Conference for All
The Young Professionals Group (YPG) at ms consultants is a vibrant group of talented individuals with less than 10 years of experience. The YPG has a chapter at each ms consultants’ location, each with individual goals to serve their communities and develop their career skills, all while having fun and meeting coworkers outside of the workday.
The YPG One Event was an all-day conference to bring all the ms office YPGs together for a day of learning, networking, and community. The day began at the Grange Insurance Audubon Nature Center with simple yet fun networking activities to learn about people’s interests and career ambitions. After meeting many new coworkers, the young professionals engaged with presentations created by company leaders in multiple disciplines. Each presentation applied to the many technical and support departments within ms consultants. The evening concluded with dinner, games, and an afterparty where everyone could decompress after a successful day.
Pathway to Career Success
Here are the key highlights and industry secrets from leadership presentations.
Building a Better Team: Inclusion at ms consultants
- Inclusion is a pillar of ms consultants, and it fosters innovation in the industry. Understanding your audience’s perspective helps make an impact.
Presentation Skills and Public Speaking
- Preparation, knowing your audience, and summarizing key points are the most crucial aspects of creating and displaying an impactful presentation.
Project Management Methodologies
- Successful project managers need many skills, including communication, technical knowledge, and, most importantly, leadership, to guide a project from start to completion.
Time Management and Technology
- Using the Eisenhower Matrix for time management makes prioritizing correct tasks easier and gives a clearer picture of deadlines and project progress.
Career Pathing: End to End
- Throughout your career, there are many roles one can embrace, including the opportunity to lead entire departments or continue working with a small team.
Career Advancement Strategies in the A/E Industry
- Building a strong foundation through acquiring essential skills, gaining practical experience, and understanding company values sets young professionals up for advancing their career prospects.
Young Professionals' Perspective
With over 60 young professionals attending this event, leaders shared years of industry knowledge and advice throughout the day. Here is what a few young professionals had to say about their experience.
Introducing the YPs: Ally and Ben
Ally Dillmann, who began her career at ms consultants after graduating from Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, has attended many YPG events and appreciates how they foster connections outside the workplace.
Ben Elefritz, who is an accomplished engineer with experience at ms and other organizations, expected the YPG conference to feature similar professional development presentations to his other conference experience. However, he was pleased it was even more impactful and fun!
Growing your career through connections
Ally was interested in the all-day conference because of the positive experience from past YPG events. She was thrilled to hear leadership presentations that spoke to the young professional audience, encouraging people early in their careers to look toward the future. “It’s contributed a lot to my excitement about the future at ms,” she said. “I think being able to see that career path is so helpful because I think it’s so easy to get caught up in your day-to-day.”
What surprised Ben was the great attendance at this event, with people traveling from ms locations around the country. He felt ms invested in its employees through the YPG One Event because it joined all ms office YPGs together. The networking continued throughout the night, with coworkers hanging out together afterward. He found high value in attending this event centered around young professionals, and he hopes one day he can give a presentation to inspire the next group of early architects and engineers.
Apart from the professional development and networking portions of the day, Ally enjoyed connecting with her coworkers during dinner and the afterparty to close out the day. She felt it was easier to meet new people in a casual space, an opportunity to talk with coworkers without time constraints.
Ally had a great time at the YPG conference. She hopes to attend future conferences to gain more insight and also to defend her winning title as champion!
Learn More about the YPG
Interested in learning more about the ms Young Professionals Group? Read these features about how the ms team fosters coworker engagement, and how these young professionals give back to their communities.