This post about Cornell Johnson and management consulting is part of a series of interviews of top MBA programs called “MBA Career Goals and the B-Schools that Support Them.” Please subscribe to our blog to ensure that you receive all the interviews exploring the elements at each school that support career goals in finance, consulting, general management, entrepreneurship, marketing and more.
Here is the interview with the Career Management Center team at Cornell Johnson.
What kind of background and skills do you like to see in applicants expressing interest in a career in consulting?
Specific background is of lesser importance than possessing transferrable skills and the ability to translate why consulting makes sense as a next step. With that said, prior consulting, banking, and/or strategy roles make for a less challenging transition.
What aspects of your curriculum do you feel are best suited to students who want to eventually pursue a career in consulting?
The General Management nature of Johnson is highly beneficial, since consultants will face a variety of pressing business issues across a wide spectrum of functions and industries.
More specifically, Johnson’s Consulting Passport curriculum is essential to successful transition into the consulting industry. While the Passport is technically not part of the Academic Curriculum, it is nonetheless important. The Consulting Passport is a coordinated combination of lectures, mock interviews, and small group work provided by Career Advisors, Consulting Club, Career Work Group Leaders (2nd Year MBAs) and alumni in the consulting industry.
Other courses that are strongly recommended are:
- Management Cases
- Cases in Business Strategy
- Management Practicum
Which school clubs and extra-curricular events are most relevant to people interested in consulting?
Consulting Club would be most relevant. For those seeking to better understand through experiential learning, I would recommend Big Red Consulting (BRC), the student-run consulting firm. However, membership in a more social club is recommended to demonstrate that the candidate is well rounded.
Since “consulting” is a very broad term, can you break down some of the some of the sub-categories in the field that you feel the Johnson School excels in?
Johnson’s traditional strength is in Management Consulting, basically Strategy and Operations Consulting. Another strength area is in Financial Advisory, although a smaller portion of the class also seeks out roles in Boutique, Industry-specific, and Technology Consulting Firms.
Which consulting firms recruit at Cornell Johnson? How many graduates of your 2010 class received offers from each of these firms?
McKinsey, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture, PWC, Ernst & Young, PRTM, Easton Associates, and Infosys typically recruit at Cornell Johnson. 36 offers were extended to the class of 2010 from consulting firms. An additional 8 offers were extended for internal consulting roles.
