One on One with ICCN's Bennett Resnik

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.