Category Type: Careers

We are happy to introduce our motivated and diligent young trainees, Okko and Antti.

Okko is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Finance at the University of Turku. He has experience of asset and company valuations, and his special areas of interest include financial modeling and M&A. In his free time, Okko enjoys training in the gym and alpine skiing. He also has a team sport background in football.

Antti is a fifth-year student at Aalto University School of Science, majoring in Industrial Engineering and Management. He has experience of digitalization projects from multiple companies within the forest industry. Antti’s expertise focuses on analytical problem solving in the industrial setting, ranging from pricing to energy. In his free time, Antti plays football and also enjoys other outdoor sports.

We asked Okko and Antti about the company culture and analysts’ top skills.

How would you describe the company culture at VALOR?

O: I would say the culture at VALOR could be defined as low-hierarchy and solution-oriented. I like the fact that it is made very easy to ask for assistance from anyone, and people are truly eager to get to know you from day one.

A: Since my first day at VALOR, I’ve felt that the company is ambitious to go forward in both customer projects and internally. I truly enjoy VALOR’s low-hierarchical and entrepreneurial drive.

What do you think are the top skills an analyst needs?

O: I think the most essential skills for an analyst are the desire to learn new things, combined with great analytical skills. You face a lot of new and challenging problems in different industries, so you need to be proactive in consulting your more senior colleagues.

A: There are three skills I find most important. First, a growth-mindset and a passion to learn new things are important skills as an analyst. Second, one needs to have a great variety of problem-solving skills to be able to conduct a comprehensive analysis. And finally, communication and other soft skills are always important in any role.

We are excited to introduce our talented young trainees, Noora and Eero.

Noora joined VALOR in February 2021. She previously worked as a research intern with CERN open data at the Helsinki Institute of Physics, and as an information governance intern at Baker McKenzie in Toronto. Noora holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Networks from Aalto University School of Science. Outside the office, Noora likes to travel and spend time with her friends. She also enjoys occasional floorball and yoga. 

Eero joined VALOR in March 2021. He previously worked as Production Planner at Vaisala and as Head of Operations at Junction. Eero is also pursuing a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University School of Science. In his free time, Eero enjoys jogging and exploring nature – either on foot or skies.

We asked Noora and Eero about what they have discovered about consulting and the new skills they have learned during the internship.

Why consulting?

N: For me, consulting provides a better chance to have a real impact on the world around me than most junior positions in other companies. I like to have responsibility and interesting challenges from early on, as that makes the work more motivating and lets me learn something new every day.

E: Consulting provides a great opportunity to learn from different industries and types of challenges that organizations face and I find interesting, which helps in focusing the rest of my studies and the direction of my early career. Besides, I believe that I can improve my analytical problem solving skills significantly through consulting at VALOR.

Name one essential thing you have learned during your first weeks at VALOR?

N: That there are so many things you can do with excel! More seriously speaking, personally I have learned how much I enjoy working with great people. My latest job projects before VALOR have been quite independent, so I have really enjoyed the sense of community at VALOR even during remote times with bi-weekly Kahoots bringing everyone together and personal 1-on-1 meetings with all employees during orientation.

E: The importance of iterative approach to teamwork – have checkups with fellow project team members frequently enough to ensure progress to the right direction and to define potential bottlenecks. This has been highlighted by more experienced colleagues in the 1-on-1 meetings and demonstrated in the onboarding exercise as well as in the project work.

Tuomas joined VALOR in October 2020. He has been working in management consulting since 2018. Tuomas is interested in growth, strategy, and operational improvement. As a counterbalance to work, Tuomas can be found mountain biking, playing squash, or simply relaxing with friends and family.

Samuli joined VALOR in January 2021. Samuli’s core competence lies in health and social care industry consulting.  Outside working hours, Samuli enjoys the beautiful nature around Helsinki and various music projects.

We interviewed Tuomas and Samuli and asked about their first days at VALOR and their expectations for 2021

How was your first day at VALOR?

T: My first day at VALOR started with the weekly team meeting, so I was able to catch up on what is going on quite smoothly. I then had some on-boarding and a longer meeting with my mentor at which we began to discuss my interests and which projects I would start working on.

It was great to see that everyone was actively engaged in conversations with me. I was a little anxious about starting during Covid-19 and the recommendation to work remotely, but I was impressed by the effort to ensure that I could get up to speed from day one. And having 1-on-1 video meetings with the other team members during the first week was a great way to meet everyone.

S: My first day started with an orientation meeting that included a delicious breakfast and a lot of new information about the firm. I was able to catch up with my new colleagues over lunch, where I received a warm welcome. We had an interesting discussion about our backgrounds and the current situation. In the afternoon, I had an online meeting with our Managing Director, Henrikki, who welcomed me to the firm, and a planning session with our social and healthcare industry team.

Regardless of the COVID-19 situation, it was great to see how well the whole on-boarding process has been organized by utilizing remote 1-on-1 meetings.

What are your expectations for 2021?

T: Professionally speaking, I expect 2021 to continue where 2020 left off, bringing exciting and challenging new projects – with some fun along the way.

S: I hope that the global pandemic will abate soon, and professionally, I’m looking forward to interesting projects with my new colleagues.

Tuomas joined VALOR in fall 2020. Prior to joining VALOR, he worked as a manager at Nordic Healthcare Group. Tuomas has 5 years’ experience in health and social care industry consulting. He has worked with both public and private sector clients. His expertise ranges from market analysis, private sector strategy and commercial due diligence to public sector operational and service structure development. Tuomas holds a Master of Science degree from Aalto University School of Business with major in Information and Service Management.

Outside office hours, Tuomas enjoys sports in many forms. In addition to going to the gym and running, he likes to spend his free time on the greens during summer and on the ice during winter.

We are excited to introduce our talented young trainees, Saska and Jonathan. We interviewed Saska and Jonathan and asked their thoughts on internship, on-boarding and what was it like to start the internship during the Covid-19. 

Introductions 

Saska Sandholm joined VALOR in June 2020. Saska is a fourth-year finance student at Aalto University School of Business. Outside his office hours Saska enjoys spending time with his friends, doing various sports, cooking, bartending, and playing the guitar. 

 Jonathan Stolpe joined VALOR in August 2020. He is currently starting his third year at Hanken School of Economics, studying finance as a major. In prior to joining VALOR, Jonathan has completed internships in investment banking and wealth management. Outside the office Jonathan is a big fan of sports. 

Why VALOR? 

S: I had heard many good things about working at VALOR from previous interns and after my first months here, I can see why.  Working alongside colleagues with +20 years of experience both in consulting and in many industries has been very inspiring and helpful for me professionally. You will also be encouraged by everyone to take more responsibility and challenge yourself, which stems from our highly motivated team of people and winning mentality. 

J: I participated in VALOR’s recruiting event last year, and I liked the atmosphere a lot. I had great discussions and fun with many of the VALOR representatives and found the case we did at the event interesting. Furthermore, I liked the idea of being able to do different types of projects varying from M&A to strategy and operational projects. For these reasons, I decided to apply to the VALOR’s internship program.  

Expectations vs. Reality?  

S:  As I had heard many good things about the firm, my expectations were quite clear. I was still surprised that starting from the first day and my first project, I immediately felt like an integral part of the team. The on-boarding was smooth and included e.g. short 1-on-1 conversations with everyone here at VALOR. This was a great way to get to know everyone quickly and to adjust for the low hierarchy we have here.  

J: Before starting at VALOR I had high expectations for the incoming internship. My first month at VALOR has totally lived up those expectations. The on-boarding was well organized, and I felt very welcome at VALOR. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to work on interesting projects and gain some responsibility. 

What was it like to start internship during the pandemic?  

S: From my perspective, working as a trainee during the pandemic has not been so different from normal. Sure, some of the client meetings and workshops have been moved online for everyone’s safety. However, these days people are already accustomed to working remotely and video conferences that it hardly makes a difference anymore. At VALOR you have the freedom of choice to work remotely most of the time if it suits you the best. 

J: I feel like the Covid-19 has not affected the amount of work, but it has affected how we do the work. All the employees can decide whether they want to work at the office or remotely from home, because the majority of the client and internal meetings are via Teams, Zoom or other platforms. I have worked about 50% of the days at the office and 50% from home. 

Do you have any regards for someone interested to also work at VALOR? 

S&J: We both highly recommend everyone to apply for an internship at VALOR and if you would like to hear more about our experiences, feel free contact us to ask anything!

Antti Lehtovirta initially joined VALOR as a trainee in the autumn of 2018. After his internship he focused on finishing his studies at Aalto University School of Business, but also continued working as a part-time consultant at VALOR. Hard work pays off and Antti will soon hold a master’s degree in Finance. In May 2020 Antti joined our team as a full-time consultant.

As Antti has been part of our line-up for a while now, he is already familiar with our company’s culture and what it’s like to grow with the company. Antti shared his thoughts on what it is like to work as a consultant at VALOR.

“Based on my own experience, VALOR offers a rather quick path for a young consultant to discuss important questions with the management of our clients. Meeting seasoned professionals from varying industries requires you to consume new things quickly, which I have found to be intriguing. Simultaneously, the more experienced colleagues and partners are supportive, covering your back when you are close to being out of your depth in e.g. way too technical telecommunication market issues.

The freedom to complete my final courses while still getting a lot of responsibility in projects was something that I found motivating when working as a part-time consultant. In my opinion, one of VALOR’s main strengths as an employer is the way people are trusted to take responsibility while still given freedom to work in their own way.”