Career conversations: Taking a different approach to problem solving

The first time I heard about the CFA® Program, a friend said to me, "Hey, we should do this because we did commerce at university and the CFA Program is a bit different to an MBA." That's all it basically took for me to be interested in it and give it a try.  

Now I'm super grateful for that friend and for the advice to give it a try because I really enjoyed the program and I think it's been a real addition to my skillset, but has made me stand out a lot when it comes to other people in the industry.

My name is Stephanie Graskoski and I'm an Associate with McKinsey & Company, and I'm a CFA® Charterholder.

The CFA Program really goes in deep about a lot of different topics in finance. I think it provides people with a really good grounding across a lot of different topics.

What I mean by that is, it goes as far as financial derivatives, which is really hardcore finance topics, all the way to ethics and how one should conduct themselves in this industry. The CFA Program was definitely one of the most challenging things I've done in my career. It was really rewarding to get through it all.  

But while doing the program, I had to put in a lot of hours to study for it. Plus I had to be very tactical with the way that I actually executed the exam on exam day. So I think also having a bit of a sporting background helped me be with that tactical and strategic about it.

The CFA Program has really helped me with a lot of different topics. It teaches you how to value things that are really hard to value. So I've noticed that in a few projects I've done recently where, we're getting into topics like ESG investing as an example and other things like Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, where there haven't really been strict or specified models to value these sort of things.  

So the CFA Program really teaches you how to look at the intangible things and look at the product as it is and actually apply the methodologies to value these things.  

I've been able to identify approaches different to colleagues probably who haven't got the CFA® charter, and that I found that really valuable.  

Having strengths in finance, I find is really important in any business situation that you go into. At the end of the day, whether it's a mining company, a confectionery company, or one making shampoo, they all are businesses at heart, and so having a financial acumen, it just helps you apply that to any sort of business.

The biggest piece of advice I would give to people who want to try the program or who are worried because they don't have a background in finance is just give it a go. I found the program really great, like I enjoyed the content, I enjoyed the process, and I also enjoyed meeting other people who have done the program.  

So I definitely encourage people to give it a try, and that's the best way to find out whether you like it.