Full Time Offer B4 Consulting

Hi there,

Is there possibility to delay your business school entrance time by 6 months or a year? 

Anyway, there is no harm to take the offer first if they extend you at the end of internship. Things can change before you actually start the work. But if you do want to take the offer and still want to do B school after 6 month, better disclose that and see what can they accommodate. Just make sure if you are changing plan, you manage it politely and professionally. 

Best,

Emily

Hi,

Typically, it is weird and would be suspicious to someone reading your CV to see you only spent 6 months in a role. 

• Were you not able to survive and do well?
• Were you indecisive and not strategic in your thinking and career paths?
• Are you not able to handle hardship?

None of the above might be true - but for sure these thoughts are easy to come to mind, whether fair or not.

I would echo what Emily said and push to delay the start date for your business school. 

In addition, if your goal is to eventually get into a top tier consulting firm, I would think of the situation as follows:

• Is the business school brand name better or the current firms branding better?
• Is it more likely I will get into a top tier firm direct from the bsch, or by staying longer at the firm? 

Do note that even at bsch, your CV will be reviewed competitively and not everyone gets invited to the interviews, even in a target school. Thus unless there is such a big drastic gap in the prestige between your current firm and bsch, probably better to get more work experience before going to bsch

All the best!

Hi!

Congrats on the offer to extend into a full-time role.

Needless to say, it depends on your priorities. 

But the reality is that many people go to business school to get the sort of offer you already have now in your hands. 

So I would rather try to push the business school start date and go on a sabbatical from your role to do the course in 2 years from now. While at the business school you could apply for Tier 1, and if you get in, then there's no need to return to the previous job.

I wouldn't join the full-time role now to leave after 6 months. Indeed, it's then quite frustrating for them. There's nothing to stop you from doing this, but it's just not a great option for anybody involved.

Btw, I also wrote an article on whether or not it's actually worth going to business school. Maybe it brings you some insights you hadn't considered before:

• Expert Guide: Are MBAs worth it?

Best,
Cristian

Hey there :)

Leaving a Big 4 full-time role after 6 months for business school is generally understood and not seen negatively, especially if it’s for career development. The key is to be transparent in your CV and future interviews, framing it as a strategic move to gain a Master’s and strengthen your consulting profile. Since your goal is Tier 1/2 consulting, the short stint won’t hurt if you explain it well and show that your decisions were intentional for long-term growth.

best, Alessa :)

This is a very common point of tension when managing a consulting timeline and planning for business school. You are right to be thinking about how short tenure looks on a resume, especially with the ultimate goal of Tier 1/2 firms.

Here is the reality check: While leaving for a top-tier postgraduate program (which is the assumption here) is the single most excusable reason for a premature departure, leaving after just six months is still highly inefficient. Your firm, like any consulting organization, is making an investment expecting a 1-2 year return on training and certification. By leaving before 12-18 months, you essentially burn that opportunity, not because the firm will blacklist you personally, but because you gain minimal substantive experience.

From the perspective of a future MBB recruiter, a 6-month stint at a Big 4 is functionally equivalent to not having worked there at all. It is barely enough time to cycle through onboarding, maybe get staffed on one or two projects, and certainly not enough to gain promotion or meaningful skills differentiation. You will enter the postgraduate program relying entirely on your undergraduate profile, not your "experienced consultant" tenure. You are caught in the middle: you wasted time that could have been spent solely on maximizing your B-school applications, or you left before gaining the necessary experience to differentiate yourself later.

My strong advice is to make a strategic choice now, rather than committing to the worst of both worlds: If you are highly likely to secure a top B-school spot for August 2026, decline the FT offer and focus intensely on achieving that goal while maintaining strong relationships from the internship. However, if you accept the FT conversion, commit to staying a minimum of 18 months. Hitting the promotion threshold (typically 1.5–2 years to Senior Consultant) gives you an actual narrative and career velocity that significantly improves your profile for lateral entry, or gives you much stronger material for your MBA applications and essays.

All the best!

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offer!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

• First of all, if your goal is to apply to top business schools and land a strategy consulting role later, I would advise you to think clearly now about what adds real value to that path. A 6-month full-time role is unlikely to make a difference and may look a bit awkward on your CV unless it’s very clearly tied to your studies timeline.
• Moreover, I would strongly advise you to only convert to full-time if you are open to staying at least 12-18 months. This way, you gain actual project experience and have a stronger story for your MBA or next consulting role.
• Lastly, if you're already confident about getting into business school, I would advise you to either decline the offer now and focus fully on that path or delay the business school start by a year and make the most out of the full-time job before going back to study.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen