Welcome to the INSEAD Consulting Club (ICC)

The consulting industry is now being reshaped to accommodate new corporate needs especially in the areas of digitalization, data analytics, and sustainability. Join us to keep up to date of the latest industry trends and club events, whether you want to transition into consulting after your studies or you just want to learn more about it.

Our Vision

To assist students in navigating through the current turbulent times and
in maximizing their chances of transitioning into consulting.

Our Mission

01. CONNECT

Help students navigate the COVID-19 situation by enabling transparency

Connect with INSEAD student body to surface the concerns about the impact of COVID-19 and mitigate the uncertainty by sharing key updates regarding recruitment and government restrictions, centralizing information in a repository.  Strengthen the relationship with CDC to ensure alignment and closer collaboration for the upcoming recruitment period.

02. PREPARE

Assist the student body with the interview preparations

Ensure that the students have a clear understanding of the interview process and all resources that are available to them. Facilitate case preparation matching. Organize workshops with consultants on/off-campus. Negotiate discounts with potential external service providers. Further, we aim to revamp the INSEAD Consulting Club Case Book.

03. NETWORK

Maintain INSEAD status as #1 source of talent and get closer to boutique firms

Nurture current relationships with consulting firms, strengthen collaboration, and enable transparency during recruiting periods. We look to expand the network by connecting and bringing in onboard relevant boutique firms to the on-campus recruiting process. Engage with firms to launch a series of Industry Reports panels during the non-hiring period.

Industry Profile

Business consulting is the practice of helping organisations to improve their performance by providing advice to firms who need access to a scope of expertise outside of their own firm  It is a popular career choice for newly qualified MBAs as it offers a steep learning curve, exposure to a wide variety of industries and clients and therefore current challenges and experiences in the business world.

There are many types of consultants: Strategy consultants, Business consultants, Technology consultants, IT consultants, Marketing consultants. Consultants may be hired by a company who wishes to launch a product in a new geography. Consultants may be hired to work on a new positioning strategy for a major health care company. A consultant may be a developer focusing on a recently merged company’s network and systems, projecting the steps towards a successful integration.

It is important to remember that there are many slight variations to this role referred by the term “consultant”.  The best definition is probably: 

“A professional analyst who assists major corporations in understanding complex business issues and strategically developing and/or executing an action plan to address them.”

Type of Consulting Firms

Management Consulting

Help organizations to improve their performance, through the analysis of existing organizational problems and the development of plans for improvement

  • Traditionally strong in strategy, marketing, and due diligence
  • Cover many sectors from automotive to telco
  • Short projects and smaller teams as a result of high daily fees

Examples of companies: McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Strategy&, Accenture Strategy, Kearney…

Internal Consulting

Serve different business units and geographies within the organization

  • Compete with other consulting firms for projects
  • Small size, one to few offices only
  • Transition to business units

Examples of companies: Samsung GSG, Ericsson Management Consulting, Siemens Management Consulting, DHL Consulting…

IT Consulting

Focus on advising the business on how to use IT to meet the business objectives.

Often estimate, merge, implement, deploy, and administer IT systems on business behalf.

Typically have larger teams and longer durations due to the nature of projects.

Examples of companies: IBM, HP, Tata…

Specialized Boutique Firms

Offer advice to address specific problems

Appear as experts in one sector:
finance, healthcare, energy, TMT,
operations, brand management…

Example of companies: Alix Partners, Delta Partners, Prophet, Dalberg…

Full-Service Firms

Historically strong in audit and
tax but they developed their
strategy & ops team over time.

Mergers helped companies
have a more complete offer to
clients.

Example of companies: Deloitte, EY-Parthenon, PWC, KPMG…

Ways to Differentiate the Firms

Consulting as a career choice, often means making a significant change in work style, location, approach to problems and/or life balance. It is very important to consider the following factors when targeting firms for employment.

01. Primary Factors

  • Lifestyle
  • Industry / Function
  • Generalist / Specialist
  • Service Integration
  • Prestige
  • Location / Travel

02. Secondary Factors

  • Training (Exposure to Leadership)
  • Vision and Team Approach
  • Clients
  • Career Path
  • Knowledge Value
  • Project Length

Sample of Consulting Firms that Hire at INSEAD