Career Journey: Sylvia Taylor

Sylvia's journey

Five years into her first stint at Deloitte, Sylvia left the organization when the military relocated her husband Patrick, a US Navy pilot, to rural California, where she opted for a local industry position. “Many military bases are built in remote areas, rather than near the metropolitan hubs.” After California, they moved again to the high desert of Nevada, placing her hundreds of miles from the nearest Deloitte office. Forced to leave her industry job, she took advantage of this time to start a family while pursuing a professional certification as well as her master’s degree.

Still, Deloitte remained on her radar. “I always said that I’d like to try to come back. I gained so much experience at Deloitte and many of my colleagues became my friends,” Sylvia shared. When circumstances took her family back east to the DC area, Sylvia applied to Deloitte’s Encore program, a guided transition journey back to work for people who’ve left the professional world for an extended period of time. Encore hones in on skills, builds professional confidence, and prepares people for the return to a high-performance environment. The program rekindled Sylvia’s passion for Risk & Financial Advisory and for Deloitte. Following it, she immediately stepped into a senior consultant role in Deloitte’s Richmond, Virginia office, and two years later moved into a role within Risk & Brand Protection based out of Austin, TX, where she currently resides. Being a Deloitte professional is a very rewarding, yet demanding career; one that means making personal adjustments in order to meet those demands and in order to grow and develop as a professional. Deloitte’s Encore program and commitment to well-being make it possible for her to prioritize the demands of both her military and professional life. The support Deloitte offers through Deloitte’s Military Spouse Initiative also helps.

Sylvia’s prior experience with Deloitte and being a Navy spouse has taught her to lead, be adaptable, and press forward through uncertainty–things that are required in the business world. Lastly, she says, “Deloitte has been really great at working with me to stay on local clients with minimal travel.”