Each year as the first – and notoriously rigorous – term comes to a close, the Career Development Office (CDO), in conjunction with student clubs, organizes multiple Career Treks. The Treks offer a unique opportunity for first-year students to travel as a group, visiting sought after companies and speaking with key employees. So far, over 70% of the Class of 2015 has gone on one of three Career Treks; Marketing, Finance (both in New York), and Consulting (Boston). In the next few weeks, students, as well as the CDO, will share their experiences.
Consulting Trek (Boston, MA)
Stephen Pidgeon (T’07) is an Associate Director in Tuck’s CDO, and specializes in the consulting, heathcare and media industries. Before joining the Career Development Office, Stephen was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey in London, where he focused on healthcare consulting, with a functional specialty in org work. Prior to Tuck he worked for 11 years in television and film, directing and producing a number of television series and a movie.
Each year, Tuck’s consulting club runs a trek to Boston to visit the offices of consulting companies. This year 115 students visited 11 (or 12) companies in 3 days. Partners and recruiters at the companies have told us that Tuck is the only school to organize such a trek. They love the program because it is a chance for students to get a good understanding of the company’s culture.
Kirsten L’Orange (T’15) is originally from San Francisco. She attended Skidmore College, where she majored in Economics and Business. After college, she moved to Boston to work in the Biotech and Pharmaceutical space.
When I was applying to business school, I spent a lot of time considering what I wanted out of my post-MBA career and how the school would contribute to my success in finding not just “a job”, but the “right” job for me. One of the reasons I chose Tuck was the evident partnership with Career Development Office – the CDO team not only meets with students one-on-one to discuss job searching, resume and interview prep, as well as establish a busy calendar of on-campus briefings, but also encourages the students to organize really unique opportunities for interaction with firms in order to assess cultural fit. One such example of these opportunities are Fall Break Treks.
In between Fall A and Fall B, first years have a (much deserved!) few days off. Some folks took this time to decompress, using the opportunity to visit home or travel with friends. But, a large percentage of our class “trekked”, either to New York (for Banking and Marketing) or Boston (for Consulting). I chose to go to Boston, along with 114 of my classmates.
Over the course of 3 days, we had the opportunity to visit 11 consulting firms! Here is a quick rundown of our schedule…
Wednesday
- Parthenon Group
- LEK Consulting
- OC&C
Thursday
- Liberty Mutual
- AV&Co
- IGS
- McKinsey & Co
Friday
- Monitor Deloitte
- Bain
- Analysis Group
- BCG
Each firm welcomed us warmly into their office and hosted us in completely different styles – at some, we attended cocktail receptions or open Q&A forums; at others, we had more formal small group discussions in which we were able to sit down with consultants (usually Tuckies!) and ask questions about their daily life, why they chose that particular firm, etc. Each office visit helped to round out my understanding of the respective firms’ culture and personality, building on the foundation that was established during the on-campus company briefings. Now, instead of just considering a firm based on whether or not the nature of the work is interesting to me, I am able to start thinking about which firms’ culture is most closely aligned with my values and in what environment I believe I would achieve the best “fit”.
The trip was a big success! Not only did we get a few days to hang out with friends and classmates in Boston, but each of us on the trek came away with a much clear picture of where we are going to apply and, more importantly, why.