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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do CYC Business Analysts do?

CYC Business Analysts work as pro bono consultants to small businesses across the country. At CYC Baruch, we focus on helping minority-owned small businesses in New York City solve their business problems. As a Business Analyst, you will work on a team under the direction of an Engagement Manager who will guide you through researching solutions to your client’s problems and developing plans, strategies, and recommendations for the client to put into action.

What’s the time commitment of a CYC Business Analyst?

As a Business Analyst, you should expect to spend at least five to eight hours per week with CYC. This includes meeting with your engagement team, researching, developing your recommendations, creating your deliverables, and responding to feedback from your Engagement Manager. Additionally, you are required to attend our training week and monthly chapter meetings throughout the semester. We also host several professional, cultural, and community service events throughout the semester. We require our members to attend at least two professional events and two cultural or community service events per semester, for a total of four events.

What does CYC Baruch do on a day-to-day basis?

CYC Baruch’s goals are (1) helping small businesses solve their problems, and (2) helping our members achieve professional growth. On the day-to-day, our Business Analysts are researching solutions to the problems of small businesses and developing recommendations, strategies, and plans. They’re also developing as professionals through our networking events, professional panels, office visits, and our mentorship program.

 

CYC Baruch is also incredibly proud of its thriving social culture. We have numerous events each month. These give you an opportunity to meet your fellow CYClists and participate in games, sports, karaoke, painting, dancing, hiking, traveling, and more. Most CYC members would tell you that this is the best part of the day-to-day CYC experience.

Which hard skills are needed to be a business analyst?

None! While having an array of hard skills and professional interests will help you stand out during the application process, we don’t expect any of our applicants to have specific skills in order to join as a Business Analyst. We can teach you whatever hard skills you need to succeed in CYC. What we look for the most in applicants are people with the right attitude and soft skills to work on a team where they will be expected to push themselves to grow, respond to regular feedback, consistently show up and deliver high-quality work, and participate in our community.

When are club events? How long are they?

Most of our cultural events will happen during Club Hours (12:40 - 2:20PM) on Thursdays. Occasionally, we have larger events on the weekends, such as hiking trips, retreats, or outdoor events. For professional events, it’s common that we host them during the evenings in order to accommodate work hours for our guest speakers. For community service events, the dates also vary in accordance with the availability of the organizations we collaborate with.

How does the program work?

Each semester, CYC Baruch connects with five to ten small businesses in New York City who are looking for solutions to their business problems. Each small business is paired with an Engagement–a team of three to four Business Analysts led by an Engagement Manager and a Partner. This Engagement will come together for ten weeks (one semester) to research solutions to their assigned small business’ problems and collaborate to create a presentation of recommendations to address the problems. 

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Each week, the members of the Engagement meet to share their research, insights, and recommendations, which will be reviewed by their team members for feedback. Following each meeting, a Business Analyst will likely have feedback to address and new areas of research to pursue to strengthen their recommendation. At the end of the ten weeks, the Engagement will meet with the client to present their recommendations and answer any additional questions that the small business may have in response.

How could I best prepare for being a business analyst?

For the application and interview process, you should be very familiar with what CYC Baruch does, what our values and goals are, and what we look for in a Business Analyst. It’s up to you to demonstrate to us that you are the right person for the role through showcasing your willingness to be dedicated, driven, proactive, collaborative, and, ultimately, the ideal teammate. 

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If you’re selected to become a Business Analyst, congratulations! We’re excited to have you join our team. To best prepare for your role, there are a few key skills that will help you succeed:
 

Research: Online research will occupy a significant amount of your time. While we are happy to teach you more about doing this, knowing how to do online research will give you a headstart.

Presentations: You will give a presentation to your team every single week. This is excellent practice for you, but if you’d like to be extra prepared for this role, practicing your presentation skills is a good idea.

Slide Building: You will use Microsoft PowerPoint to build your presentation, which will be your method of communicating your final recommendations to the client. Again, we are happy to teach you how to use PowerPoint, but if you’d like to prepare, practicing your PowerPoint skills will help.
 

All in all, just come in with an open mind and strong willingness to learn!

Can Business Analysts choose who they work with?

Business Analysts fill out a preference form for the Engagement they’d like to join, and while we strive to place everyone in their desired role, we cannot guarantee you will get your top choice. During Business Analyst Training Week, you will have the opportunity to have coffee chats with the Engagement Managers to learn more about each Engagement and see if your skills and interests align with the areas of work. If you’d like to work on a specific Engagement, meeting with the Engagement Manager for a coffee chat is a good way to improve your chances of being staffed.

What is this club proud of?

  1. Our impact on the small business community of New York City

  2. Our thriving student culture that’s wholesome, welcoming, fun, and supportive

  3. Our rich alumni network that’s full of success stories

  4. Our constant growth and interest in improving our club and its results

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