Case competitions, business analytics make Krannert senior marketable to employers

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Coming to Purdue, Krannert senior Trystan Manning knew almost nothing about the consulting industry. Today, he is poised upon graduation to put his skills to work as a strategy analyst for Deloitte Consulting.

“I’m an out-of-state student who wasn’t a direct admit to Krannert because I began at Purdue in the Summer Start program,” he says. “I took the summer classes, did very well and then it was just a matter of taking the prerequisites. By achieving a sound GPA and making sure it was what I wanted to do, I was eventually admitted to Krannert and it turned out for the best.”

Early on, Manning was uncertain where he wanted to take his business aspirations. “It was during my sophomore year when I began doing case competitions that I learned about consulting and decided to pursue it as a career,” he says.

Like in case competitions, Manning thrives on solving different business challenges within a specific period of time, which he views as the bedrock of being a good management consultant.

Manning, a double major in economics and finance, says his concentration in business analytics also gives him a boost in profile.

“The data analytics concentration made me comfortable not only with using technical tools like Python, but also applying it to data that could be used in business,” he says. “That's something I used to market myself to employers.”

Beyond coursework, he credits his participation in student organizations such as ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals for America) and Consult Your Community as another key to his success.

“Krannert has a lot of different organizations and resources to get you out there, meet new people, and make you comfortable giving presentations and networking,” he says. “That will be incredibly important in my job because you're constantly meeting with the client, constantly having to present your ideas. It's really a combination of hard skills and soft skills that I've gotten from my education.”

A study abroad experience in London and internships with Agora Talent and UnitedHealth Group round out Manning’s portfolio. “These experiences built my resume and provided me with good stories to share with prospective employers,” he says.

While he is eager to start his full-time positon with Deloitte, Manning is also keeping an eye on the big picture. “I look forward to learning more about the industry and sharpening my skills so that I can maybe go back to grad school, meet other like-minded people, and either start my own business, continue with the industry I'm in or pivot into a new one.”