????梅利塔?西里爾

????跳國家：從斯里蘭卡跳至加拿大

????跳行業：從金融業跳至咨詢業

????跳職能：從金融衍生品交易跳至戰略咨詢

????梅利塔?西里爾現年26歲，三級跳對她的挑戰不是移居加拿大，甚至不是嘗試一份全新工作，而是闖入競爭極其激烈的咨詢業。

????西里爾出生于斯里蘭卡，在倫敦經濟學院(London School of Economics )完成學士學位，2007年畢業后加入雷曼兄弟公司(Lehman Brothers)。隨后，她又在瑞士信貸集團(Credit Suisse)倫敦分公司干了3年的利率掉期交易員。但她當時的男友（現在的老公）后來接受了一家加拿大公司的工作邀請，她隨即抓住了這個“從頭再來”的機會，轉戰咨詢業。

????她在加拿大接連申請了好幾份工作，但都以失敗告終。西里爾于是決定去羅特曼管理學院攻讀MBA學位。她說：“我初來乍到，人生地不熟，更談不上什么人脈資源了。我認為上商學院是一個絕佳的途徑，能夠讓我認識更多人，在這個陌生的國度構建人際網絡。”此外，羅特曼管理學院的兩年MBA項目提供一個暑期實習機會，這樣她可以先在咨詢業試試水，不用破釜沉舟地投入這個行業。

????西里爾在管理咨詢機構科爾尼公司(A.T. Kearney)獲得了一個實習機會。這段經歷讓她進一步堅定了這項新的職業選擇。但要想登堂入室絕非易事。西里爾所在班級大約有263名學生，據她估計，其中至少有一半人起初都鐘情于咨詢業。大約60名學生將向每一家大型咨詢機構申請一個或兩個咨詢崗位。“競爭太慘烈了，”她說。“有些學生確實擁有咨詢業背景，他們上商學院其實就是為了換一家待遇更好，規模更大的公司。這就意味著，如果你沒有這種背景，你就必須具備某種完全不同的競爭力。這種要求當然更具挑戰性。”西里爾打過好幾次退堂鼓，準備從事非咨詢類的工作。“除選項A以外，我確實制定了選項B和C，”她說。“這種選擇有時淪為數字游戲，你只是不走運而已。”

????2013年5月畢業后，她接受了科爾尼公司提供的一個助理咨詢師崗位。回首往事，西里爾現在想給打算嘗試三級跳的MBA學生提一些自己的建議。“一般情況下，我們必須得更加努力才行，因為你要證明的東西比別人多得多，”她說。“因此，務必確保你有一個足以打動人的好故事，你需要完成一個積少成多的過程。這樣的話，你真的就可以兜售自己，讓別人信服你為什么想完成這么大的跨躍。”???

????Melita Cyril

????Country jump: Sri Lanka to Canada

????Industry jump: Finance to consulting

????Function jump: Trading to consulting strategy

????For Melita Cyril, 26, the challenge of triple jumping wasn't moving to Canada, or even trying on a new job title. Rather, it was breaking into the extremely competitive consulting industry.

????Born in Sri Lanka, Cyril completed her undergraduate degree at the London School of Economics (LSE) and joined Lehman Brothers after graduating in 2007. She then spent three years as an interest rate swaps trader at Credit Suisse (CS) in London. But when her then-boyfriend, now husband, accepted a job in Canada, she jumped at the chance to "start fresh" and start a career as a consultant.

????After unsuccessfully applying for a few jobs in Canada, Cyril decided to get an MBA at Rotman. "I was new. I didn't know anyone. I didn't have a network, and I thought this would be a great way for me to get to know more people and build my network in a new country," she says. Rotman's two-year program allowed for a summer internship, so she could dip her toes in consulting without making a commitment to the full dive.

????Cyril landed an internship with management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The experience confirmed her new career choice. But breaking in wasn't an easy victory. Out of some 263 students in her class, Cyril estimates that at least half were interested in consulting initially. Roughly 60 students would apply for one or two consulting spots at each of the big firms. "It's highly, highly competitive," she says. "Some students do have a consulting background, and they want to basically switch to a different or bigger firm, which means if you don't have that background and you have something completely different, it is definitely more challenging." Cyril thought about turning back several times and prepared herself for careers outside of consulting. "I did have options B and C to go with option A," she says. "Sometimes it becomes a numbers game, and you're just unlucky."

????After graduating in May 2013, she accepted an associate consultant offer from A.T. Kearney. Looking back, Cyril has her own recommendations for MBA triple jumpers: "We, in general, have to work harder because there is a lot more to prove," she says. "So make sure you have a very good story and that it all adds up, so you can really sell yourself and sell someone on why you want to make this big jump."???