Step 1: Get job at Deloitte
Step 2: Have baby
Step 3: ????
Step 4: PROFIT!!!
Andrea Garry has been with Deloitte for six years. She has a 3 year old and currently works 30 hours a week Monday through Wednesday. How does she do it? EASY:
When I first started my career at Deloitte, someone said to me that here you “own your career” – you need to determine your path within the firm, you need to ask for what you want, and most importantly, you need to set the limits. No one else will do that for you. Once I became a mom, this advice took on a whole new meaning! Applying this advice to my new situation, I did three things that helped me to successfully negotiate a reduced workload and were critical in making my new schedule a reality:
- The first and most important step was to become very clear about what I needed, what my family needed, what I was willing to give, what my boundaries and priorities were and ultimately, what I needed from Deloitte to make this work.
- The second step was to build a business case for myself that not only highlighted my value to the firm but also clearly showed that I had put a lot of thought into how I envisioned making a reduced schedule work – not just for myself but also for the firm, my clients, and my team members.
- The third step was to be transparent and to clearly communicate my priorities, boundaries, value and plan to Deloitte leadership – BUT in a way that demonstrated I had considered the firm’s needs as well.
You hear that, guys? Those of you complaining about the hours and the workload just aren't "owning" your career.
Andrea puts her work/life balance at "a happy 7," though it is unknown how her single, childless team members might rate having to pick up her slack.
