addition to the Investment Committee, she was a Co-President of the Public Policy Club, and represented the university internationally in both mooting competitions with the Law School and case competitions with the Business School’s Case Programme.

“Representing the university in these competitions was excellent for my personal and professional development. The intensive training and the competitive element pushed my critical thinking, problem-solving and presentation skills, and taught me how to be a true team player. My motivation for and takeaways from the Public Policy Club were different – it was about learning how to lead others, finding a broader purpose, and giving back to the community.

“I really enjoyed being on the Investment Committee due to its constancy. By meeting every week, I built trusted and close relationships with this small group. We could discuss ideas very openly and learn from each other. In terms of other UAIC events, winning the Stock Pitch Competition and the CMC Trading Competition were good highlights.”

Consulting at McKinsey:

During her time as a consultant at McKinsey, Jillin worked on strategy and transformationprojects in many industries. Strategy projects involve providing a recommendation to a question and require heavy conceptual and analytical problem-solving skills.

“For example, a strategy project might involve helping a business clarify their 2050 aspirations and their strategy to get there – beyond the core, what is their growth platform or adjacencies to expand into? The day-to-day typically involves structuring and breaking down the problem, discussing with your team and Firm experts, and testing your thinking and insights with the client. You might build a model, and will definitely make a lot of PPT slides.”

Transformation projects are very different and are becoming increasingly common, Jillin says. Instead of merely providing a recommendation to clients, you help them implement it.

“You’re not just an advisor but an impact partner. The emphasis is on client counselling. You are building clients’ capabilities, influencing how they think, and creating transparency and alignment. On one transformation project, I had to own relationships with ~15 clients to guide them through a process and be a thought partner. I barely made a single slide, but was leading back-to-back meetings every day for weeks.

“Transformation projects often involve McKinsey’s more innovative offerings. For example, I worked with a Quantum Black team to help a pharmaceutical company develop a machine learning tool for their sales function. As the analytics translator, I bridged the data scientists, who were building the tool, and the business clients. My job was to make sure that the data scientists understood the business needs when designing the tool, and that the business understood the tool’s outputs and implications.”

McKinsey offers a Fellowship program to Business Analysts after two and a half years. The program encourages Business Analysts to explore new opportunities for up to four years with an offer to return to the firm. Some choose to pursue a sponsored MBA or Masters. Others choose to join an internal, non-consulting function, such as McKinsey’s think tank or sustainability office. Jillin chose to venture into the world of start-ups.

Working at August Robotics:

August Robotics is a Hong Kong-based start-up that builds B2B robots to automate workflows in a range of industries.

“I wanted to join a start-up to move beyond advising and influencing to executing and getting things done. August Robotics ticked many boxes. I liked the company’s mission and progress, the size, the people and my role. I also wanted to have an overseas adventure and the job enabled that.

“The company has two commercialised robots and wants to build a portfolio of robots. One of my key roles is to determinewhat robot to build next by validating product-market fit. It is a big responsibility because once we commit to an idea, the company would invest a lot of money and resources over a long time on it, so I have to ensure there is a commercial demand for it.”

To validate product-market fit, Jillin talks to potential users and stakeholders in the target industry to understand current processes and the feasibility and value of a robot automating them. She also thinks ahead to commercialisation questions, such as whether the company should provide the robot as a service, lease it, or sell it outright.

“After deciding on the product, I work with the engineers to specify and prioritise the robots’ featuresso the solution meets customers’ needs. I am also heavily involved in go-to-market and sales for new products, by sourcing and negotiating partnerships, modelling pricing, and negotiating contractual terms with clients.”

Advice to students:

Having been through intensive recruitment processes, Jillin stresses the importance of interviews in determining the outcome. She strongly believes in good interview preparation, particularly for technical and case interviews.

“Good grades get you the interview, but the interview gets you the job. During recruitment season, spending time studying to go from an A- to an A+ might increase your GPA by 0.1. Why not spend that time preparing for an interview so that you can showcase the best version of yourself? If you get your dream job, your GPA will hardly matter anymore.”

On a final note, we asked Jillin about her overseas work experience in Sydney and Hong Kong. Jillin encourages students to explore international opportunities if it interests them. “Your bubble may mean that these opportunities are not immediately visible, so seek them out actively. New Zealanders have a great reputation in Australia and globally for being friendly, collaborative and open-minded, so don’t be shy!”

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