Marktlink is growing enormously; our team now counts more than 200 employees. Yet we continue to invest in meeting people, connecting people and personal development. Amongst other things,like organising special sessions for the various job groups. In this blog, Hari Griffith and Marco van der Meer look back on the two-day event for second- and third-year consultants.
As usual, Het Uilenbos in Lunteren (centre of the Netherlands) was the base for the two-day event. A varied programme in which everyone is updated on all developments within Marktlink but where, above all, the changing role of consultant is discussed. From day one, each consultant works in a deal team with experienced colleagues, but the mutual exchange of experiences also contributes to professional growth. With growing experience, the focus is increasingly on commerce and acquisition.
See the bigger picture of Marktlink
For foreign consultants, this event is the perfect opportunity to spar with other colleagues and take full advantage of the Marktlink DNA. Hari Grifith is one of two consultants from the Manchester office. He works closely with our partner Jonny Parkinson but the team is still small. "That makes it great for me to visit The Netherlands and see the bigger picture of Marktlink. It was exciting to see the growths plans both in terms of new locations and new service lines. Socialising with my colleagues is always easy, I am lucky that they speak much better English than my Dutch."
As a second-year consultant, Hari still has a great career full of growthopportunities ahead of him. "What I like about Marktlink, is that the majority start their career as a consultant. Step by step you have the opportunity to gain experience and develop yourself in many ways. That is why I was inspired by the story of Jan Dijkmans. He shared his struggles along the way, starting as a consultant and working his way up to partner and setting up a new office in the south of the Netherlands."
Exchanging experiences with colleagues
Marco van der Meer, who is a senior consultant, expects to make the step to manager next year and thus starts guiding deals independently. "I already get full freedom to lead deals myself, and if needed I can spar with the partner I work with. However, he leaves me completely free to make the choices during the process. That gives confidence and is very instructive. But instructive is also the two-day event in Lunteren. By exchanging experiences with colleagues from other offices who are in the same phase of their careers, you gain new insights yourself."
As an experienced consultant, Marco knows better than anyone else which growth steps are important and what the important lessons are for younger colleagues. "For instance, you notice that, in practice, first-year consultants are less often involved in the final phase of an acquisition process. If you are just starting out as a consultant II, you may be quite new to the matter of the last phase. So my advice is not to let the manager solve that phase entirely. Take the lead yourself with the legal colleague and make sure you understand what is happening. That's how you learn the most.
