New student club offers resources for future consultants

Marquette Business

New student club offers resources for future consultants

The idea for the College of Business Administration's newest club started in sophomore James Helm's dorm room.

"I remember I told one of my friends on a Thursday night that I wanted to start a consulting club because I'd seen them at other schools," Helm says. "In two or three weeks, we were a club."

The Marquette Consulting Club is a student organization that conducts mock case studies, offers networking opportunities, and provides resume and interview prep for the consulting field. Helm is its founder and chief executive officer, junior Jayden Rajpurkar is its chief operating officer, and junior Isa Abdeljaber is its chief marketing officer. Together, the three hope to give Marquette Business students access to highly sought-after jobs and internships within the industry.

"It would be awesome to create ties to the community while giving our members tangible experience to put on their resumes. Consulting interviews are notoriously difficult, and it's hard to get a good role in the industry; the earlier that you get this experience, the more prepared you will be," Helm says.

Helm likens consultants to business doctors: people who firms call to fix problems that cannot be handled internally. After considering all aspects of the business, including their financial position, brand, strategic positioning and logistical challenges, consultants offer suggestions about the best way for a client to overcome the obstacle.

The club is focused on attracting more than just members; it also needs local businesses to give them case study opportunities.

"It's paramount that we continue to invest in case study opportunities because these office visits are the biggest draws to the club," Helm says. "This is where you get your professional experience and learn."

Consulting and information technology company Accenture has supported the club, offering preparation materials for case study competitions and sending several employees to speak at meetings. Industrial supply company Uline also allowed members of the nascent club to compete in its case study competition, where club members learned how to synthesize the material they learned in the club into practical business solutions.

Working on cases allows the club's members to apply the knowledge they have learned in their classes to genuine business problems. Rajpurkar says that while the college curriculum teaches students the essential building blocks of business skills, joining the consulting club will allow people to take their skills a step further.

"A good case study is not about getting to a set answer; it's about thinking through a problem, asking questions, and putting together a refined argument," Rajpurkar says. "We used a mock case study for the interview process to join our club, and it was about a company that was thinking of changing from diesel vehicles to electric. The case was not about deciding which was best but about creating an argument."

Currently, the club requires that all members maintain at least a 2.5 GPA, which will be increased to 3.0 at some point in the 2024-25 academic year. Members also must commit to attending 70% of the club's weekly meetings and competitions to be considered for an applied case study.

The club's Executive Board envisions expanding next year and becoming a resource for connecting job seekers with companies long before they fill out an application.

"Industry relations are a huge part of what we do, and part of my role as CEO is to build those long-term relationships," Helm says.

"Maybe one day, a company that you like will offer us a business case, and we can get you on it," Rajpurkar adds.

If you are interested in joining the club or have questions, contact Isa Abdeljaber ([email protected]).

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