Students Launch CEU Consultancy Club

Last Thursday, more than twenty students from the School of Public Policy and the Department of Economics attended the inaugural meeting of the CEU Consultancy Club, founded by Maja Kulic, a candidate for the Master of Arts in Public Policy, and Marjana Subotic, an exchange student in the Department of Economics.

Kulic kicked things off by sharing her goals for the club, which will in large part focus on firms in the areas of strategic and management consulting, and described her vision, which involves club members working together to conduct research on specific firms and to practice case study interview techniques. Kulic also plans to bring in guest speakers familiar with the consulting industry.

After completing her remarks, Kulic invited guest Ales Temeljotov, an associate in the Budapest office of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), to take the floor. Temeljotov talked about his work as a management consultant and provided insights into the recruitment process, based in part on his own experience. Temeljotov holds an engineering degree in addition to his management degree. He emphasized the fact that consulting firms are interested in candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and pointed out that BCG works with public sector clients. Ann Gagliardi, SPP Director of Career Services, closed the meeting by sharing more sobering advice. Consulting firms have very high standards, their recruitment cycles are particularly competitive, and applying to consulting firms can be "like a full-time job."

After the meeting, Kulic explained that she sees the club as a way of demonstrating that "CEU is in touch with the job market." She believes it is important for students to gain exposure to potential employers in a range of sectors and industries. She also emphasized her interest in cross-university collaboration and expressed her hope that the club will grow to include students from the CEU Business School and other academic departments.

"Accompanying students as they explore future options is crucial to the mission of our office," Gagliardi commented. "Maja and Marjana are coming at this in a very proactive way by setting up a mechanism for students to work together toward a common goal. We're pleased to support this initiative." Gagliardi observed that while graduates of public policy degree programs tend to opt for careers in the public sector, or with non-profit or multilateral institutions, it is not unusual for public policy graduates to choose to work in the private sector. Gagliardi also said that she hopes club members will meet regularly to practice case study interviews, remarking that an increasing number of organizations outside the strategic and management consulting sphere are also making use of this method for screening candidates. "It takes lots of practice to do well on a case. You have to think on your feet while maintaining your composure. It's a test of your problem-solving skills and your ability to perform under pressure. " The only way to prepare, said Gagliardi, is to practice, practice, practice.

Gagliardi emphasized that partnering with individual students and groups on career exploration and outreach is key to the work of the office. "For example, we are working with student volunteers on a pilot project to set up a small number of virtual career sessions as part of CEU's Career Days and Fair. We want to take advantage of CEU's state of the art IT facilities to connect students with professionals and organizations working outside of central and Eastern Europe."