San Francisco Senior Associate Lauren Young shares insights about her first year at L.E.K., highlighting the vibrant office culture, professional development opportunities, and offering advice for aspiring L.E.K.ers.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey to L.E.K.?
Definitely. I graduated from UCLA in 2022 as a double major in economics and geography. Going into college, I aimed to pursue a career in business but wasn't exactly sure which path. I ended up joining a consulting group early on and got to know the industry and firms, including L.E.K. I interned at the Los Angeles office in the summer of 2021 during COVID, and after accepting a full-time offer, I transferred to the SF office, mainly for personal reasons—I’m originally from the Bay Area, so I wanted to be closer to family and experience living in San Francisco. Now, I'm a Senior Associate and have been here for almost two years, approaching the Associate Consultant role.
What was your first year as an Associate like?
Coming into the job, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect thanks to my internship—it was definitely representative of the role at L.E.K. and was helpful in giving me a head start, especially since much of this job is learned through case reps and experience. As a first-year associate, my primary role was to run the interview campaign and support other key workstreams, such as assessing the competitive landscape or conducting an ad-hoc data analysis. Given I was often the one leading interviews with industry experts, my team would turn to me for insights on key case questions. It was exciting to play a meaningful role in getting to the answer, and I felt like a valued and trusted member of the team early on.
In my first year, I primarily worked on projects in TMT (Technology, Media & Telecommunications) and Consumer, ranging from marketing tech, audiobooks, and data infrastructure in TMT, to auto parts distribution and food and beverage strategy in Consumer. One of my most memorable cases was a project on digital jukeboxes, in which I was tasked with visiting dive bars around SF during the workday and talking to bartenders casually to gather their perspectives. It’s been really cool to gain in-depth knowledge in such varied and often unexpected topics like that.
How have things changed since your first year?
Since my first year, I've taken on a more analytical role in cases, such as building a market size model or working on a survey. I’ve definitely been challenged to think more critically about key questions and contribute to answer development in a more substantial way, all while honing my technical skills in Excel, Tableau, and Alteryx. For example, one of my most recent strategy cases involved identifying attractive metro areas in the U.S. to inform our client’s growth strategy for geographic expansion. I helped develop a view on the size and growth outlook for each region and did extensive analysis in Tableau, including a demographics mapping exercise and a drive-time analysis.
Have you felt supported in your professional development at L.E.K.?
There's a lot of both formal and informal support. My CDC (Career Development Coach) has been great in advising my broader professional goals and providing more of an outside perspective, since I don’t work with her directly on cases. Additionally, there are a variety of virtual and in-person sessions each month that cover technical skills, as well as more abstract topics, such as how to build a lasting career. I’ll actually be flying out to Boston in a week for an offsite training!
Beyond the more structured development opportunities L.E.K. has in place, much of my professional development has come from simply learning from others – whether it’s my immediate team members or just peers in the office, everyone here is incredibly supportive and eager to provide guidance and help. Those relationships often continue beyond a case – I'll often ping team members I worked with months ago just to see how things are going and always feel comfortable going to my peers for help with something I'm not sure about.
What can you tell us about the office culture? Is there any fun outside of work?
Some of my favorite parts of L.E.K. are the events organized outside of the office. Our office’s social committee sets up regular happy hours, as well as larger, well-organized events like our recent wine trip to Napa. We took a party bus to visit a couple of wineries and spent what would have been a typical workday enjoying the sunshine in Napa. Besides L.E.K.-sponsored events, the associates will often gather a group to go out for happy hour on Thursdays or might come together on the weekend for a pizza party or to grab a meal. There are definitely a lot of opportunities outside of work to bond with my coworkers.
Do you have advice for someone hoping to get into the world of consulting at L.E.K.?
In thinking about recruitment, most people in the interview process will be pretty strong at casing. So, I think one of the biggest things it comes down to is connecting with your interviewers and seeing if it's a good fit both ways, whether you feel you fit at L.E.K. and vice versa. That's what really makes people stand out—you’ll need strong casing and technical skills, but it's also about your interpersonal skills and connecting with your interviewer.
What keeps me going at L.E.K. are the people I'm surrounded by. This job entails some long hours, and you'll be working hard, but it becomes easier if you can find a group of people that you trust and who support you. Then, hopefully, you can pay it forward and pass down that support and wisdom to others. As I approach my third year at L.E.K., I feel I have a pretty good grasp on how to work at L.E.K. and navigate challenges, which was nerve-wracking at first because it’s a fast-paced job, and there’s a lot to learn. Of course, I am still and always will be learning and growing, but I feel like I’ve settled into a groove and am in a position to better help and support others in the position that I was once in, which has been really exciting for me.