How to Market Yourself as a Non-traditional Major

Bruin Consulting was extremely excited to see many new faces tonight at our second event of the quarter, focused on helping students of non-traditional majors to market themselves in business!

I am glad many of you made the trek down to the caves of the LS building on the fourth floor to learn about how Bruin Consulting can help you. Before I go into the rest of this post, I want to remind everyone that all of the Board members are excited to get to know each and every one of you and help you individually with any questions or concerns you may have in regards to consulting, the recruitment process, or anything else, for that matter. So on that note, please email us! We will be posting a FAQ section on our site soon and would like to add your questions on there since your questions, although they may seem very “basic” to you, have answers that are actually useful to many other undergraduate and graduate students.

While listening to the Board members make their presentations on how you can find your niche in consulting as a (life science, engineering, humanities, social sciences) major, I realize that there are really 5 main steps in the process of getting to a job that you will love.

1. Know what opportunities exist for you: Most of you just recently found out about consulting, but still don’t know what firms you will fit in well with. Do your research on google, come ask us BC board members, and come out to events, since we often bring recruiters to meet you and answer your questions!

2. It really comes down to your resume: You need to get through the papercuts, which is harder than most people realize, and it takes a lot longer to prepare a thorough and concise resume than people expect. Start early, update it weekly, and ASK FOR HELP! BC has a Professional Development team that can help you, and don’t be afraid to ask recruiters that you meet to give you feedback. Keep your GPA high, stay involved in extra-curriculars, and make sure it is all on one page with a good template.

3. Once you get the papercuts, it’s all about the interview: You MUST craft your own story, know your strengths, and be sure to do your research on the firm you are interviewing with! BC will offer more workshops on how to market yourself, but be sure to have examples of how you have been a leader, have answers prepared to talk about how your major gives you an edge over others, and have confidence! You ARE better than the people interviewing before and after you – if you don’t believe it, then you need to do some more mock interviews until you come to that realization.

4. Get an internship: As Gabriel mentioned in his presentation tonight, firms want to hire people that have been hired before. Get an internship, make the most of your time there, network with the people you meet, and use your newly acquired skills to land a full-time job.

5. Come to recruiting events to figure out which firm is the right fit for you: This is so important! You don’t want to sign a 2 year contract with a firm where you don’t actually feel comfortable working. Consulting is known to be a fun job for outgoing people, but every firm has its own personality, and you want to find the company that matches your personality.

If you are successful at dedicating time and energy into these 5 steps, you can feel secure about your chances in landing a job at a place you will enjoy working. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is, above all, to ask for help. BC is here to answer your questions, provide you with the opportunity to meet firms, and give you the chance to compete in rewarding case competitions which will help you figure out whether or not consulting is the right field for you. Take advantage of the opportunities here at UCLA, and you will be well on your way! No successful leaders today got their on their own; we learn from others and use others’ experiences and knowledge to help ourselves excel.

We hope to see you at our next event on Tuesday, April 22 – Niche Consulting Night – where you can meet some more recruiters and ask more questions. Keep up the hard work, students! We know it isn’t easy, but the pay-off is well worth it!

The New York Times on Non-Traditional Majors!

Camille, an awesome second-year BC member, was kind enough to share with us a recent NYT article on the rising number of philosophy majors in the U.S., and how those students are using the degree to pursue careers in business.

The timing of the article could not be better. Because our event this Thursday is “Business for Non-traditional Majors,” we thought it would be neat to share the highlights of the article with you here.

The economic downturn has done little, if anything, to dampen this enthusiasm among students, who say that what they learn in class can translate into practical skills and careers.

We at BC agree — but the question is, how?

David E. Schrader, executive director of the American Philosophical Association, a professional organization with 11,000 members, said that in an era in which people change careers frequently, philosophy makes sense. “It’s a major that helps them become quick learners and gives them strong skills in writing, analysis and critical thinking,” he said.

Yes again — and this also goes for all the humanities, engineering and life sciences.

Barry Loewer, the department chairman, said that … many students have double-majored in philosophy and, say, psychology or economics, in recent years, and go on to become doctors, lawyers, writers, investment bankers and even commodities traders.

Philosophy majors in business? Yes! Case in point: Our past president, Gabriel Mizrahi, who studied Philosophy and English and is now a strategy and operations consultant.

But if that isn’t reason enough, then perhaps one Rutgers student will persuade you:

Jenna Schaal-O’Connor, a 20-year-old sophomore who is majoring in cognitive science and linguistics, said philosophy had other perks. She said she found many male philosophy majors interesting and sensitive.

“That whole deep existential torment,” she said. “It’s good for getting girlfriends.”

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But seriously — if you are in the humanities, or any other “non-traditional” major, then you’ll want to attend our workshop this Thursday, April 10 from 6-7:30 PM in LS 4127. We’ll provide on central answer: How to bridge the gap between the ideas in this article and landing a prestigious career in business.

You can access the full version of the article here.

UCLA Anderson MBAs at the Case Competition!

We’re exciting to announce that a number of awesome Anderson MBAs, many of whom are in the Management Consulting Association (MCA — the BC of the Anderson School), will be advising judges at the case competition!

This means that after your first round presentation, a friendly MBA student will jump out with your team and give you personalized feedback designed to help you grow as a candidate. We wanted to make the competition a great learning opportunity, and we thank the MBAs for making that happen.

Just six weeks…

The BC Blog Launches!

Welcome to the Bruin Consulting blog! Here we’ll post the newest developments on the UCLA recruiting scene.

Read up on the latest on the case competition, including our newest confirmed judges.

Search through our tips and suggestions for the recruiting process.

Check in for the best events and opportunities we recommend at UCLA.

And as always, shoot us an email with any questions!