After starting a consulting group while attending James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., Bennett Resnik realized the same concept would apply on a national basis. He began contacting universities and colleges across the country, ultimately establishing the Inter-Collegiate Consulting Network (ICCN). ICCN, which launched at www.theiccn.com in January, is a new and unique social networking site for undergrads, graduates, and MBA students from consulting clubs at colleges and universities worldwide. Resnik recently spoke with Consulting about the new site, a forum for future consultants to communicate.
Consulting: How is ICCN different from other social networking sites?
Resnik: ICCN is a multi-dimensional platform unlike any I've ever seen. The purpose is to connect students involved in consulting groups at universities and colleges across the U.S., but also abroad—I've actually just spoken to Australian National College. The Web site's features include blogs, forums, the ability to upload resumes, case studies, and [it] allows students to collaborate on projects from their respective institutions, exchange ideas, answer questions and assist in career advancement. This is a laser-targeted demographic that we're talking about here with students in undergraduate and graduate schools looking for careers in consulting.
Consulting: Will the site contain a lot of user-generated content?
Resnik: Many colleges have consulting groups or consulting clubs that do consulting with their university, surrounding nonprofit organizations or local businesses. The case study work they do can then be uploaded to ICCN so if a school has a similar project, they can use it as a reference.
Consulting: How many members do you currently have?
Resnik: Currently we have about 35 members since we've launched a few weeks ago. But right now we have 18 universities that are expressing serious interest. Thirty-five universities have contacted me, 18 of them are presenting to their boards in the next two weeks. We expect about 2,000 or 3,000 members in the next few months. Once again, this is a really self-selecting group. The site is focusing on the top-tier universities in the world. Even though anyone can become a member, I really want to keep this an elite organization. Long term I would say around 10,000 members [would be the goal.].
Consulting: At what point would you say the site becomes an effective social networking site?
Resnik: I would probably say around 500 [members]. How I come up with that number is that each consulting club has around 50 members. In order to become effective there has to be a certain number of universities officially on board the site.
Consulting: Do major business schools like Wharton and Kellogg have similar sites?
Resnik: They don't. Speaking of Wharton, the undergrad program has expressed interest in joining ICCN. Even if they do have these networks, it's only within their own school. So this is not just national, it's more of a global consulting network.
Consulting: Are you currently reaching out to schools to promote the sites through the clubs?
Resnik: We've been doing national campaigns, and basically we're letting them know what the service is, that it's completely free and that the advantages of the entire network are endless. Unlike many current networking outlets, this is a platform for like-minded students to connect share information. It's a self-selecting audience comprised of motivated students who have experience and a passion for the consulting business.
Consulting: Does the site have any relationships with management consultancies?
Resnik: No. Not yet. My main goal right now is to build up the network before reaching out. I've spoken with [some firms.] I've definitely been reaching out to groups and people I've known previously, trying to get a consulting firm's perspective on the potential of ICCN. In terms of marketing it for advertising, I'm going to wait until the market is built up.
Consulting: What sort of relationships would you hope to maintain with alumni who are successful with finding a job through ICCN? In other words, would the site's usefulness diminish to members once they find work at a consultancy?
Resnik: There's a section that will be put on the site in the next few weeks that will discuss features. The features will talk about someone who has been successful with ICCN, and detail their experience with ICCN. In the future we'll feature somebody already established in the consulting industry so that other students on the site can look at that and see where they've been, what they've done with what they've learned, and what's helped them along the way.
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