Are there any differences between interviews for internship and full-time positions?

Question

I had some internship interview experiences beforehand and I will be soon having interviews for a full-time job. I wanted to ask if there would be any substantial differences in terms of expectations/case study difficulty/fit questions between internship interviews and full-time interviews. Many thanks for your answers in advance!

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Emily

Expert

replied on May 21, 2020

BCG Project Leader | 3+ years interview experience for BCG SEA recruiting | Kellogg MBA, NTU, Peking University

Hey,

No there would be no difference.

The aim of the internship is hopefully the intern can eventually join as full time, so the criteria won't be different.

Good luck.

Best,

Emily

Iman

Expert

replied on May 21, 2020

Hi,

There will be no difference at all between full time and internship at the same level. There might be minor difference on expectation at different level but in term of case it will be totally the same.

So focus to get ready with the case interview and minize your mental manth error by practicing diligently :)

Ian

Expert

Content Creator

replied on May 20, 2020

BCG | 100% personal interview success rate (8/8) and 100% candidate success rate (20/20) | Personalized interview prep

Hi,

No, there won't be any major differences.

The differences are more-so role based (so if you're now applying for a higher role), but even then they're minor.

In general, don't worry about the details...focus on being 100% prepared for all possibilities! The only sure-fire strategy is training to ace the case - there's no variation in this!

Francesco

Expert

Content Creator

replied on May 21, 2020

#1 Expert for Coaching Sessions (2.800+) | 1.100+ Reviews with 100% Recommendation Rate | Ex BCG | 7+ Years Coaching Experience

Hi there,

at least in MBB, the case difficulty and fit questions will be the same. The only relevant difference is that in some countries there may be fewer interviews for an internship role.

Best,

Francesco

Andre

Expert

Content Creator

replied on May 23, 2020

Referrals to secure Your Interviews | my mentees already got 100+ offers | Ex Roland Berger Recruiter & PM

Dear A,

No differnce in the inetrviews, especially on cases and PEI question. But for internship you only have the first round of interviews, while for full time offers you have second and also final round.

Hope, it helps you.

Best of luck,

André

David

CoachingPlus Expert

Content Creator

replied on May 21, 2020

BCG - Member of the BCG recruiting team | Accenture | Capgemini

Trainees are the most relevant recruitment pool for consulting firms; that is why the selection process is the same. Same expectations, same level of difficulty.

Best

Khaled

Expert

replied on May 21, 2020

RB & Mck|Dubai|5+ years|1 free training session (limited offer)

No difference at all - You will be given similar cases/fit questions as full-time applicants. (the difference start showing when you apply to a more senior position)

Best of luck in the process

Khaled

Nirmit

Expert

replied on May 21, 2020

Hi,

No difference in interview questions. But if you're interviewing for a full time position, would highly urge that at least one of your PEI stories focuses on your previous internsip, and all stories are not around college projects/leadership experiences.

Thanks,

Nirmit

Udayan

Expert

replied on May 26, 2020

Ex McKinsey EM in New York Office with 7 years of recruiting experience/ received all 3 MBB offers/Real MBB cases

No difference - however the odds of landing a full time role is usually lower as there are many more applicants vs places (most places have been filled by interns already)

Robert

Expert

Content Creator

replied on May 24, 2020

McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free coaching - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

I agree to the answers given so far - no substantial difference in both case and personal fit.

However, there is one aspect for which I see a slight variation though. For an internship, I still tend to vote for a yes if I am not 100% ultimately perfectly convinced by a candidate but quite sure that it was more a kind of unlucky situation in interview and the candidate would perform very well in a real-life setting. Since we have still time to observe during internship, it's a low-risk bet ... and it's not done for direct full-time hires.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

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score 7 · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-21T13:58:15+00:00

Best Answer

Clara

Expert

Content Creator

replied on May 21, 2020

McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+130 students coached |+100% recommendation

Hello!

Not at all.

In an intership, you are treated exactly the same as a first year. Hence, the hiring process is exactly the same too.

Same bar that you need to meet or raise.

Makes sense, since someone successful in an intership will pass to a full-time postision, hence, criteria must match.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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