Getting a return offer

Hi there,

Congratulations on the internship offer! In terms of your question:

Q: I was wondering whether a shorter time period (2 months, one project afaik) rather than 3 months (two projects) increases my chances of getting a return offer. 

I would target 3 months if possible as they would have more data points on your performance. 

With one project only, you would put all your eggs in one basket. With 2 projects instead (or anyway more time), if there are any issues in the first two months they could evaluate you also on the following one.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hello A,

Logically, the longer the period, the more representative your performance is. However, honestly, I don't think it makes a significant difference.

Regarding your statement about having two projects in three months, it's not a guaranteed situation for everyone. Most people I know have worked on just one project during their internship. I was just curious if you had specific information or insights about having multiple projects in a shorter timeframe.

Overall, give your best self during the internship, and you will have a good chance of receiving a full-time offer. Remember, if the MBBs didn't want you, they wouldn't have offered you the internship in the first place. Internships at MBBs are more about training and developing your skills, rather than solely adding value to the company. That's why they don't charge clients for the work you do. They choose interns they genuinely want to recruit for full-time positions.

Keep up the hard work and make the most of your internship opportunity. Best of luck!

Hi there,

3 months a.k.a. 2 projects would be my recommendation:

• You have more time to actually experience the consulting work and lifestyle to decide whether you like it
• You get to see at least two different project types (presumably)
• You work together with more people than just a single project team so you get a better feel for the company culture
• You have more time to incorporate the feedback you receive and showcase a good learning curve
• Your evaluation which determines your chances for a return offer will not only hinge on very few individuals

Enjoy the internship

Hi there, 

I would say the opposite. 

The more time you spend there, the more chances you have to prove yourself and collect supporters. That in turn increases your chances of getting at least once offer. 

Best,
Cristian 

Hi there,

More time is better.

You have more time to learn the ropes and prove yourself. More time to build connections. And, now you're not dependent on the risk of having 1 bad manager/project that controls your fate.

Make sure to read the following before and during your internship!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tips-for-consultans

Hi there,

regardless of the two possible timing in months and # of project, you will have a degree of uncertainty and you cannot fully predict/control. Therefore

1) I would concentrate on what you can control not to lose “mental traction” and get distracted (your preparation, committment, extra-mile during your internship)

2) To answer your question in my experience

→ Longer period and more projects, in my experience, most of the time (it is not deterministic) tend to give you a positive tradeoff in terms of getting a return offer, because they give more “confidence” that you can perform in different settings (especially if in different practices/type of cases e.g. DD vs. PMO). I would actively look to be staffed on more than one

Hope it helps.

Regards 

Hello,

Congratulations on getting an internship! Your likelihood of getting a return offer depends on you showing good work throughout the duration of your internship. 

If this is your first foray into consulting, the learning curve tends to be quite steep. With this in mind, a longer internship gives you more time to learn and demonstrate your new skillset on the job. Doing two projects also increases the number of people you have exposure to, which means both more people to help you learn and develop, and more people who can vouch for your good performance at the end of your internship. With that said, they know that the learning curve is steep, and fully expect you to need some time to learn and adjust to consulting work. As long as you show a willingness to learn, take initiative, and put in effort, you should be able to demonstrate success. So overall I don't think there's a huge difference between 2 month vs 3 month internship in terms of likelihood of getting a full-time offer, conditional on you doing good work. But the 3 month gives you more time and additional points of contact to help you develop.

I understand your perspective - shorter internship means less chance to mess up and it is easier to stay 100% engaged and dedicated for 2 months vs 3.

In general for consulting, you learn more over time and the learning curve for the whole of the first year is very steep. So in my opinion, the longer the internship the more chance you have to show that you are a good learner and can grow quickly from all the feedback recieved.

Hi,

In short: I would recommend 3 months. It will give you more time to show progress, demonstrate your potential and meet people. It will also make your life easier when you're back.

Hope it helps,

Clara