CONSULTING

Consulting Career Guide

We're glad you're interested in consulting! While you may liaise with any member of our team, Liz Wilson is the key advisor for this field and is eager to support you in your search. You may book an appointment with her, or any advisor in our office today!

Overview of Consulting

Simply put, consultants offer advice and recommendations to other companies to help them improve their business performance, usually in the areas of operations, profitability, management, structure, and strategy. Consultants rely on strong communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, making Davidson students a natural fit for this industry.

Most Davidson students interested in Consulting will choose to enter the field under the umbrella of Management Consulting, working for a mid- to large-sized firm. While a comprehensive list of consulting firms is below, firms such as Deloitte, Bain, McKinsey, EY, Huron, Kearney, Point B, Sia Partners, and Accenture are eager to hire Davidson students into internship and full-time positions.

The consulting field, and the interview process for landing a position within it, are competitive and nuanced. Students are encouraged to meet with Liz Wilson early in their Davidson career to map out a path to success!

Please note: If you are an international student, please ensure that you are in compliance with OPT/CPT guidelines in order to complete off-campus work along with conduct research to determine if the company will provide sponsorship.


Important Things to Know about Consulting

There are three very important things to know about the consulting recruiting process:

1. The Timeline: The consulting industry recruiting process starts VERY early! The earliest deadlines will occur in June, the summer before you would start the internship/full-time job. For example, if you are looking for a summer 2024 internship, you will start to see deadlines in June 2023. Deadlines will continue throughout fall semester, with many occurring in September.

2. The Interview Structure: Consulting interviews will have traditional behavioral interviews, but they will also have case interviews. A case interview aims to discover how a candidate thinks and solves problems, much as they will have to do if they work in consulting. You absolutely MUST put a significant amount of preparation into casing. Further information and resources are below.

3. Networking: Getting to know people within the consulting industry and at the firms to which you are applying is of paramount importance. You can use LinkedIn and Davidson Connect to find Davidson alums in the industry. Attending on campus employer events is also a strong way to show interest in a firm and their positions.


General Consulting Information Sources

1. Pro Forma Futures (“PFF”) is a non-profit working to increase diversity in finance and consulting. PFF introduces candidates who are currently underrepresented across these industries (women, people of color, folks from the LGBTQIA+ community, and individuals from other diverse backgrounds) to the various post-graduate opportunities available to them. If you decide a career in consulting could be the right path for you, please reach out! The PFF team will help you develop a road-map to land your dream internship / job and, critically, teach you how to succeed during the recruitment process. PFF mentors are not typically involved in your hiring process, but they have been through the process recently themselves, so they are the ideal people to answer your questions about the field. Mentors are happy to help you by answering simple questions, conducting a practice case interview with you, or anything in between!

To begin scheduling one-on-one calls with PFF mentors, check out the website and/or shoot an email to proformafutures@gmail.com with a sentence or two on your background and which roles you are interested in learning more about (if you're not sure what you're interested in yet, that's totally fine - just say that you're hoping to learn more about consulting). If you're more certain about what you're pursuing, please check out the team page – you can find folks whose roles align with your interest and reach out to them directly.

Finally, you can also follow PFF on LinkedIn, where they frequently post about upcoming opportunities and information sessions various firms are hosting.

2. Management Consulted: This website, founded by a former Bain consultant, has comprehensive resources to guide you through the consulting recruiting process. While some of the content is behind a paywall, click on the “Free” tab in the top right corner for a directory of firms, salary guides, and a blog. You can also follow their LinkedIn page where they regularly post free webinars and casing resources.

3. Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center: Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center is a comprehensive career exploration and job search preparation database. Articles, blogs, and videos help users explore industries and careers, plan for education and learn best practices for resumes, cover letters, interviews, networking, and salaries/benefits.

To access Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center:

--Visit the site nclive.org; Select the Career Development Database; From the alphabetical list presented, scroll to select “Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center"; Once prompted to enter your library, select Davidson College and log on (single sign on required). *Davidson alums residing in the state of North Carolina who possess a library card can access by selecting their respective library and entering their library card number.

5. Barron's: Barron's is a leading source of financial news, providing in-depth analysis and commentary on stocks, investments and how markets are moving across the globe. Students who are beginning to learn about business/finance can read Barron's to learn more about the industry. Students preparing for internship/job interviews should read Barron's to become familiar with current market conditions. Click here to activate your free Barron's account, using your Davidson email.

6. Careers Explained Podcast: Hosted by Heidi Meyer ('23), Careers Explained is a podcast intended to simplify the job-seeking process through weekly interviews with professionals in a wide variety of industries, companies, and roles. The goal of the podcast is to help job seekers understand their options, whether certain roles would be a good fit for them, and how they can pursue specific careers with minimal effort and stress. Each week a new episode will interview someone new about their career path, current role and company, and advice. 

7. Davidson Student Organizations: Joining clubs on campus can help expand your knowledge of the field. Consider joining PCS (Pre-Consulting Society) and Women in Business (not solely consulting focused).


Case Interview Resources

If you are new to consulting and case interviews, please start by reading through this PDF called "Davidson Casing Resources," which explains what a case interview is and how to prepare.

To watch a sample case interview, performed by Davidson students, click here and select “Consulting Club Mock Case Interview”. This will allow you to see an example of a good case interview, the general structure, and how to approach this type of interview.

The Davidson Pre-Consulting Society, established in Spring 2022, is a student organization that serves as a great resource for students who are interested in learning more about consulting and practicing case interviews. Email Cate Rhodes to be put on the listserv to learn more about their events or join the org on WildcatSync.

Case Interview Books

Online Case Interview Resources

Practice Cases: These guides/casebooks from various Business Schools' Consulting Clubs are great practice resources as you begin to work on cases on your own and with a partner.

Mock Case Interview Appointments: Students can make an appointment with a career center adviser to do a virtual mock case interview. Students need permission in Handshake to make this appointment type. Please email Liz Wilson (liwilson@davidson.edu) to access this opportunity.


Firms To Consider

Strategy, Management, or Multiple Practice Area Consulting Firms: This is where most Davidson students will enter the consulting field. Feel free to explore all firms and opportunities. If you would like to target your search, firms that have recently hired Davidson students are in bold.

Economic & Financial Consulting Firms: 

Environmental Consulting Firms:

Healthcare & Life Science Consulting Firms:

Human Capital/Risk Management Consulting: 

Marketing & Market Research Consulting: 

Political Consulting: 

Technology Consulting: