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

case study Interview
New answer on May 26, 2020
11 Answers
3.3 k Views
Anonymous A asked on May 20, 2020

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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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on May 21, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

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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Anonymous replied on May 21, 2020

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

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6
Anonymous 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 :)

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Ian
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replied on May 20, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

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!

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Francesco
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replied on May 21, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

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

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Anonymous replied on May 23, 2020

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

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2
Anonymous replied on May 21, 2020

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

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Anonymous replied on May 21, 2020

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

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Nirmit
Expert
replied on May 21, 2020
I will get you an offer|McKinsey Senior EM|Offers from MBB|100+ interviews at McKinsey|Recruiting Lead|Experienced hire

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

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Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on May 26, 2020
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience

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)

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Robert
Expert
Content Creator
replied on May 24, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 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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Clara gave the best answer

Clara

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McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut
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