Cancel internship interview

Hi there, 

It's a tough situation, so I understand your concern. 

In short, cancelling the internship won't make the company look down on you in any way and they will surely consider your application in the future. Also, failing the internship application now doesn't mean that you'll be judged harsher in the future when you'll apply for a full-time position. 

If I were you, I would do both. Basically, I'd see the coming period until the internship as a sprint and I'd try to get as good as possible. If you can, get a coach - a good one that will help you learn quicker and focus on the right things. Even if worse case scenario you won't be able to close the gap by interview day, you will still have learned so much. You can then pick up from where you left off with these learnings once you re-apply for a full-time role in a year. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

here are my thoughts on this:

• If you attend the interview, you might not get the intership. If you cancel the interview, you will definitely not get the internship
• Internships are an important tool for consulting firms to recruit and it is a big advantage for getting a full-time offer in the first place and having already a network established when you do start full-time
• If you end up not passing the interview process, you can usually apply again after 12 months - so it should not diminish your chances of applying when your graduation time rolls around 

I think the more important takeaway to evaluate for yourself here is that you entered a consulting recruiting process before you were properly prepared for it. This is a situation you want to avoid going forward because getting these interviews is by no means a guarantee and you need to make the most of your chances.

However, since you are already in the situation you are in, I would still take the interview for the experience. You still have 2 weeks to get some case practice in (leverage preplounge resources for this) and you might even end up performing better than you think. In any case, going through the process now will help you better prepare for when you need to apply for full-time positions because you will know what to expect.

Hi there,

Q: Would canceling my interview minimize the chance I have to receive an offer in the future? Or would it be worse to show up at the internship interview unprepared?

In most cases you can apply for full-time if you are rejected for an internship after a relatively short amount of time (6 to 12 months). So even if you are rejected you should still be able to apply for full-time.

If you have doubts, you may clarify this with HR. I would definitely recommend to do so before canceling.

A couple of weeks could be enough to get to a good level if you work on the right material. You can find more info at the link below:

▶ How to Prepare for a Consulting Interview

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

I would definitely go for the internship interview for two reasons:

1. You get 2 chances at the job

• If you fail your internship application, you can re-apply after 12-18 months for a full-time position
• If you fail your full-time application the ban period is longer
• Whenever you fail an interview, you need to demonstrate significant progress on your resume, which is harder at the end of your studies

2. You see if you actually like the job

• If you manage to get an internship, you see how you like the job and if this is something you want to do in the future
• Any internship with a top-tier consultancy improves your value on the job market for other top-tier firms

In short, do not wait but apply now!

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

Please don't cancel!

At the very least, ask them to delay…

If you fail this interview you can still apply in the next full-time cycle…in the worst case this interview becomes a practice.

Now, how do you get ready?

1) Hire a coach

2) Fully devote yourself to this

3) Read this article: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

4) Get casing with peers!

I know how horrible it is to go into an interview feeling unprepared. If you do absolutely terribly in the interview then that could be considered when you apply for full time. However, as long as you don't do truly terribly then it's very unlikely to be a factor going into the full time round. I'd personally take the punt and interview both times - I know plenty of people who received offers with very little prep. Two weeks is enough time to do a lot of work if you're minded to do so. Good luck!

Hey there - 

I would go with the interview process for a few reasons
 

1. Failing the interview the first time does not mean you will get another call for full time 

2. It will accelerate your practice and almost force you to practice more. This can be beneficial. I would also recommend to work with a coach to get regular touchpoints to see your level of improvement 

3. Very often we benchmark ourselves as being worse than we are. Using a coach will definitely help you benchmark and see what to work on and focus on. 

Best,
Eishan 

You are not thinking correctly about this.

You should apply to the internship. If you get it, it's done. Just make sure you turn it into a full time offer.

If you don't, you have a second chance by applying full time. And you are at a better spot vs. not going through the internship process. Why? Because you are going to learn through the process of having two real case interviews (e.g. what the case looks like, type of questions, how you react,…).

As such, no brainer: go for both!