Chances of Roland Berger Return Offer & How to prepare for internship

Hi there,

None of us can tell you firm rates. It changes by office, year, company, etc. But, know that you should get a return offer IF you do a good job. Therefore, focus on that which you can control: Doing a good job.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Know that no-one can perfectly prepare for the job and that's the point: You will mess up, you will learn, you will be trained and supported. That's OK!

First: I have a consulting survival guide handbook with 25 key tips for surviving the consulting world. Feel free to message me for it!

Second: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:

1) Daily Reading

The Economist, The Financial Times, BCG/Mskinsey Insights

2) Industry deep-dives

Learn, in-depth, how the industries/companies your office advises, work. (PM me for an industry overview template)

3) Analytics tools

Alteryx, Tableau, etc.

4) Excel

5) Powerpoint

• Best practices/standards
• Different layouts
• Quickly editing/updating slides
• Thinking in PowerPoint

6) Presentation skills / sharp communication

There are some online/virtual classes for this

Third: In terms of doing well in your role when you're there:

1) Understand the context/prompt (what role are you in, what company, who's watching, etc.)

2) Understand the objective (what, specifically, is expected from you...both day to day, and in your overall career progression)

3) Quickly process information, and focus on what's important - Take a lot of information and the unknown, find the most logical path, and focus on that.

4) Be comfortable with the unknown, and learn to brainstorm - think/speak like an expert without being one

In summary, there will always be a flood of information, expectations, competition etc. and not enough time. Find out which ones matter when. (i.e. be visibile and focus efforts on the things that people care about)

Fourth: Here are some great prior Q&As for you!

• What Makes a Good Consultant?
• How Hard Is It to Excel in Top Consulting Firms?
• How to Become an Engagement Manager and Partner Quickly
• Skills to Learn Before Starting at MBB

On conversion rates, ask recruiting about your specific office and internship cohort. I wouldn't give you a percentage based on another office or an older recruiting year.

For restructuring, get comfortable with the basics of cash flow, working capital, the three financial statements, and the difference between profitability and liquidity. Ask your team whether there's any recommended reading or Excel preparation.

Once you start, clarify expectations early, ask for feedback regularly, and show that you act on it. Don't wait until the final review to discover what you should have improved!

Here's my Consulting Survival Guide.

Congrats on the offer, and I would focus much more on how to maximize your chances of a return offer than on trying to estimate a conversion percentage.

1. Don’t over-focus on the conversion rate

It can vary significantly by office, year and staffing needs, so any generic percentage will be of limited value.

What matters more is understanding early how performance is assessed in your specific office and what distinguishes interns who receive return offers.

2. Prepare specifically for restructuring

Before you start, I would get comfortable with:

• the three financial statements,
• cash flow and liquidity,
• working capital,
• profitability vs. cash generation,
• basic restructuring concepts such as covenants, refinancing and short-term cash planning.

You do not need to become a restructuring expert, but this will make the first weeks much easier.

3. Build the core consulting skills you will use every day

Excel, PowerPoint and clear communication will probably matter more from day one than learning highly technical theory.

4. Once you start, manage the internship actively

Clarify expectations early, ask for feedback before the final review, and show that you act on it. Also, try to take ownership of a piece of work end-to-end rather than only completing isolated tasks.

In my view, the strongest signal for a return offer is not “knowing everything” when you arrive, but learning quickly, being reliable and improving visibly throughout the internship.

If you want, feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to share how I would prepare specifically for a first consulting internship in restructuring.

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer. Nobody outside Roland Berger can give you a reliable conversion rate, and it changes every year, so I would focus on what you control.

For restructuring, get comfortable with cash before you start. Read a P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement together, understand working capital, and look up how a 13-week cash flow forecast works. Many restructuring projects start there, and an intern who already understands it is useful from week one.

On the return offer, from managing junior team members myself, three things decide it. Your numbers are right the first time, you ask questions early rather than late, and you own one piece of work end to end. Ask your manager in the first week what a great internship looks like to them, and check in on it halfway through.

Best,
Nikola

I wouldn't plan around a conversion percentage. It shifts with the office, the cohort and the year's staffing needs, and any figure you find online is guesswork. A better question for your first week is how return offers are decided there: who gives input on your performance, and when the decision is made.

For restructuring, the most useful prep is corporate finance. Make sure you can link the three financial statements, explain why a profitable company can still run out of cash, and read a short-term liquidity plan line by line. Learn the basic vocabulary too: covenants, working capital, refinancing. If your project is on a German mandate, a short summary of what an IDW S6 restructuring opinion covers will help you follow the discussion.

As a first-time intern, get quick in Excel and PowerPoint before you start. Once you're there, check every number before it goes into a slide and keep a note of what your manager corrects so you don't repeat it. Ask for informal feedback after your first milestone so the final review holds no surprises.

No idea what the conversion rate is to full-time offer. You could ask people in the office once you're there. Maybe they'll be able to at least estimate it. 

Re how to prepare, if you're keen, do read a bit on how restructuring projects work, what are some of the main initiatives that consulting firms implement, how they differ from industry to industry, and even attempt some case studies from that specific area. 

Best of luck with the internship! I hope you'll enjoy it.

Cristian 

From my experience working at RB for multiple years, I can tell you that getting a return offer highly depends on the office and team that you are working with as well as their needs for a new hire.

DACH offices generally have higher expectations compared to other offices. I've seen some 'good' interns not receiving job offers, so you'd need to be 'great' to get an offer.

The restructuring team is one of the most demanding and sharp teams in the company. Expect heavy workload with smart people.

I'd suggest that you have an open 1-1 discussion with the consultant who is overseeing your work early on to set expectations on what success looks like, and continue having regular feedback sessions (say every 2 weeks) to assess your performance so there are no surprises at the end of the internship.

Hi, been there, done that. 

Re the return offer quota: 

Hard to say, it shifts over time and the corresponding need for full-time consultants. Gut feeling is a c. 10% quota, but as said, can be 5-25% depending on the time. 

Preparation: 

I also wanted to focus on the very client case (industry data, competitors, past financial performance, etc.) in the days prior to my internship, but in the end you hardly need those information. You'll get the information that you really need in the first couple of days after start. Thus, focus more on a "first week" bucket list of thinking: get to know person xy, speak with the lead partner, etc. pp. Having this type of thinking spelled out before (!) the first day, helps you in the (probably stressful) first days. 

Thoughts re hard skills: there are PPT standards at the firm, so you cannot prepare for them; Excel: you will probably have a model at hand and not start from scratch, so also tough to prepare. Ofc knowing how to do a sumifs or index(match) is helpful;)

All in all: Make sure you start with an open mind, are curious to learn new things, and once you get specific first tasks, give it your best to solve them 110% as you'll get progressively more interesting tasks thereafter. Hope that helps!