What's your job about?
As a graduate consultant at Argon & Co, I work with a diverse range of teams to help clients transform their businesses and generate real change to deliver lasting results. Looking past the consultant jargon, what this actually means is that clients ask us to solve some of their toughest problems by driving a combination of change in their culture, their structure, their approach, and their efficiency. For example, if a factory is dealing with a particularly inefficient line, we’ll first analyse any available data and then compare this to what we actually observe on the shop floor, identifying key areas of loss and formulating plans to minimise them. We drive this change from the floor up, and on any given day I could be working with operators on a factory floor, their supervisors, upper management, or even the C-suite. Transforming businesses requires being able to work with people at all levels to drive change.
Our company deals with clients spanning the entire end-to-end supply chain sector (everything from manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, and anything in between) and all across Australia and New Zealand. So far I’ve spent more time in Melbourne and Adelaide than I have in my hometown of Sydney, and am now travelling on more planes than I am on trains or buses. It’s a fast-paced environment and there’s never a dull moment.
What's your background?
I studied chemical engineering at the University of Sydney and graduated in 2023. I was fortunate enough to complete a 6-month internship at a water treatment plant in Sydney to solve an emerging problem at their plant. This opportunity gave me my first introduction to how to solve problems for an actual client without being spoon-fed information.
As you can probably tell the water industry has very little in common with end-to-end supply chain, but the transferrable skills I learned set me up for the job I have now. My background in chemical engineering also gave me a good understanding of how to analyse processes at various levels. I’ve been at my job for 8 months now and I originally got into it because I wanted to do something that was challenging and wouldn’t lock me into any one specific sector. It’s safe to say the things I am learning now in this job can be taken anywhere.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes, absolutely. I always tell people that there is no textbook that will teach them how to do what we do, and as a company, we are open to accepting a wide range of degrees and backgrounds. I think there are two main skills that are required that anyone can bring to the table: the ability to work and interact with a diverse range of people, and the ability to analyse data in a way that generates actionable insights that generate change. Most people can analyse data these days, it’s about going to the next step and asking, “So what?”.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
Travel. While 6:30 AM flights can be tough, I’ve been able to see parts of Australia I likely wouldn’t have seen otherwise (we also can stay the weekend of whatever city or town we travel to). In addition, Argon & Co is an international company and as part of the graduate program, I will have the opportunity to spend 16 weeks at one of our global offices.
What are the limitations of your job?
Like any consultancy, the fast-paced environment means there can be tight deadlines and long hours, however, there are several things in place that prevent this from being the norm (unlimited annual leave being one of them). The extensive travel can also be a deal breaker for some people and in my experience, I spend more time travelling than I do at home.
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