Planning & Analytics Consultant: The Ideal Combination of IT, Financial Business, and Service

Our colleague Stefanie Meyer from Zurich reports on how it is possible to change to an IT career in the valantic family and how optimal training will quickly familiarize you with tools and processes.

Stefanie, it’s nice that you’ve found time for us. How did you land at valantic?

Digitalization was becoming more and more a part of my daily work environment, and at the same time I found out that I was very interested in this topic. Since new challenges actually attract me, it quickly became clear that I would like to develop myself professionally in this area in the future. However, I had long been reluctant to focus on IT consulting since I assumed that my business studies would not qualify me for such a job without any IT experience. I also feared that in the application process, I would have to compete with all the computer scientists. 😊

Since the valantic job advertisement on the Planning & Analytics Consultant site was described in such an open, humane way, I simply had to take the leap in summer 2021 and apply. Even during initial conversations, my concerns about changing careers to IT dissolved completely, as the right attitude and motivation are valantic’s top priorities. And that’s how it happened that I joined the valantic team in Zurich in the summer of 2021, and here too, the focus was always on me as a human being.

Why a career change?

In fact, my professional career began in the hotel industry. My curiosity and my studies eventually led me to financial-specific roles in one of the largest accounting companies and within a global consumer goods group. And finally, I applied for the advertised position as “Planning & Analytics Consultant Finance” at valantic in Zurich.  

What do you especially like about valantic?

To be honest, a lot: For me, my role as a Planning & Analytics Consultant represents the ideal combination of IT, financial business, and service. From day one, I was shown a clearly structured training path and the company made a major investment in developing my tool know-how in order to optimally supplement my existing business knowledge in the financial sector.

In addition to this aspect, the team is definitely the most important for me, because each member is incredibly open and motivated. Furthermore, all managers are very concerned that the work should be fun. Even if something unexpected happens, nobody presses the “panic button” right away; instead, people look pragmatically and straightforwardly for a solution that’s right for everyone. In my previous planning projects, I also quickly realized that I already have some IT knowledge and that my initial concerns were in fact completely unfounded. The valantic team showed me that I can continue to learn, as part of the team and independently as well. Within the great team, however, you are never left alone; we all support each other in our further development.

Where do you see yourself in three years?

Although I have yet to celebrate my one-year anniversary, I would like to land a leading position for one of the consulting teams in the near future, and of course this within the valantic family. 😉 In addition to responsibility for content and personnel, it would be an important concern for me to reassure all future new hires that changing careers is possible, just as people have done for me over the past year.

Thank you, Stefanie, for the great conversation!