Converting MBB Internship

TLDR：Work on Excel and PPT, don't worry much about the rest.

Other folks on this thread have provided some detailed and comprehensive lists, but given there is only so much you can do between now till you start your internship, your primary focus should be sharpening your Excel and PPT skills, and try to network with some current employees if possible.

Don't worry about Tableau, Alteryx, etc.: My observation working at BCG is less than 3% of consultants will get to use IT tools other than Excel and PPT for their case work. For the rare projects that do require using specialized software such as Tableau or Alteryx, it is often outsourced to data science teams or external teams. It is not cost-efficient for the company to pay you the salary of a strategy consultant and assign you the work of a data analyst.

Don't worry about working on your soft skills: I don't believe soft skills is something you can significantly improve in a few months. Also, if your soft skills is good enough to land you an internship, you shouldn't have a problem in this department.

How to improve your Excel and PPT skills: Know the common shortcuts, watch some training videos on Youtube or Coursera, maybe complete some simulated projects, that should be more than enough. 

How to convert an internship to a full-time offer: Demonstrate that you are (1) hard-working (2) people person (3) a fast learner. Consulting is very much like working on group projects in a school, most people don't know much about the client's background or its industry when first joining the case, but we are expected to ramp up knwoledge quickly and present as subject matter experts in front the clients. No amount of prior knowledge accumulation can sufficiently prepare you for your next project, the only things that can give you consistent success as a consultant are the 3 things I mentioned above.

Congrats on the internship and good luck!

Hi there,

Congrats!

I would tackle this problem from an 80/20 perspective.

I have never seen an intern not get a return offer because their Excel or PowerPoint skills were not up to par.

Why?

a. The knowledge you need for both is very basic

b. These are technical skills and can easily be learned

The main reason why interns fail is that they are not present/visible enough.

• Be present in the team room and team meetings (speak up, synthesize, summarize, build on others points, present your insights and implications,…)
• Be visible in front of clients (get to know them, small-talk, inlcude them in the problem-solving process)
• Be visible in front of leadership (reaching out to partners, sharing insights, demonstrating ownership of your work)

Consulting is not for shy people. You can work on the most accurate mindblowing analyses and visualize them with a killer slide. If you fail to show your presence, you will not get a return offer.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi there,

congratulations on your intership offer. That will be an exciting experience. Many internships result in return offers actually so it is good that you are going into the program with such a mindset. 

Each company has their own PPT templates and guidelines which you will learn on the job really. They usually also have specific plug-ins with extra functionalities that are often customized - so hard to do anything upfront. But you could read up on things like ThinkCell for example to have an idea of what it is. In terms of Excel, familiarize yourself with operations like pivot tables, vlookup and index match functions. Those you will pretty much need in almost every model.

During your intership, you should make a conscious effort to be proactive, show an interest in learning, ask for feedback regularly and work on incorporating the feedback you receive. You should also use the opportunity to network with people in the company to “acquire” as many supporters as possible.

Also important: Don't overstep your boundaries. You are an intern. No critical path item will be your responsibility. So don't try to be a hero, but position yourself as a strong supporter of your team who is not afraid of sharing their own thoughts and ideas during discussions. Communication is key - be transparent with your manager and team members.

Best of luck

Hi there,

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

Q: What would be the "hands-on" skills I should prep beforehand / soft skills I should try to learn and/or improve beforehand / differentiating factors between those that do and those that do not get return offers?

I would recommend the following:

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IT TOOLS

You are probably fine with the Excel and PowerPoint, if not you can take a quick course to review the basics. You can check in advance with your office if they recommend training on any other tool, such as Alteryx or Tableau and if so, do some prep on that.

One of the most important things you can learn with any IT tool is shortcuts – they will increase substantially your productivity.

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INDUSTRIES

If your office specializes in specific industries where you would like to work, it would be good to get a minimum knowledge of them in advance. You will still learn the most during the job so this is not strictly necessary.

You can find some tips on recent consulting trends here:

▶ 11 New Consulting Trends You Should Know

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READING LIST

A good way to invest your extra time before starting is to… read. You probably won’t have much time to do this later and reading can help you substantially to accelerate your personal growth.

Personally I don’t have much time to read, so I listen to books – Audible is great for this. You can easily listen to a book per week with minimum effort. You absorb books differently when you listen, so you have to check if this works for you.

The following are some books I would highly recommend to develop a growth mindset – key in any industry with high pressure. You can expand the list with anything you want to learn – just try to find a few really good books on that topic.

• The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy (great book on long-term planning)
• Tiny Habits – BJ Fogg (excellent, science-based book on habits formation)
• The Mediations – Marcus Aurelius (written ~ 2000 years ago but incredibly actual – the personal diary of the most powerful man in the world at the time)
• The 80–20 Principle – Richard Koch (very smart life tips from one of the founders of LEK)
• Peaks and Valleys – Spencer Johnson (crisis management tale – from the same author of the famous “Who moved my Cheese”, I personally found this book a lot more interesting and applicable)
• The Gap and the Gain – Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy (excellent book in terms of mindset for happiness)

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FIRST WEEKS

Below you can also find some tips for the first weeks I usually recommend – you are probably familiar with most of them, but it might be useful to review the list just in case:

1. Take notes during meetings/discussions with your manager – this will help you to remember details and will show the team that you care.
2. Always double-check. The first impression is very important when you join a new company: if you show you are reliable from the beginning, you will create a good reputation. Double checks should be done on expectations for your job, your Excel analysis, your slides – basically everything.
3. Define priorities before starting any set of tasks. You want to identify the most important activities and prioritize them, applying the 80-20 rule. Align with your manager to define them at the start of the project whenever possible.
4. Socialize with your colleagues and start to build a network. A good start is key to develop good relationships long-term. Try to build connections in your first weeks with your peers to build a network.
5. Align with your team on your private life activities. You might want to organize some space for personal activities (sport/ friends/ family). It is better to align with your manager/teammates from the beginning on your core needs so that there are no surprises later­ on.
6. Ask for feedback every two-three weeks – this will show you are proactive and willing to learn.
7. Ask for help when you don't know what to do – better to let know you are in trouble with meeting a deadline than missing the deadline.
8. Be approachable and respectful to support staff – these people are generally great and influential in the company as well.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Know that no-one can perfectly prepare for the job and that's the point: You will mess up, you will learn, you will be trained and supported. That's OK!

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First: I have a consulting survival guide handbook with 25 key tips for surviving the consulting world. Feel free to message me for it!

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Second: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:

1) Daily Reading

• The Economist, The Financial Times, BCG/Mskinsey Insights

2) Industry deep-dives

• Learn, in-depth, how the industries/companies your office advises, work. (PM me for an industry overview template)

3) Analytics tools

• Alteryx, Tableau, etc.

4) Excel

5) Powerpoint

• Best practices/standards
• Different layouts
• Quickly editing/updating slides
• Thinking in PowerPoint

6) Presentation skills / sharp communication

• There are some online/virtual classes for this

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Third: In terms of doing well in your role when you're there:

1) Understand the context/prompt (what role are you in, what company, who's watching, etc.)

2) Understand the objective (what, specifically, is expected from you...both day to day, and in your overall career progression)

3) Quickly process information, and focus on what's important - Take a lot of information and the unknown, find the most logical path, and focus on that.

4) Be comfortable with the unknown, and learn to brainstorm - think/speak like an expert without being one

In summary, there will always be a flood of information, expectations, competition etc. and not enough time. Find out which ones matter when. (i.e. be visibile and focus efforts on the things that people care about)

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Fourth: Here are some great prior Q&As for you!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-makes-a-good-consultant-how-to-get-a-good-review-6790

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-hard-is-it-to-excel-in-top-consulting-firms-6762

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-become-an-engagement-manager-and-partner-quickly-6722

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/need-to-learn-skills-in-the-ample-free-time-before-starting-at-an-mbb-what-should-i-do-6774

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the MBB internship offer!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• The truly differentiating factor is visibility when you want to improve your chances of turning your strategy consulting internship into a full-time offer. I would advise you to make sure you are seen and recognized by both your team and the client. You can accomplish this by performing well, communicating clearly, and acting with professionalism.
• Moreover, strong skills in Excel and PowerPoint are crucial when it comes to practical knowledge. You will undoubtedly have an advantage if you can increase your speed and accuracy when using these tools.
• Lastly, I would advise you to focus on improving your interpersonal and communication skills when it comes to soft skills. Be proactive in looking for chances to contribute and establish yourself on the team. Additionally, make an effort to develop enduring relationships with your colleagues and the client.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare before the start of your MBB internship, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

You can “brush up” your excel and powerpoint, but no ammount of training will be as effective as multiple weeks doing slides and analysis… you become good at these by WORKING a lot and LEARNING ON THE JOB.

What really matters is the following:

• Are you delivering “client-ready" analysis and slides”? (meaning that they have no mistakes, are well organized, well written, etc.?)
• Are you “owning the problem” (meaning that you don't just do the tasks that are assigned to you but instead you are proactive in thinking about the analysis that should be done, you offer new insights, you research and think about the problem on your own). It also means that you do whatever you can to deliver good quality and on time and that you will let your manager know if otherwise (i.e., if you're not able to make it on time)
• You go the extra mile. This is not about working long hours, but about being willing to take on extra responsibility and to do things that are not directly assigned to you. You don't have to be cocky about this, but proactive and volunteering.

Hi there, 

Congrats!

I wrote an article on PrepLounge that might help you in terms of how to be effective as a starting consultant. You can implement the advice there to become a top-performer during your internship and that will guarantee the conversion into a full-time offer.

You can find the article HERE.

Best,

Cristian