Annie O’Shea, former Skeleton racer for Team USA, has made a significant impact at EY offices in New York having proven herself amongst her peers, being offered a permanent contract within the company upon completion of her 6-month athlete transition program.
From a young age, Annie demonstrated that she had what it took to compete at the highest level. Having risen through the ranks to become the USA’s No. 1 Skeleton Bobsled Athlete and three times National Champion, Annie was unfortunate to not have been chosen to represent Team USA in the Olympics.
It was the end of January 2018 when Annie failed to make her 3rd Olympic team that she was approached by Athlete Career Transition for the career opportunities available at EY.
“I wasn’t in the best place in January, then I remember our phone call,” commented Annie, “I remember getting off the phone with you (Andy Moore of ACT) and I just laid down on the floor and I was like, I think somebody believes in me, and I don’t even know who he is personally, and I felt like everything changed. The moment that we spoke, I realised that, wow, I’ve accomplished a lot, but I’ve never given myself the credit.”
Determined and resilient, guided by the support and backing of Athlete Career Transition, Annie applied for the EY Elite Athlete Transition Program, aimed at transitioning former Olympic and elite athletes into roles at EY offices worldwide.
Having partnered with EY for a number of years to source the best performing athletes across the globe, the team at ACT understood the role requirements and identified Annie as a high performer, worthy of a place on the EY program.
“When I first spoke with Annie, she was understandably very apprehensive,” commented Andy, “We spoke for a little while and I explained the opportunities we had available after first talking with her about her career, how she was feeling at that moment in time and where we saw her carving a career at EY.”
Andy continued, “Naturally, we undertake a lot of research on our athletes before contacting them directly, and Annie stood out to us as an incredibly high performer with an excellent track record. Her personality and charisma along with her resilience and team-oriented mindset convinced us more and more that she was the right type of person for EY, and after our conversation I just knew that we had to support this enormously talented individual into the workplace.”
Following a thorough selection process, Annie was successfully accepted onto the EY program and after transitioning into the workplace it became clear that Annie had made a significant impact on the business. The quality of her work, her ambition and dedication quickly made her an asset, one which EY knew they’d want to keep.
After her 6-month initial transition experience, Annie signed a permanent contract with EY, securing her role at the company as an Advisory consultant.
One key to her successful transition, was the support of the team Annie worked with. Their willingness to not only provide her with the necessary tools and education to set her up for success as well as their openness to learning from such a high calibre athlete contributed to a quick integration for Annie into the team.
Commenting on the support she received from ACT Annie said; “I think that ACT are probably my biggest and best tool that I could possibly have. I mean, even to go back to when we first spoke, without them talking and just encouraging me, every time we speak, Andy, Steve and Ben are so encouraging that I believe in myself more than I do when I’m alone or when I’m just sitting there thinking that I’ve failed, the guys are really great at reminding me that ‘you didn’t fail, you’ve done this, you can take those tools and do something else with them’, and I think that every person needs that.”
Annie continued; “I thought I would struggle in my personal life having a ‘normal job’ and working a regular schedule of 40 hours or more per week, but the change hasn’t been too difficult.
“I have become more confident in realising that I do ‘fit in’ within the business world and that I understand what I am actually doing. I also work with such motivating, kind and inspiring people.”
Andy continues: “Annie is an incredible athlete and an extremely high performer. I have no doubt that she’ll overcome any challenges the workplace can throw at her. We’re very proud of Annie’s progress and wish her all the success in her permanent role at EY.”
Annie’s work within EY has been within a Program Management team of a firm-wide technology implementation.
Looking forward to continuing her role in EY Annie said: “I would like to make a plan of my ideal course of progress/promotion within the firm. I will continue to reach out to leadership and become more involved in the Program Management world, because this is where I want to stay.”
Although having successfully transitioned into the workplace, Annie will continue to receive the support and guidance of the Athlete Career Transition team to ensure she remains on-track with her development and progression plans within EY.