Meet Anton
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Anton ended up in our apprenticeship in 2018, and started as a functional analyst at Fluxys afterwards. He decided to choose consultancy, triggered by the AE's culture and project approach. A decision he hasn’t regretted to this day. Curious how he experienced his first years as an AE consultant? Find out here.
I studied engineering at KU Leuven and graduated in 2018. As my studies focused on building a bridge between business & IT, it clear to me that I wanted to continue in functional analysis. What absolutely wasn’t clear was whether I wanted to work for a consultancy organisation or in an internal IT team in a company.
An encounter to remember...
I always had a certain image of consultancy organisations: I imagined it as body shopping, not having colleagues but competitors and not feeling at home anywhere.
In addition, both my parents worked in an internal IT position, which automatically made me more inclined to apply for internal vacancies. AE was the only consultancy company I even applied to. During my studies I had come into contact with a few AE employees via our student organisation Ekonomika. I felt a match and the encounter stayed with me, which finally led to my application. I guess we know the outcome (smiles).
A change of mind
Two things convinced me to choose for AE. On the one hand, the unique AE culture that immediately popped out during my first conversations. On the other hand, it was the way in which projects are set up. No body shopping, but long(er)-term projects in which thinking along with customers and seeing the bigger picture are central. The aim always is to deliver quality work and help customers move forward. Those things changed my idea of a consultancy organisation completely.
Sparring parnters
I ended up in an organisation with like-minded people who are ready to help, want to share their expertise and want to think along with you if you are stuck on something.
Real colleagues who act as support and as a sparring partner when needed. In addition, I got a good substantive match with a project at Fluxys where I did not just work for the customers, but got to work together with their teams.
Take your time to get used to your job and your new environment. There’s a big difference between your studies and reality. And occasionally getting stuck in a project isn’t necessarely a bad thing. You’ll learn from falling down and then getting back up again.
Anton
Expectations? All met!
Today, I can tell that all the expectations I had from the start are met. I am working in a role that fully matches my interests. On top of that, I can always count on my fellow AE employees when I want to spar. During business hours or with a beer on Friday evening. And that unique culture that I mentioned earlier?
Well, AE really makes an effort to bring people together in an informal context. Before I even started, I got invited to a TrAEning Day and StAErtje, to get a taste of that atmosphere. In short: the things I got told during my application were not a sales pitch, but simply the truth.
A diverse job and personal growth
When people ask me what I do as a functional analyst, I have to tell them that my job is quite diverse. It goes from drawing up user stories to implementing changes in information models and devising algorithms to testing and brainstorming. I still learn new things every day.
I even took on a Project Management role for some time, which meant that I was suddenly involved in a lot on planning and follow-up. Not exactly the direction I want to go in, but the experience certainly enlarged my skillset. And I learned to put things into perspective and deal with stress better.
