What it's really like to work at Palladium
I joined Palladium Digital as a Graduate Analyst in September 2022 through the Palladium Graduate Scheme. My first rotation, through Strategy and Innovation, has highlighted that there is no such thing as a typical day. Each week is incredibly exciting and filled with a variety of activities.
So, here’s my best shot at answering the question: what does a typical day look like in the life of a graduate analyst?
7:30 AM – Commute
I’m working from the office today, so I catch a train to Charing Cross, then a tube to Oxford Circus (the office is just a short walk from Oxford Street).
On the train in, I listen to a podcast and look at Instagram for some morning inspiration. Most people come into the office on Thursdays for our company meeting and to catch up on joint projects and initiatives. We have a hybrid working setup, so we can choose when we come into the office. But, it's always nice to see everyone in person on a Thursday.
There's no such thing as a typical day.
Jess Conn, Analyst
8:45 AM – Arrive at the office
Sometimes I’m a little early depending on the train schedules. This gives me a chance to grab breakfast and a much-needed coffee. We're really lucky, because the office is really close to a number of coffee shops and cafes, so there's plenty of choice.
Today I went with Kaffeine (the banana bread is an office favourite!).
9:00 AM – Prepare for the day
My first task is to check my calendar, reply to emails, and plan my day. As I’m currently working on two strategy projects, planning is essential to managing my workload and deadlines.
Working across different projects has given me exposure to various disciplines within strategy, including go-to-market strategy, strategy implementation, and customer experience. This exposure, coupled with close collaboration with clients and various people across Palladium, provides me with exciting opportunities to gain hands-on experience.
9:30 AM – Daily stand-up
As part of the project I’m working on, we have a 30-minute stand-up every day to discuss:
- What progress have we made from the previous day?
- What are the priorities and actions for today?
- Are there any blockers preventing work from being completed?
Whenever action points are raised, I note them down and circulate them with the team afterwards. Today’s stand-up was held in a meeting room on the fifth floor (which has amazing rooftop views and an outside terrace!).
10:00 AM – Mentoring session
Hope Pritchard (Product and Technology Manager) and I catch up bi-weekly for a casual chat about how things are going, my personal development goals, and any questions I may have about work. Each employee at Palladium is paired with a mentor whose role is to share knowledge, experiences, and expertise to guide their mentee.
I look forward to these meetings as they are a great chance to self-reflect, bounce ideas off my mentor, and gain insightful advice for building my career in consulting. This support has encouraged me to take on more responsibility and get involved with wider opportunities which have been instrumental to my growth since joining Palladium.
I've been impressed by the constant support from my mentor and Mikaela Contreras (Learning and Development Manager), who have made my transition from university to employment, much easier.
10:30 AM – Take a break and write to-do list
Time for a short tea break. Then, it’s back to my desk to start working on my to-do list. My focus for today is process mapping, a skill I learnt from a training session a few weeks ago. I am using an online collaboration tool to map key business processes that will be used to help the team assess our clients’ current internal capabilities. There's lots of opportunities to learn from subject matter experts in the business, from tools to techniques and everything in between.
11:45 AM – Order lunch
After a productive hour, I finished some of my project tasks and started to gather the troops for lunch. On Thursday’s lunch is on Palladium, meaning we can order food to the office or home with the Deliveroo lunch allowance. There are so many amazing restaurants near the office to choose from!
It's a really great opportunity to catch up with my team and people who I don't normally work with.
12:30 PM – Fortnightly company meeting
The food has arrived, and we all head downstairs for the fortnightly Thursday company get-together. At the company meeting, we discuss the pipeline of upcoming work, internal initiatives, charity work, Proud to be a Palladiator, and announcements. Proud to be a Palladiator is always a highlight of these meetings because it allows us to learn about broader initiatives in which people across the company are involved.
2:00 PM – Strategy and Innovation training
Back from lunch and trying to fight the food coma, I have graduate training scheduled next. Every week, I have a one-on-one training workshop that the strategy team leads as part of the rotation. Each session focuses on a different area of strategy, and this week Osama Aslam (Strategy and Innovation Manager) is teaching me about operating models.
I really enjoy these interactive sessions because it allows me to get acquainted with the tools and methods used to work with our clients. It gives me the confidence needed to perform independently on projects, solve problems using existing frameworks and contribute to driving digital change for our clients.
3:30 PM – Catch-up
Next, a weekly check-in with Medy Ract (Strategy and Innovation Manager). Prior to the meeting, Medy sent me a few articles related to customer journey mapping to read. Following a general catch-up, we move on to critically discuss key takeaways from these articles and clarify any questions I may have had.
4:00 PM – Focus time
I finish my process mapping task and prepare slides for tomorrow's client meeting.
5:30 PM - Operation Christmas Child
The day wrapped up, quite literally, with Operation Christmas Child. Palladium came together, with competing firm, onefourzero to create shoebox hampers for Samaritan’s Purse Charity initiative.
There are many diverse opportunities to get involved at Palladium, specifically as part of the wider Next15 Group (which is made up of 20+ businesses that range from digital insights, data, service design and technology to PR and policy communications).
Since joining Palladium, I have been involved with delivering a Digital Transformation workshop to university students as part of Palladium’s University Roadshow.
I also volunteered at Crisis Christmas Warehouse, helping prepare their warehouse for incoming donations and sorting stock.
It’s been another energetic and varied day in the life of a graduate analyst. I’m looking forward to moving onto my next rotations in Product & Implementation and Due Diligence this year and interested in what tomorrow holds.
____________________________________________________________________
About Palladium
Digital advisory support that spans the investment cycle
Palladium is an award-winning digital and technology due diligence provider and digital transformation partner to Private Equity firms and their portfolios across Europe and the US - providing advisory services throughout the transaction lifecycle.
Palladium was named Gold and Overall Winner at the International Digital Experience Awards 2021.
