With the growth of the Ivey MSc program in January of 2018 with 114 students, the first MSc Club keeps developing. We had the opportunity to sit down with the president Cameron Sheeler, to learn more about the club and what the team hopes for the club in the upcoming year.
Cameron Sheller, MICC President 2018-2019.
Q1: What is the MSc Consulting Club? Who are the other executives? What roles are they playing at MICC?
Cameron: MSc Ivey Consulting Club (MICC) is the largest MSc student club. As a bridge between MSc students and careers in consulting, we work to educate MSc students on the industry, help prepare them for case interviews, and we build relationships with firms to communicate why MSc students are a great fit for consulting.
There are six executive members of the MICC:
President: Cameron Sheeler
VP Marketing/Event: Andrew Schneider
VP Finance: Winson Chiu
VP Sponsorships: Victoria Ulubabian, Kieran Joyce, and Derek Li
Q2: What are the new changes coming from the new exec team?
Cameron: On recommendation from the previous year’s exec, this year, the MICC has expanded our corporate outreach. Victoria, Kieran and Derek all work with career management at Ivey to build relationships with firms to the benefit of MSc students. These relationships have already created an opportunity for 5 MSc students to join a pro-bono consulting project for social investing.
Based on feedback from our peers, we have also provided a more tailored approach to educating our members. For example, a large number of MSc students indicated interest in boutique consulting firms, so we hosted a panel event attended by 4 consultants from boutique firms. Students were able to ask questions and network as a means of determining their fit with any of the firms represented.
Q3: How can students become involved in the MSc Consulting Club?
Cameron: MICC is dedicated to help students become better candidates for the consulting industry. We host workshops, panel events, and case prep-sessions. Students are welcome to attend all our events, and if they would like to gain access to case-prep resources, they can still become a member. Contact us via micc.exec@gmail.com if you would still like to join.
Q4: What do you want to achieve by the end of the program in 2019?
Cameron: I would love to see us be able to more strategically position the club internally, within Ivey, and externally, with firms. MSc students have a unique value proposition for consulting firms as data-driven global managers, and we want to communicate this clearly. Internally, we have begun working with the HBA and MBA consulting clubs, and Vikki, Derek, and Kieran (our sponsorship team) have done an amazing job building relationships with firms.
Q5: What is the unique advantage of MSc students from your perspective?
Cameron: We have two streams in MSc program – Business Analytics (BA) and International Business (IB). Both stream could go into consulting. The unique value composition is that, at Ivey, students from both streams work together. IB students often provide the unique skillset of being able to drive results in a foreign context while managing ambiguity, and in return, BA students provide insights that are drawn from data. By working together, students from both streams learn to develop insights with consideration for the other.
Q6: What would you suggest for students who are looking to pursue a career in Management consulting?
Cameron: Explore the industry for fit. There are so many different types of consulting firms and finding the best fit for you is an important step in preparing for the recruiting season. Start by reflecting on which aspects of a job are most important to you, create a short list of your target firms, and then network with people at those firms to learn more. For MSc students – who are spread across the world on exchange, distilling a list of target firm that you can focus your recruiting efforts on will help make the process more manageable.
Embrace your narrative. Like the MSc program, consulting firms are filled with diverse people. So, no matter your background, if you can demonstrate that you have excelled in that field and that you are a passionate person, you will position yourself well for recruiting. Develop your narrative such that you can clearly communicate why you are in front of the interviewer today and what value you will add to their firm/projects.
Commit to preparing for the interview. The MICC facilitates mock case interviews for nearly 50 students on a weekly basis. If you are an existing member of the club, faithfully simulating these mock interviews will prepare you well. Though, you should also find someone that has similar aspirations as you and case prep with them beyond the weekly schedule. Thinking aloud and doing mental math quickly are important aspects of excelling in case interviews. Most people aren’t naturally good at these things, so start practicing as soon as possible.
2018 MICC Executive members (left to right): Andrew Schneider, Kieran Joyce, Cameron Sheeler, Victoria Ulubabian, Derek Li, and Winson Chiu.
We would like to thank Cameron for his time and insights into the consulting club, and provide a congratulation to the new Executive Team of 2018- 2019!
Don't forget to follow us @IveyMScStudentLife for day to day updates on the MSC program and what we are up to.
