How soon will interviews begin after the deadline for the MBB Summer Associates Internship?

Question

I learned from a recruiter at a Bain info session that rejection from the Summer Associate Internship program will have no effect at all on your full-time job application (not sure if this applies to McKinsey). So I figure it might be worth it to try applying for the Summer Associate Internship. However, if I'm lucky enough to land a case interview, I also do not want myself to be too under-prepared to have a disastrous performance. My question is that if the application deadline is in mid-November, when will the interviews begin? This will help me assess how much time I have to prepare the cases and adjust priorities. Many thanks!

Answer 1

If you want to make it through the MBB process - you cannot think about “not being under-prepared”. That would most definitely mean that you will NOT make it through the process. The competition is quite high and people prepare much and advance and with much vigour.

Suggestion 1 would be to start preparing for case interviews regardless if you want to try for MBB. If you are too worried that you will waste your time in the prep - then would recommend to not attempt at all.

Typically at the time of application submission you need to be 80-90% prepared. So that by the time interviews come, you are 100% prepared. The typical time for reaching 80% level is 4-6 weeks.

Regarding expected timelines - it depends on a lot of factors. The best strategy would be to reach out the HR/recruiter and ask them directly.

Answer 2

Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

Generally speaking, the interviewing processes might be slightly different from country to country thus it would be great to know about the office you consider to apply to. In case you are talking London office which seems to roughly fit the timeline, interviews will normally be held within 1-2 months after the application deadline. Still, I would advise you to call the recruiting department and ask about the application process.
As such, I would highly advise you to start preparing for your upcoming interviews right away. Worst case you will have solid practice for your full-time position applications later on.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your upcoming (Bain) interviews, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Answer 3

Assuming this is undergraduate recruiting (and not MBA recruiting) then yes, that is true.

It's difficult to know the answer regarding deadline without knowing your location. Most likely the process will start in December. Which means you have to start preparing right now.

Answer 4

Hi there,

What country/region are you in? This changes everything!

Regardless of what you say, it's best to get this info straight from the horse's mouth - ask the recruiter or your career office as they should have this info on hand!

Generally, interviews happen 1-2 months after applications.

You should start preparing today.

Answer 5

Hello!

Are you in any student program (e.g., MBA) or is this the general application?

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 6

Hi!

Does your preferred office have predefined intakes?

Let me know,

Anto