Consulting Clubs that perform client services?

Which colleges have consulting clubs that actually perform consulting services for clients in local areas? I saw a thread somewhere on this site that mentioned it, but I couldn't find it under the search options. Thanks!

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Best Response

screw consulting clubs, join legit student organizations with some history behind it. itll make you more well rounded - think along the lines of a walk on varsity sport (surprisingly there are a lot of them - especially one needing people like crew), fraternities, any old (>50 years) established organization, social groups. if you go to a good school those organizations will give you a much more fun experience, a much stronger network, and will also look better to recruiters who mostly go through their own school's resumes

i think recruiters prefer to see Fraternity+Sport (even club) over pre-professional ibanking/consulting clubs - just looks less "toolish" and more well-rounded. If anything joining an ibanking club might even hurt you if you go to a top liberal arts target

full disclosure - i'm part of a lot of "preprofessional clubs" and got positions in several of them. they take up in total 2-3 lines on my resume and while they can substitute for work experience if you have zero finance internships if you are going for a FT or SA gig they don't really help

 

Would it be better to be a founder of a consulting club that does perform client services or stick with the traditional consulting club model? At a school that currently does not have a consulting club.

 
jetWould it be better to be a founder of a consulting club that does perform client services or stick with the traditional consulting club model? At a school that currently does not have a consulting club.
Well if you can establish legit client relationships then having the client services is the way to go...most important part is to have real clients, and by real I don't mean other student businesses at your college
 
LookingForHelp
jetWould it be better to be a founder of a consulting club that does perform client services or stick with the traditional consulting club model? At a school that currently does not have a consulting club.
Well if you can establish legit client relationships then having the client services is the way to go...most important part is to have real clients, and by real I don't mean other student businesses at your college

Question.. do these clubs that do these services get clients that pay for their services? Or is it unpaid? The non-profit consulting work definitely fits better if it is unpaid.

 

I disagree with ricochetX. Pretty sure he's asking to do consulting because he wants to and not just looking to boost his resume... correct me if I'm wrong...

I definitely think they give you a great experience and are very rewarding, certainly give you something to talk about. Most "legit" ones have a non-profit focus, and most colleges have them (Harvard, Columbia, UChicago, Northwestern, Cornell to name a few that I know of). Other organizations that span across campuses are groups like campusCatalyst- definitely very legitimate and I have friends that have really had a wonderful time there. Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations is another one where you have industry mentors (guys at MBB) on your team as well.

 

College consulting clubs are pointless. You get a group of 5-6 kids, only of which a maximum of half bring any type of value to the team. At the point, you have to decide if its worthwhile to double/triple your workload or to basically present a piece of shit to your client.

The "projects" clients want to be "consulted" on are often phrased as "improve the visibility of the organization through the use of our website and social media," which really means "find someone to build a new website for free."

I'm not trying to hate, I think the idea is great. Realistically though, it doesnt make sense. Normally, the timeline is one semester. That's too short to do anything great. Anything longer, people lose interest or drop out. The clients are often too busy running an understaffed organization to adequately provide you with info.

 

papertrail et al.
when we hire college kids we want to see experience, no social media crap, but real business impact experience...and i want to see multiple recommendations on each project from prominent people in the org you worked for. 3 month project? That is fine...better than nothing. I have one month projects that are impactful so don't worry about short projects...that is what the biz world is about anyway. If you get these through a club great...if through other means great. just get them

 

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