By Erin Fife
The Management Consulting Club is going the extra mile by helping club members prepare for a competitive business world.
“Management consulting is a competitive field. Very few people are able to break into it,” said club president James Dunn, 23, from Bristol, Tenn., a senior double majoring in economics and American studies.
Although business is very competitive, the club is not, Dunn said.
“We really try to have a feeling of a group helping each other,” Dunn said.
The club teaches students how to prepare for the competitive interviews that the companies give, said club vice president Luke Laniger, 23, a senior from Concord, Calif., majoring in economics.
“It is somewhat of an intimidating process. The club helps to bring it down to a manageable level, it helps prepare you to succeed. Even if you don”t make it, you gain a lot,” Dunn said.
Amy Elizabeth Casebolt, 20, a junior from Pocatello, Idaho, majoring in accounting, said the club helped her find paths academically that she wanted to pursue and she made friends she otherwise would not have associated with.
“I feel more prepared and I have really gained something in the time that I spent with the club,” Casebolt said.
“The big companies typically recruit at Ivy League schools,” Dunn said. “Last year we got 18 full-time offers. That is good for a school that is not Ivy League.”
The interviews typically consist of the interviewer giving the interviewee a management problem. Then the interviewee has to think of a solution to the problem.
Most of the time the club spends together is practicing for these stressful interviews, Laniger said.
There are about 120 members in the club.
Last year BYU had almost twice as many full-time job offers than the year before. This year they expect about 20 offers, Dunn said.
“There is not a better resource to go to in terms of preparing for it,” Dunn said.
Most companies do their recruiting through the club, he said.
Usually alumni who have jobs with management consulting firms come to BYU to meet the club members. They usually have a golf tournament or go out to eat, Dunn said.
“All majors can come to the club,” Laniger said. “There are lots of opportunities in consulting for English majors, engineering or whatever it may be.”
There will be a resume workshop on Tuesday. Dunn has been working on the workshop for a year.
