Resources for Consulting Roles
Are you aiming to land a top consulting job? Explore the library resources on this page for job search tips and interview preparation.
Get help from our librarians! Our expertise can save you time finding excellent information to support your career research. Email library@tech.cornell.edu.
Company Research for an Interview
Are you attending a networking session for a company you know little about and you have only 30 minutes to prep? Do you have a lead about a job opportunity and want to quickly check out what you can about the company?
When short on time, tackle these two areas first:
Review the company's website
If you're looking at a large publicly-traded company, take a look at their press releases and news section to better understand what they want you to know about the company. If they are a small startup and have an online presence, pay attention to the information they are sharing with the public. (If you have a few more minutes - For publicly traded companies, take a look at their quarterly (SEC 10Q) or annual reports (SEC 10K). For privately held firms, take a look at Pitchbook to learn more, including who is investing and how much).
How to quickly find SEC filings
Look up the company in Capital IQ. In the navigation menu on the left, go to News, Events & Filings > SEC Filings.
Research your industry space
Read an industry profile in IBISWorld, Frost & Sullivan, or Technavio. First Research Industry Profiles are great because they provide you with Call Prep Questions. These can be found using Mergent Intellect > First Research.
Interview Preparation
- CQ InteractiveCQ Interactive, a companion to the Case in Point books, provides practice case questions and interview guidance. It is ideal when preparing for case-based interviews.
Case in PointPopular casebook by Marc Cosentino, Office of Career Services, Harvard University. Also see the online version "Case Questions Interactive": https://johnson.library.cornell.edu/database/cq-interactive/.
Case in Point 11 by Call Number: HD69.C6 C675 2020ISBN: 9780986370762Publication Date: 2020-06-01Featuring the Ivy Case System - including a section on government and nonprofit cases.- Case in Point - Case Competition byCall Number: HF5718.22 .C67 2021ISBN: 9780692114155Publication Date: 2021During interviews, you only have a short time to look at complex graphs, analyze them, extract what is important, and apply it to your answer. This book is designed to help you understand the role of graphs in consulting, introducing you to the Ivy Graph Framework, which will allow you to analyze 11 of the most popular graphs quickly and completely. Included are 10 cases with mulitple graphs allowing you to see how these cases unfold.
Case Interview Secrets by Call Number: ILR HD69.C6 C43 2012ISBN: 9780984183524Publication Date: 2012-04-01Victor Cheng, a former McKinsey management consultant, reveals his proven, insider's method for acing the case interview.
Embrace the Case Interview: Paperback Edition by Call Number: HD69.C6 S285 2014ISBN: 9781494787264Includes how to get the interview, behavioral interviewing, and the case interview itself.
Interview Math by Call Number: HF5549.5.I6 L56 2015ISBN: 9780692361474More than 50 practice problems and answers to help job seekers master quantitative interview questions including: Market Sizing Revenue Estimates Profitability Breakeven Pricing Customer Lifetime Value.
Mastering the Case Analysis by Call Number: HD30.4 .C48 2005ISBN: 0976306131Offers a systematic approach to analyzing business cases typically given in MBA job interviews.
Book Delivery
Did you know you can get books delivered to you at Tech? You can request print books from the Cornell University Library catalog by selecting “Request” in the book record. Select “Cornell Tech” for the campus delivery location. When the book arrives, it can be picked up at the Bloomberg Center security desk. Your book may also be returned at the Bloomberg Center security desk. Learn more about book access and delivery. Email library@tech.cornell.edu if you have any questions.
Core Library Resources
Here’s a short list of the library resources we most frequently recommend for career research.
Career Planning
- Vault -The Vault Guides to Jobs series is ideal for learning about careers and industries. Get information on the work environment, education requirements, a typical day in the life, and career outlook. Use when you are job hunting or looking for a tool to help you manage your career.
Company Profiles
- Capital IQ – Use the company “tear sheet” feature
- Factiva – Download custom company reports with a summary, financials, key developments, new products, and news articles.
Industry Insights
- IBISWorld – Use when you need either full reports or one-page snapshots on industries in Canada, China, and the United States. Reports include industry performance, outlook, major companies, supply chain, demand drivers, cost structure, barriers to entry, and key statistics.
- Frost & Sullivan – In-depth market research and strategy reports with European and global coverage of emerging technologies, including B2B spaces and growth opportunities.
- Technavio – Use Technavio when researching emerging and niche industries such as specialty chemicals, materials, health care, IT, energy, and more. Users can download up to 20 reports a month.
- Mergent Intellect – Navigate to the First Research reports to learn more about the industries that interest you. The Call Prep and Executive Insights sections are useful to prepare questions for both informationals and interviews.
Company News
- Get articles via Factiva or Nexis Uni (aka LexisNexis). Both contain thousands of full-text newspapers and business periodicals; you may be able to locate articles which quote company officials discussing the firm's finances or other important developments.
Resources for Building Skills
- LinkedIn Learning - LinkedIn Learning offers 2,500 detailed courses with over 80,000 high-quality instructional videos on the latest software, creative, and business skills for people at all experience levels. Sign in with Single Sign-On. Use the www.cornell.edu domain if prompted. Learn more
- Skillsoft - All active students, faculty, and staff have access to Skillsoft's online learning and books through Cornell's enterprise account. Choose from thousands of courses, books, videos, and other resources to help you stay sharp. The following topics are represented: Analyst Research, Business Skills, Compliance, Desktop Skills, Engineering, Government, IT Skills, Well-being, and Certification. Learn more