I enjoy stepping outside my comfort zone

Staying active and discovering new horizons – values without which Lenka Obermajerová’s life would not be complete. She works as a consultant at PwC and also helps newcomers join the 150-member team as smoothly as possible. She spends most of her free time travelling, which gives her energy and inspiration for everyday challenges. 

You studied IT analysis and management at the Czech Technical University in Prague. You are in your second year with PwC; what brought you here? 

At my previous company, I was involved in software development, but over time I was tempted to try something more diverse, where you get to experience more roles. That’s what led me to consulting. PwC itself had by far the best rating on Atmoskop, and because it’s very important for me to feel comfortable in a team, I went for it. 

What do you think are the advantages of PwC? 

The people who work here usually get along really well. Our team is very young, and we have a lot to talk about. We are connected by our personal attitudes and have a similar drive. I usually imagine a corporation as a place where people pursue their careers without looking too much around, where there is competition among people. But I don’t feel that here at all.  

How do you manage to combine your studies in IT and process engineering with your work at PwC? 

It’s great that I get to use my knowledge. I work on an IT project where we deal with process modifications, so I get to do project management and what I studied. At the same time, I’m learning new things – such as about the cloud – that we didn’t cover much at school. Thanks to PwC, we have access to training that helps me navigate this specific area. 

You’ve already completed training abroad. Would you be interested in more? 

It was training on enterprise architecture as part of a trip to Amsterdam, where there is a university for PwC employees and lots of different courses. I spent a total of three days in the Netherlands, and it was a great opportunity to meet people from PwC from all over the world. I would definitely be open to more trips. For example, our team has so-called Away Days in the summer and winter, when we go on a long weekend to the seaside or the Austrian Alps. 

At PwC, you also help train newcomers. What does that involve? 

My colleague and I have put together instructions for so-called buddies – colleagues who guide newcomers through everything important during their first days. We have also created an onboarding checklist to help them get off to a smoother start. In addition, I am involved in the Consulting Challenge project, which is a competition for students where they try their hand at real consulting tasks, from data analysis to presenting solutions to clients. 

Travelling is your great hobby outside of PwC. How often do you go somewhere? 

I try to see the world several times a year. My Erasmus experience kick-started my travels. I studied in Portugal and travelled across half the country. This was followed by joining a student club that allows you to travel around Europe. Since then, I have been travelling abroad frequently. I have recently been to Ireland, and before that to the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Finland. For the last few years, I’ve also enjoyed exploring our country thanks to the Stezka Českem (Trail through the Czech Republic) project. Last year, I walked the Ore Mountains – 212 kilometres in eight days – and this year my friends and I are planning something similar.  

Can you say what has been your biggest step out of your comfort zone so far?

Definitely Erasmus, which involved living in an unfamiliar country. I’m certainly not an extrovert, and meeting lots of new people isn’t something I am too comfortable with. I was faced with a foreign environment and a foreign school, far away from my friends and family. But that was a life-changing moment that transformed my mindset. I stopped being dependent on others, started discovering the world, and really enjoyed new things.