Emma Villeneuve
•
10.3.2022 
What is it like working at Spring Advisor? How have previous trainees experienced training?
Three management consulting trainees who have been working at Spring will answer your questions and reflect on their time with Spring Advisor. Meet Ellen, Roni, and Roosa!
Who are you, and when were you trainee at Spring?
Ellen: I’m currently finalizing my studies in Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University. I was a trainee at Spring in fall 2020.
Roni: My name is Roni Luokkamäki, and I worked at Spring in the fall of 2021. My background consists of studies in finance and economics from the USA and Finland.
During my childhood and youth, I play soccer at the national level. Even though I quit around a year ago, sports still play a significant part in my life.
Roosa: My name is Roosa Puro, and I am a 6th-year finance student from Aalto University. I did my internship at Spring Advisor in spring 2021.
What kind of feelings remained from the trainee period?
Ellen: The internship at Spring was a great experience. I especially appreciated the effort people at Spring made to my learning during the internship. I was also surprised by how fast I felt like an essential team member.
Roni: The feelings regarding the internships are only positive. I arrived with high expectations and was not disappointed.
There were many reasons why the internship was successful. Still, I believe most of these can be summarized under one principle: interns are genuinely valued at Spring. In practice, this translates into a practical and straightforward recruitment process, the way interns are welcomed to the team, and how interns are encouraged to take more responsibilities as they evolve.
Roosa: The internship showed me a day-to-day life as a management consultant as well as what kind of projects Spring could offer me as a full-time employee. The best part of the internship by far was an amazing atmosphere and the motivated and down-to-earth colleagues.
What kind of tasks did you get to do at Spring?
Ellen: I worked on two different strategic projects. The first project was a pricing strategy for an energy company, and the second project focused on productivity enhancement in the health care sector. In addition, I contributed to an internal development project, where I got to know ‘the Spring way’ more carefully.
Roni: At Spring, I worked with strategy development and feasibility study projects. My tasks included collecting data, preparing analyses and materials, interviewing stakeholders, and presenting materials in customer meetings.
Roosa: During these four months at Spring, I participated in a few customer projects and organizational development processes. With customer projects, I was working on market research as well as owner and pricing strategy-related projects. My tasks included searching information and data, contributing to the pitch materials, and composing valuation analyses.
Briefly describe Spring’s people and culture from your own perspective
Ellen: People at Spring are fun and encouraging! They enjoy a good balance since challenging work duties are complemented with a relaxed atmosphere.
Roni: The team at Spring is super professional but not severe in principle. However, the work was carried out with care and quality without forgetting the sense of humor and the “spark in the eye.”
The Culture of Spring advocates responsibility and freedom. Therefore, the work times and styles are flexible due to the high level of personal responsibility taken by team members.
Roosa: People at Spring are highly motivated, innovative, and cheerful and see the company as one big functional team. The team spirit is supportive, warm, and focused on development. The people make a great culture, and I believe Spring has successfully built a great one!
Tips on how to prepare for Spring interviews?
Ellen: Practice the case situation so you can truly be yourself in the interview. It is important to present your ideas in a structured manner; however, so-called soft skills are also emphasized in the discussion, such as personality and culture fit.
Roni:
- Breakdown and categorize the reasons why you are applying to the firm
Breaking down and categorizing the reasons enables you to convince the interviewer and gives you a better understanding of if you really want to work in the company.
- Get familiar with the fundamentals of accounting, valuation, M&A, etc.
The fact is that you will be required to have at least a high general level understanding of these concepts as you work as a consultant. Thus, questions related to these concepts are regularly asked in the interviews. In practice, an excellent way to prepare is to read a textbook regarding the basics of investment banking, for example, ”Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions”¨
- Practices case interviews with a friend
After solving a case, a good practice is to take a few minutes to reflect with a friend on what went well and what is to be improved. Also, get yourself familiar with some basic problem-solving frameworks and which one to use when tackling a specific type of problem.
Roosa: The best way to prepare for the interview is to practice consulting cases and visit the Spring website to familiarize yourself with the company and get inspiration from the different case types. Another important thing is to go through different types of fit questions. Finally, be prepared to have a clear, structured answer for at least these three questions: Why consulting, why Spring, and why you?
The application period for Spring Academy is ongoing
The application period for Spring Academy is currently ongoing and ends on March 27th. You can find out more about Spring Academy here in the form of a brochure, where we open up the tasks, goals, and the recruitment process, among other things.
You can find the job advertisement here!
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