Five companies, five perspectives. On Friday September 29th, 2017 the McGill Management Consulting Club (MMCC) organized a panel event at the Faculty of Management where five alumni from five different consulting companies were invited. Chafik Hamad (Accenture), Daisy Dedeian (Chappuis Halder & Co.), Enrico Cremonese (Roland Berger), Mardig Taslakian (KPMG) and Ariel Sacramento (McKinsey) came back to the McGill campus to share their experience in consulting and bring a variety of perspectives about their field to our current MBA students. We have summarized their comments below.
Ariel Sacramento (MBA’14)
Management Consultant, McKinsey & Co.
Why should one consider a career in consulting?
Consulting is a people’s business. It allows you to have the opportunity to build relationships and work in teams as you work on different projects. The learning experience is tremendous as there is something new every day. Some of the learning can be tough at times, but you always gain something and it becomes a valuable toolkit no matter where you go.
What can one gain from the McGill MBA that would help with the job search in consulting?
If you come from a more technical background, the McGill MBA provides you with the business literacy you need to sustain a conversation with people at various levels. It is like a basket of topics that you can use to connect and relate to the people you network with. Exposure to a variety of business topics is essential.
Daisy Dedeian (MBA’17)
Consultant, Chappuis Halder & Co
What sets Chappuis Halder & Co apart?
First, the team. While the firm is classified as ‘boutique’ in Montreal with around 20 employees, it has eight offices globally, giving it the global feel while still enjoying the familial aspect in the local office. Second, the sense of involvement in influencing the company’s growth and strategy is very rewarding.
What is a key quality of a future consultant?
To avoid cliché skills such as team work and positivism that are inevitable in today’s world, I will bundle the variety of skills required under the quality of ‘versatility’. Today’s successful consultants have not one, but a variety of skills.
Mardig Taslakian (PMBA’17)
Senior Consultant, KPMG
What sets KPMG apart?
The community leadership, both as an organization and within the individuals, and the positive impact that extends beyond client work.
What is a key quality of a future consultant?
Beyond the typical analytical skills and interpersonal skills, a successful consultant is an ambitious person who's always looking for the next challenge.
What was your favourite part about the McGill MBA?
In addition to the in-class learning, the program helps establish a lasting network of high performing peers.
Enrico Cremonese (MBA’17)
Senior Strategy Consultant, Roland Berger
What sets Roland Berger apart?
Roland Berger is highly entrepreneurial and allows exposure to top management at all levels (including interns), which translates in a higher level of responsibilities and autonomy than other companies at similar grades. It gives people a strong ability to influence the projects (industry and geography) that they are staffed on.
What is a key quality of a future consultant?
l think future consultants should be polyvalent. We look for self-starters who:
- are able to overlay a structure to their natural curiosity;
- remain humble and grounded during their analyses, and;
- can clearly converge and convincingly deliver their findings.
Chafik Hamad (MBA’14)
Management Consultant, Accenture
Why consulting?
Consulting is about having an exchange: for each project, I feel that you take something and you give something back. You can learn so much about a specific topic and project but you also have an impact. Seeing the impact of the work that you do and overseeing the strategy until the project comes to realization is a very unique reward.
What is the biggest challenge of a career in consulting?
Dealing with many people is an advantage but it also means you have to learn to adapt quickly. It is important to find the right balance between being direct and being politically correct in order to suggest and implement the best solutions.
Jiawei Lin (MBA'18)
President of the McGill Management Consulting Club
After the panel, we asked Jiawei Lin (MBA'18), President of the McGill Management Consulting Club to tell us more about the ways that the faculty prepares future consultants for the job market. (NDLR : Jiawei will be working as a Senior Consultant for Deloitte post-graduation, congratulations !) He synthesized it in these 3 important steps:
1. Understanding thoroughly the Consulting application process
The path to consulting is very rigorous and competitive. That is why it is necessary to have a good understanding of the recruitment process, and to be aware of the expectations of the companies you are applying for. In Canada, the consulting firms hire through two main paths: Experience Hire or On-Campus Recruitment. Almost all of the top 10 firms, including McKinsey, come and recruit at McGill directly. Some of these firms will even have special sessions for MBAs. This being said, it is important to know that even an MBA from a prestigious university like McGill is not a guaranteed ticket to a top firm, and there are thousands of applicants all across Canada for a limited number of positions. McGill puts a lot of emphasis on starting the process early with various information sessions and early preparation programs to give to students the opportunity to find out whether this is the right path for them.
2. The Desautels Consulting Preparation Program
With the comprehensive program called Desautels Consulting Prep Program (DCPP), McGill supports the students who are keen about a career in consulting. The program is lead by Mike Ross, an MBA alumnus and former consultant from McKinsey and Fiona Mccarlane, a consulting coach from the McGill career services center. The program is a mix of workshops, networking sessions, firm visits etc., and puts emphasis on case preparation and fit interviews. In addition to their attendance, participants are expected to practice a large amount of cases on the side to be prepared for the rigor of the consulting field. In addition to the Desautels Consulting Preparation Program, the McGill Management Consulting Club aims at helping students achieve their goal by providing interview preparation support, networking opportunities and hands-on consulting experience through community engagement.
3. Real hands-on consulting experience
Aside from interning at consulting firms, McGill students have the opportunity to gain hands-on consulting experience either on a paid, or pro-bono basis. The MBCG (McGill Business Consulting Group) is a student-run initiative with a history of more than 30 years that targets local Montreal businesses and provides consulting services on a for-profit basis. In this organization, students could either be consultants on specific engagements, or managing directors (roles usually held by 2nd year MBAs). In addition to the MBCG, students can also engage with local non-for-profit organizations through a faculty-lead program called McGill Non-For-Profit Club (MNFPC), or Thinkr Consulting, a student lead group that was created by our former students.
Desautels MBA Program
- Find out how Desautels’ small-size cohort creates unique opportunities by contacting our Student Ambassadors.
- Connect with a recruiter to learn more about pursuing an MBA at McGill.
