Skip to main content

Wulin Jiang is a former Director of External Partnerships (then Vice President of External Affairs) who graduated from UNC with a Ph.D. in 2021. He was interviewed by Jiawen Du in January 2022 when he was a Life Science Specialist at LEK.

What are your main responsibilities as a life science specialist at L.E.K.? And what is a typical day like for you?

The work of a life science specialist at L.E.K. consists of secondary research and data analytics, sliding up the findings, and putting together the storyline. Additionally, you are responsible for modeling. For example, if a company is interested in future revenue, you will need to build the model for forecasting.

A typical day begins with a team check-in in the morning where the team lead/manager will lay out the end-of-day goals. Then you will work on your own, gathering information or doing secondary research. You will have check-ins with consultants or the manager in the afternoon, where they will provide comments on your work. At the end of the day, the team puts together their findings and the manager will review and provide feedback. In conclusion, in the daytime, you work on your own, and at night, you address comments from consultants.

What do you think are the most and least exciting parts of your work?

The most exciting part is the opportunity to work with a variety of clients at L.E.K. We have a wide range of clients including top 10 biopharmaceutical companies. You also get the opportunity to work with midsize and small start-up biotechs. Moreover, L.E.K. is also very focused on due diligence work which is needed when companies acquire a different company. This part is very exciting because you are really making impact on their cooperate strategy as well as patients in the long run.

The least exciting thing would be the hours. Long hours are typical for consulting. At L.E.K., the working hours vary a lot but range around 55-65 hours a week. You have to work late nights for the first three days in a week and then it gets better on Thursdays and Fridays. It’s hard to get used to, but this is the industry norm.

What skills, abilities, or personal attributes do you think are essential for success in consulting?

Skills and mindsets can really be reflected in the interview. In a general consulting interview, they require you to be equipped with analytics and communication skills. They also want to see if you can solve problems in a structured way. I think these are important skill sets that you will need in your job.

Additionally, they want you to be a good team member and a potential team leader in the long run. They also want you to have your own personal impact. When you present your work to your client, you need to be confident and persuasive when you talk about your work. Another important attribute is entrepreneurship. During your day-to-day, you might go down a rabbit hole or hit a dead-end. Instead of getting help from your manager immediately, you should take the initiative and try to resolve the issue on your own first. You should come up with a proposal or solution prior to getting help from someone. I think these are basic but important skill sets you will need to succeed in consulting.

How did GBCC help you launch your career?

I think GBCC is really great. There are a few key things to highlight here. First, the culture. People are looking for careers in business, so everyone is kind and has good relations with everyone.

Second, [CGsquared] gives you a great opportunity to have some experience as a consultant. They give you a good understanding of what consulting is, how to structure your work, how to synthesize your findings, and how to communicate with your clients. These are very important skill sets.

Third, Cases&Cases is a great group to join. During the case interview season, you should practice casing 2-3 times a week. Cases&Cases provides you with a great support system that can provide you feedback and support.

Fourth is the Consulting Bootcamp. The Consulting Bootcamp was my first experience with consulting. They give you a high-level, general introduction to consulting.

Last but not least, was my role as the VP of external affairs. I had the opportunity to connect with many people and build up my own network.


Thanks to Wulin for spending time with us to learn more about his experiences! If you’re interested in following his footsteps, you can visit the website of the GBCC. You could also reach out to him via LinkedIn.

Comments are closed.