Dear GMCA members,

We are glad to share with you that the ADC Bridge to BCG Connect Event at U of T will be on Thursday, March 15 @ 6:00pm, in Medical Sciences Building, Room 2170. This event is intended for advanced degree candidates (PhDs, Post-Docs, MDs, JDs) to learn about the opportunities BCG has to offer, including the Bridge to BCG Program. This event is open to everyone who is interested, please register here.

After the Connection Event, an invite-only networking reception will be hosted at 7:15 pm. To apply to attend, please submit your CV by March 12 at 1pm via the the separate link for the Networking Event.

The application deadline for Bridge to BCG program is on Sunday,April 8, 2018 @11:59pm. For further information about the program, please visit here.

Sincerely,

Graduate Management Consulting Association (GMCA)
University of Toronto

Dear PhD, Post-doctoral, MD, and LLB students,

I hope you are having a productive semester! As a graduate student, it was about this time of year that I found myself thinking about what life after the PhD might look like

My name is Blaise Pinaud, I am a Stanford graduate (PhD – Chemical Engineering, 2014) and former UBC Post-doctoral fellow who is now a Consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Since I recently made the transition from academia to consulting, I’d like to share my experience and answer some common questions that advanced degree candidates (PhDs, MDs, or JDs) have about consulting and BCG in particular.

INTERESTED IN MANAGEMENT CONSULTING?

The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises.

What do Consultants actually do?

Consultants are responsible for owning a piece of our client’s problem. As an example, I recently helped a major retailer craft their category strategy. My role was to understand how consumers shop their products to identify which level (e.g., assortment, visual displays, pricing) to pull in order to win market share.

Most of our projects involve flying to the client site, in this case Toronto, to work closely with them on developing the strategy. At the end of the project, I met with the VP of each business to review our findings and they are all excited to put the recommendations into action.

The team celebrated our successes by going to a baseball game and having dinner at a locally renowned restaurant!

What does BCG Look for?

Strong candidates are smart, capable, and possess strong leaderships skills. We derive your “smarts” through your academic achievements (grades and test scores) as well as your ability to communicate the impact of your research to a broader audience. We want to hear about the capabilities you have developed from your experience both inside and outside the classroom or laboratory. What difficult things have you accomplished in the past?

What is Bridge to BCG?

Bridge to BCG is a three day workshop for advanced degree candidates, being held this summer and will allow participants to test drive consulting and:
√ Find out about consulting and get to know BCG
√ Participate in a realistic case team experience
√ Learn from BCG’s thought leaders
√ Meet BCG consultants and students during social and educational events

If you are interested in learning more about the Bridge to BCG program, what a career in consulting looks like for an ADC, and learning about the work we do at BCG Canada and beyond, please join us at our upcoming Connection Event.