Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! We highly encourage first-year students to apply. While there is no “right” year to join JED, we believe freshmen stand to gain most from the mentorship and career exploration aspects of the club.

Consultant applications are conducted in September. Sales Analyst and Executive team applications are conducted in April. For the 2023-24 academic year, the deadline to apply to the Consultant role is Thursday, September 21st, 2023.

Yes! We highly encourage you to attend an info session before applying to learn more about the work we do and interact with members of our team.

For the 2023-24 year, we’re hosting an in-person info session on Thursday, September 14th and virtual one on Saturday, September 16th for our consultant openings. We will be hosting a virtual info session for Sales and Executive positions in April.

No! We value our team having a diversity of backgrounds – provided you have an interest in business and show a demonstrated capacity for problem-solving, you might make a great fit for our club!

We look for well-rounded applicants and judge on a variety of skills, including your ability to solve problems creatively, communicate effectively and work in a team. We also assess certain intangible skills, such as your curiosity for business, growth potential and genuine passion for JED.

In the resume-screening phase, we take into consideration additional factors depending on the applicant’s year beyond those previously mentioned. For non-freshmen applications, CGPA is a decision factor. For applicants in their third or fourth years – many of whom will be expected to take a leadership role soon after joining the club – the quality of previously completed (or recently secured) internships is a factor.

After successfully passing a resume screening, applicants go through two rounds of interviews.  

The Round 1 interview tests applicants’ abilities to answer behavioural questions and solve a market-sizing problem.  

The Round 2 interview tests applicants’ abilities to solve a longer interviewer-led case, along with additional behavioural questions.

Since JED has a unique interview format, how you prepare for the interview should reflect that. As with any other interview, come prepared to discuss why you are the right fit for JED and showcase your skills/personality.

More importantly, you should spend some time before your interview getting comfortable with the type of questions you will encounter: a market sizing problem (in Round 1) and an interviewer-led case (in Round 2). While we don’t expect you to be an expert in these (especially if you’re a freshman or non-Management), there are countless online resources that can help you begin developing those skills and enable you to be more confident in your interviews.

No, you shouldn’t. We understand that many applicants will have never encountered a case interview before: outside of consulting, few industries use this in their application process. As such, we are not expecting applications (especially freshmen and non-Management applicants) to have any previous case experience.

To ensure a more level playing field, everyone selected for a Round 1 and/or Round 2 interview will receive a list of materials they can use to prepare. We will also be hosting virtual “office hours” before our Round 1 interviews begin, and then again before Round 2 begins, for candidates with any last-minute questions.

Finally, we have specifically built our Round 2 case to focus more on your problem-solving and critical thinking skills, rather than your ability to “beat” the case. In any interviewer-led case (like the one we give to candidates in Round 2), the interviewer will provide most information required to solve each part of the case unprompted.

Yes! Regardless of whether you were successful in your Consultant application, anyone can apply to become a Sales Analyst and/or Executive in April.

Previous formal sales experience is NOT required! We judge Sales Analyst applications on a combination of factors, including their grit, relationship-building abilities, conversational skills, perseverance and passion/knowledge for JED.

For the 2022-23 year, interviews will be held on the week of May 1st, 2023. Applicants will be notified of their status the week prior. Selected applicants will have a 1st round behavioural interview where they will be asked role-specific and culture-fit questions. Those who move forward will then have a 2nd round interview that consists of a less-formal conversation with a senior executive.

Firstly, don’t worry! JED Consulting receives over 200 applications each year for a very limited number of roles. The result of your JED application does not have to determine your involvement in consulting at McGill.

For those interested in consulting, we encourage you to explore the following:

• Case competitions: A great way to build problem-solving skills and develop your network, case competitions are held routinely throughout the school year at McGill and the wider Montreal community. The Desautels Management Leadership Seminar (for U0s and U1s), Case League (for U0s and U1s), Bridge Case Competition, Deloitte Impact Case Competition and McKinsey Defi are just some that happen throughout the year.
• Get involved with other McGill consulting clubs: The McGill Consulting Association (MCA) holds regular events and workshops, while the McGill Social Business Network (MSBN) and McGill Not-For-Profit Consulting program provide pro-bono consulting services to non-profits and NGOs in Canada. While not McGill clubs, Impact Consulting Montreal and REM & Company are joined by many McGill students too.
• Get involved in firm-led pro-bono consulting initiatives: Some professional consulting firms give students the opportunity to consult for non-profits alongside their current employees. Programs include Accenture’s Accent on the Community (AOTC) and IBM ProBono program.
• Get on the right mailing lists: Julia Riscaldino (Consulting Advisor for BCom) and the Bcom Career Advisors run two separate newsletters with opportunities to get involved. Just email them mentioning an interest to be added to the Listerv!

Finally, we encourage you to apply again to JED – whether for a Sales Analyst role in April, or for a Consultant role in September – we would love to review your application again.

Consultants are expected to dedicate between 5-10 hours per week on their project and JED-related activities. While 5 hours/week is most common, as major project deliverables become due (usually in December and early April), Consultants can expect up to 10 hours of weekly work. Given the paid nature of our projects, JED is expected to be the top extra-curricular priority of our consultants.

The weekly workload of Sales Analysts is variable and depends on your success securing potential clients. As a baseline, Sales Analysts can expect to dedicate 5 hours/week conducting cold email outreach to Canadian companies. As Sales Analysts receive more leads, their workload can increase up to 10 hours/week as they seek to respond to client demands (ex. Having additional calls, building proposal decks, etc.). Due to the client-facing nature of the Sales Analyst position, applicants are expected to have flexibility during their Summer/Fall schedules to conduct 30-minute calls during work hours (9am – 5pm).

Consultants can expect to complete a mixture of the following:

• Conducting online market research (ex. On client competitors, industry trends, etc.)
• Collecting primary data (ex. Developing and promoting surveys, focus groups)
• Analyzing data in Excel (quantitative) or across verbal responses (qualitative)
• Identifying insights/trends in data
• Creating recommendations for clients based on research
• Visualizing insights (ie. Creating PowerPoints)

Yes. The summer is when the planning for JED’s major initiatives occurs, including our Black Students in Consulting Event and fall recruitment. As an executive, you will be expected to participate in regular update calls with the leadership team starting in May. Of course, we recognize it is the summer, so you can expect a lighter 2-5h/week workload.

A consultant position is not guaranteed for Sales Analysts/Executives. As such, people applying to those positions should be motivated to apply because of the role itself. Only high-performing Sales Analysts and/or Executives will be extended an invitation to participate in a final round Consultant interview in the Fall and/or Winter semester.

No. While clients pay for our consulting services and club members receive various perks, JED Consulting remains recognized as a club within the Management Undergraduate Society. As such, no member of JED is directly paid for their involvement with the club.