My time in Stockholm has been a mix of work, learning, and getting used to a new country. At
first the small things threw me — the transit, finding my way around, the rhythm of an ordinary
day. Now I get around without thinking about it and have a normal routine.
At THREAD, the projects I’ve worked on have shown me what consulting really is. I’ve done
customer research and competitor analysis, built visual maps and charts, and compared
consulting and investment firms, turning what I found into something clear and organized.
Some of it has tied into human capital, business strategy, and how companies make decisions
about their people.
Outside the office, I’ve loved exploring the city and picking up on Swedish culture. I’ve even
started following soccer, which is a shift since I’m a much bigger American football fan — but
it’s growing on me.
The Industry I’m Working In
At THREAD, I’m working in business consulting and human capital. Consulting is about
helping organizations solve problems, work better, and make smarter decisions. Human capital
is the people side of that — leadership, culture, talent, performance, and how people move a
company toward its goals.
Coming in, I thought I understood what consultants did, but I didn’t see how many steps sit
behind a single project. It’s not just handing a client advice — you have to understand who they
are, dig into the market, find the real problem (which isn’t always the one they hand you), make
sense of a pile of information, and explain it clearly enough to be useful.
What It Takes to Be Good at It
The most important skill is communication. Consultants have to listen closely, ask the right
questions, and lay out ideas in a way people can follow. Great research or a sharp idea doesn’t
go far if you can’t get it across, and the reports, slides, and charts all have to be easy to read.
Research and analysis come right after. I’ve spent a lot of the internship combing through
websites, reports, and company information. The hard part isn’t finding facts — it’s deciding
which ones matter and how they answer the question.
1Being comfortable with change matters too. Projects rarely have a single tidy answer, and the
plan can shift the moment new information shows up. I’ve learned to roll with that instead of
getting frustrated, and to take feedback even when it means redoing something I thought was
done.
Then there’s teamwork. You’re working with people who think differently and bring different
backgrounds, so the trick is to share your own ideas while still really listening to everyone
else’s. The best answer usually comes from mixing those perspectives.
What’s Different About Working in Sweden
A lot of what works here would work in the U.S. too, but the work culture feels different. The
biggest thing is how much independence is expected — I’m trusted to own my work, manage
my time, and keep things moving without every step spelled out. Asking questions is
encouraged, but it helps to show you’ve already taken a real swing at it yourself.
Collaboration carries a lot of weight, and it feels less tied to titles than I’m used to. Everyone is
expected to contribute, so what matters is being respectful, prepared, and willing to jump in —
not being the loudest voice, but saying something worth hearing.
Communication tends to be calmer and more direct than back home. People don’t always show
excitement, and early on I had to remind myself that quiet doesn’t mean uninterested. Reading
the room before making assumptions has become a skill of its own.
There’s also a strong respect for balance. Being productive matters, but so does respecting your
own time and other people’s, which has pushed me to plan carefully and finish without piling on
stress.
Looking back, my time at THREAD keeps pointing to the same handful of things: curiosity,
communication, flexibility, teamwork, and responsibility. They’re carrying me through this
internship, and I’m sure they’ll matter long after. Whatever I do next, knowing how to dig into a
problem, work with people, and explain an idea clearly will always be worth something.