NEXT (Northwestern Externship Program) -- Externships in Consulting
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Please refer to the reply code below each externship when you are completeing your application. Click here to return to the NEXT 2009 home page.
California
Los Angeles, CA
Available: Opportunity for a student to spend a day inside a major motion picture studio and learn about the business side of the media & entertainment business. In particular, learn about both the strategic planning, business development, and finance activities that take place inside a studio. Take a tour of a studio lot and 'do lunch' in the LA sun. Reply Code: CST11
Los Angeles, CA
Available: Opportunity for a student to work with Plus Delta Consulting, an established management consulting firm that specializes in leading organization development and change initiatives. With our proven Positive Change(sm) approach, we help client organizations improve performance and navigate their transition efforts from systems implementation, process redesign, and corporate restructuring initiatives to strategic planning and visioning programs. Student externs can expect to experience the following during their time with the firm:
• Learn about the many roles of being an entrepreneur and new business owner
• Discuss today’s market environment and business context for launching a successful management consulting practice
• Review several effective techniques for launching a consulting firm and running the business once established
• Develop a marketing and growth strategy for enabling the continued success of the business
Student externs will also experience a "day in the life" with the firm's president and CEO. Depending on the specific timing for the externship experience, student externs might also shadow a consultant during live client meetings and be able to participate in a client engagement. Reply Code: CST30
Colorado
Estes Park, CO
Available: Opportunity for a student to spend the day conducting an architectural history survey of a historic neighborhood in Colorado. Fieldwork will include identification of resources, a site visit, development of a written architectural description, gathering of geographical information, and in-field oral interviews. The extern will then learn how to research and assemble a property history based on legal and historical sources. Finally, the extern will apply landmarking criteria to individual properties. This experience is perfect for any student interested in architecture, history, historical research, and writing, and includes components of many disciplines combined in a unique consulting experience. This firm is a major provider of architectural history, historic preservation, and digital preservation media services to municipal governments, corporations, and private individuals throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain west. Reply Code: CST16
Connecticut
Greenwich, CT (New York City area)
Available: Opportunity for a student to work with Mars & Co, an international management consulting firm focused on issues of business strategy. Reply Code: CST13
Illinois
Bloomington & Urbana, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to learn within a periodontal practice, observing surgery and patient care as well as practice management. Laser surgery for gum disease is offered on-site, as well as cone beam computed tomography and digital radiography, conscious sedation, piezosurgery and software guided surgery for dental implant placement. The practice is busy as it is twice the size of the national average. Located two hours from Chicago by car or train, the externship can be for multiple days. Host offers student lodging at his home with his family during externship. Office has had many interns from Northwestern, Illinois State, and Illinois Wesleyan. All of office interns have gone on to a career in healthcare. Two practice locations: Bloomington and Urbana, IL; main office is in Bloomington, satellite is in Urbana. The schedule is M, Tu, Th in Bloomington and W in Urbana. Host is active in community Rotary club, local dental society, and Chamber of Commerce, as well as in organized dentistry at the local, state, and national level so that candidate would have the opportunity to be exposed to more input in addition to just a clinical practice. Reply Code: CST28
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to work in the human resources consulting industry. If student is trying to find areas to apply a social sciences BA without an MA or Ph.D., this externship will help in developing research and analytical skills. The companyoffers HR consulting for companies in the retirement, executive compensation & rewards, comprehensive benefits, and employee surveys. The field of HR consulting has faired well despite the economic troubles over the last year. Company offers services to help companies smartly and efficiently allocate and invest their limited HR funds. Reply Code: CST35
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to learn treasury risk management consulting at Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the top ten accounting and consulting firms. Undergraduate will learn about cash and banking, investments, debt and derivatives. In additon, choices in treasury systems and the use of these systems by clients will be examined. Crowe Horwath LLP is affiliated with Horwath International, having offices in 33 countries around the world. The US member firm is the largest of these affiliates. Reply Code: CST04
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student with a suburban firm that mixes disciplines such as law, engineering, architecture, and planning. Off the Blue Line, near O'Hare. Reply Code: CST12
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to learn executive coaching for Fortune 100 companies;and leadership development and training for Fortune 500 companies. Host teaches undergraduate and graduate university courses in communication and organizational leadership. Schedule varies, and one of Host's clients may be willing to have an extern along at a leadership development training program. Host's primary Fortune 100 customer is McDonald's Corporation. Reply Code: CST25
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to work with Mission Measurement, a company that helps organizations measure and improve their social impact. Extern will have exposure to company methodology and will help link outcomes to an organization's mission and determine how to measure them. Reply Code: CST24
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to work with healthcare consulting practice at The Revere Group. Typical day is a mix of sales, delivery, strategy, and marketing. Host is often involved with more than one client simultaneously and is ususally working on 1-2 proposals each week. Location would be at a local client (TBD) or if not possible, at Chicago office. Reply Code: CST15
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student with Huron Consulting Group, a management consulting firm based in Chicago. Focus is working with university clients, such as Northwestern, to advise senior leadership on how to grow and facilitate research. During the externship, student will meet with members of firm who will share examples of projects, discuss exeripences at Huron, and answer questions about firm and the consulting industry. Reply Code: CST19
Chicago, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to be exposed to the consulting workplace. Client interaction possible research, and hypothesis building. Reply Code: CST17
Downers Grove, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to get experience in an environmental engineering consulting company as a consultant. Reply Code: CST05
Evanston, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student with RockStar Consulting. Would be great for students who would like to become an independent business person. Typical day could include networking, marketing activities, meeting with potential clients, and more. Reply Code: CST10
Grayslake, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student with Concerted Systems, a technology and design firm specializing in software development, website design, and marketing communications. Firm's goal is to understand client challenges and provide the creative solutions needed to succeed. For those in the museum and arts community, Concerted is the developer of Harmony -- innovative software that integrates ticketing, registration, and patron-donor operations. Host would enjoy mentoring a student interested web design and/or software development. Day would consist of an overview of what the company does, details about our different areas, and discussion of marketing our new software, Harmony. Reply Code: CST23
Northfield, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to work with a firm specializing in developing sales process as well as providing conventional marketing support to companies who sell B-to-B, but do not have all of the expertise they require in-house. Opportunity is with a small company, and the work varies significantly from day-to-day. Student may be observing us teaching, coaching, selling, or doing office support work including proposal writing, research, or report writing. One take away will be the understanding of the amount of details needed to track as the process moves from client to client. Reply Code: CST27
Wheaton, IL
Available: Opportunity for a student to get experience with a software and IT consulting company with operations in US and Belgrade, Serbia. Merit was started shortly after the Host finished a Kellogg degree and is now 25 people operating as a boutique consulting firm. For undergraduates who are are entrepreneurial and interested building business, particularly across cultures. Reply Code: CST07
Massachusetts
Boston, MA
Available: Opportunity for a student to work for an organization that deals primarily with clients within the higher education industry. Topics covered include: international expansion, program development, and enrollment management. Company works very closely with clients and uses market research techniques including interviews and surveys to advise strategies. Work is very diverse in terms of focus areas: one moment student could be on the phone speaking with the US consulate in Thailand about student trends in higher education in the US versus Australia; next moment stduent could be briefing clients on the job market for homeland security program graduates. Reply Code: CST09
Boston, MA
Available: Opportunity for a student to learn how the foundational tools of conflict resolution and joint problem-solving are applied to the private sector, helping companies effectively negotiate and manage their most critical business relationships. Host will spend part of the day teaching the student how to prepare and conduct negotiations to meet their interests. Reply Code: CST32
Boston, MA
Available: One day orietation with an internal strategy consulting group. Group of 20 comprises undergraduates, MBAs, and PhDs from top institutions. Company works on projects for strategic business units, addressing most pressing concerns. Day would consist of a tour, informational interview with a group manager, and one day of shadowing a recent Kellogg alum. Reply Code: CST21
Framingham, MA
Available: Opportunity for a student to work with a leadership and organizational development director in the Biotech area. No two days are alike. Much client facing work -- helping clients get from where they are to where they want to be. Work ranges broadly and typically director carries 10-15 projects in parallel. Reply Code: CST14
Missouri
Cape Girardeau, MO
Available: Opportunity for a student to learn healthcare administration, marketing, and the competive challenges facing the typical american hospital today. Reply Code: CST03
New York
New York City, NY
Available: Opportunity for a student to get experience with Goodman & Company, a strategic marketing consulting firm that works with Fortune 500 B-to-B and B-to-C companies on major innovation initiatives. Headquartered in Columbus Circle, Manhattan, and with offices in Atlanta and San Francisco, clients have included Microsoft, eBay, SAP, Sears, Guthy-Renker, Allstate, AXA, AOL, Bertelsman, and others. Goodman's multi-channel direct and brand-building experience is deep, and its work is channel-agnostic. Goodman's methodologies help clients identify opportunities to find new customers and keep more of those they have. Research-driven to create actionable insights, we work on future product requirements and purchase process dynamics. Visiting students will have an opportunity to participate in a rigorous briefing and brainstorming session. Depending on the program date, this session might be for a current project or a repeat of a previous one. Senior consultants will be on hand to talk about careers in consulting and to answer questions. Goodman was a founding sponsor of the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation's Leadership Development program which places college graduates in a one-year job rotating every four months among three companies. Goodman is happy to expose college students to real-world experiences. A past and current participant in that program will be on hand during the day. Reply Code: CST29
Texas
Dallas, TX
Available: Opportunity for a student to shadow a corporate strategy analyst at a multi-billion dollar food and beverage company. Corporate strategy is very similar to strategy consulting -- the primary difference is that one works for a single company instead of different clients. The extern may gain exposure to activities related to growth strategy, category/portfolio strategy, strategic planning, and competitive intelligence. Extern will learn about the different types of quantitative and qualitative analyses that are conducted to assess the business and identify opportunities and potential sources of growth. Extern will also gain insight into business frameworks that are commonly used in the field, such as Porter's Five Forces, SWOT analysis, 2x2 matrix etc. The strategy team plays a prominent role in the company and the extern will likely be exposed to more senior people in the company, while also gaining insight into the role and responsibilities of a recent graduate. Reply Code: CST33
Dallas, TX
Externship at large consulting firm. Agenda includes overview of consulting industry, "what to expect" in entry level consulting roles, followed by lunch with colleagues. Reply Code: CST22
Washington, DC
Available: Opportunity for a student to learn consulting from a home-based office. Learn how to build a consulting business, establish a network, and respond to inquiries. Host will arrange for one or more "partners" to be available to share perspectives on the consultants role. Reply Code: CST02
Wisconsin
Madison, WI
Available: Opportunity for a student to talk with an alum who runs own PR/communications firm. Host launched home-based business after several years as managing editor of a national trade magazine, published by a small, family-run company. Host works from a home office, and most time is spent writing or talking on the phone. Host would be happy to spend time answering an extern's questions. Reply Code: CST20
TBD, USA
Available: Opportunity for a student in IT/business consulting. A senior consultant for CedarCrestone's higher education practice will provide project management, software inplementation, and business process management consulting experience. CedarCrestone serves colleges and universities throughout the US and globally. Clients include: Cornell University, Coppin State University, Maricopa Community Colleges, and the California State University System. Host is a School of Music and Kellogg alum and knows what it means to "connect the dots" from a liberal/fine arts degree into a professional career in for-profit business and consulting. While on this externship, you'll shadow Host in all daily activities on client sites. Reply Code: CST06
International
Hong Kong, China
Available: Opportunity for a student to attend a training/teaching/rehearsal session of drama or dance. A tour of major theatres and training institutes can be arranged. Reply Code: CST08
Shanghai, China
Available: Opportunity for a student to work with ZS Associates, a global management consulting firm that focuses on sales and marketing issues. In March, 2008, ZS opened its office in Shanghai. Through this externship, student will experience the daily life of an associate or associate consultant at a leading consulting firm's practice in the China market. Reply Code: CST26
Tokyo, Japan
Available: Opportunity for a student to spend a day learning what strategy consulting really is in a multinational environment. Reply Code: CST18
Hamburg, Germany
Available: Opportunity for a student to get experience in an integrated fixed-net and mobile solutions industry. Chances to work on the sales and product management side of the business. Student might expect to get an overview of the German telcom market, the main drivers of the business, clients' needs and the strategy of the company to become the best place to work in the industry. This is an environment that is largely technology driven. A basic knowledge of Next Generation Network elements and business models (routing, IP foundations) would be helpful. Reply Code: CST34
London, UK
Available: Opportunity for a student to work in an internal consulting position in a London telecom firm. For students who would like to learn about corporate strategy and work internationally. Reply Code: CST01
