[ALUMNI-INFO TEXT="Consulting Across Cultures: An MPP Alumna’s Global Experience
From her hometown in China, MPP alumna Lucy Liu moved to Singapore, where she studied and worked for eight years, before relocating to the US in 2015. She is currently based in Washington DC, and she has recently joined Payment Systems for Credit Unions (PSCU), a technology provider for credit unions in the US.
Settling into any new environment comes with challenges, but Lucy has taken it in her stride. “I was glad that I navigated through the tough times on my own,” she says. “I’m very proud of it.” "][/ALUMNI-INFO]
In this interview, Lucy reveals how studying at the LKY School altered her career trajectory, and she gives us her take on living and working in America, with practical advice for those curious about the viability of a consulting career.
Tell us about your current work.
As the Employee Experience Strategic Lead at PSCU, I report directly to the Senior Vice President of HR. You could say that I’m an internal HR consultant, and my role is to create cross-functional projects to improve employee experience throughout the organisation.
I’m fairly new at PSCU, but I’m already experiencing what it’s like to work at a caring company, where I feel respected and my strengths are appreciated. My boss sent me flowers on my first day of work, and although she’s extremely busy, we have more than three catch-ups in a week. Whatever resources I ask for, there’s no hesitation to say yes. To give you an idea of how supportive my workplace is, I’ve received approval to attend a company-sponsored design thinking course, even though I’m a newcomer.
Due to Covid-19, I’m working remotely, and one of my projects is looking at how to improve the virtual onboarding experience for new employees, as this would be very different from an onsite orientation. I’ve just started on this and I’m still at the data gathering phase, before I can propose solutions.
What do you love about your work?
Throughout my career, my passion has been consistent—I want to let people's voices be heard, because so many voices are not being taken into account.
When I was at Gallup previously as a consultant, we did a lot of global surveys on women, children, and those in developing countries. Here at my new job, I'm helping the employee's voice be heard, and I’ll be putting in systemic programmes to make sure that as an organisation, we will invest in our employees, which I think is really powerful.
How has your LKY School experience helped your career?
I grew up in a remote part of China, and I did my undergraduate studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. I wanted to have an overseas education, and I was grateful to receive a scholarship from the LKY School for the MPP programme.
Studying at the LKY School turned out to be one of my most important milestones, because it changed my life forever! I was able to network with classmates and faculty members from all over the world, which prepared me to work in environments that are totally different from what I was used to.
When I started out, I wanted to be in the field of developmental studies, working for international organisations. But I had classmates working in organisations like the World Bank, USAID, and UNICEF, and from my conversations with them, I realised that these organisations are heavy on bureaucracy. Thanks to my classmates' insights, I felt I would be more suited to a less hierarchical environment, where I would probably feel more valued and recognised."
I also appreciated the extracurricular opportunities that the LKY School provided. For instance, I attended a prestigious student activity in Germany—an international students’ conference organised by the German Council of Foreign Affairs—where I got to represent China and participated in discussions and debates about critical international issues.
In addition, the School helped me to secure an internship at Singapore’s Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). It was through a connection from my MCYS internship that I found out about an opening at Gallup’s Singapore office, which eventually led to consulting positions in Gallup’s branches in California and Washington DC.
So my biggest gains from the LKY School were these great platforms and networks, which helped me to develop myself and see my potential.
Any advice for those in our network who’re interested in consulting?
Consulting work is great for enriching your life experience, especially if you’re a young graduate, because you'll be able to travel a lot straightaway and get exposure to high-level executives. But it is an accelerated pace of work, and after about five years in consulting, I would advise you to have a plan. Do you still want to be in consulting and move up the ranks within a consulting firm, or do you want to join an industry and grow from there? There’s the lure of a higher paycheck initially—consultants tend to be paid more at the start of their career—but I think after five to eight years of working experience, you’ll find that your industry peers can command salaries that match what consultants earn.
What was it like, moving from Singapore to the US? Did you find it easy to make the transition?
Lucy with her husband Ramin and son Aris. Taken in Washington DC.
[ALUMNI-QUOTES TEXT="Although I had spent eight years in Singapore, it didn’t cushion me from experiencing culture shock in the US. When I first arrived in the US, I didn’t know what the cultural norms were. At work, we needed to spend a lot of time building personal relationships, and it’s hard in the beginning to gauge what is acceptable and what isn’t.
But I wanted to change my mindset, to get from “Oh my goodness, this is so hard!” to “I’m going to be here for a while, so let’s enjoy it.” I quickly assimilated into the local community by joining a church, which helped in making friends and building ties with other families. I also learned to drive, so that I could get around more freely, and I started to appreciate the good things about my new life in America, such as spending more time in nature and doing road trips."][/ALUMNI-QUOTES]
Having been here for several years, I think there’s an emphasis on kindness and vulnerability in American culture. If we are willing to open up and put ourselves in a position to help others, we can create strong personal relationships that are meaningful.