The title says it all. How high of a standard does MBB expect you to have when starting your internship? Is lacking skills a common reason for not receiving a full-time offer?
The title says it all. How high of a standard does MBB expect you to have when starting your internship? Is lacking skills a common reason for not receiving a full-time offer?
Hi Knut,
Congratulations on the offer! In terms of your question:
Q: Excel and PowerPoint. How high of a standard does MBB expect you to have when starting your internship? Is lacking skills a common reason for not receiving a full-time offer?
You should receive initial training covering everything you need. Having said that, if you know you may improve on those skills, taking a course could help you to get up to speed faster.
Below you can find a few other tips.
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INDUSTRIES
If your office specializes in specific industries where you would like to work, you may want to get some knowledge about them in advance. You will learn 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
In case you have time before starting, a good way to invest it is to… read. You won’t have much time to do this later and reading is one of the most undervalued growth opportunities available today.
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.
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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 could be good to review:
Best,
Francesco
You are not expected to have any skills! But you are expected to learn quickly. It's worth doing a bit of practice before you start just so that it's a bit easier when you land in post. There are lots of courses online e.g., training the street for excel which you could look at. The more you've learnt in advance the easier it'll be when you start.
Don't worry and good luck!
Hello,
As someone who has weighed in on internship offer decisions:
It's hard to anticipate what exactly you will be tasked to work on during your internship. So my suggestion will be to relax more before your internship, and if you really want to prep, be more targeted in your prep
Hey there,
It is all about how quickly you are able to learn and pick things up, not what you need to know.
That being said, you should be familiar with the basics of Excel and Powerpoint
If you are interested in preparing for your new role, I'd suggest the following:
When I got the offer some years ago I did the same. I reached out to people I knew in McKinsey and people who interviewed me to ask: what can I do to make the start easier? how can I prepare?
The answer from everyone was: Relax! Enjoy your time before you start and don't think about it. You will figure it out on the job. I followed that advice and it made sense to me once I joined.
When you start at McKinsey there are 2 ways to learn:
Knowing that, if we now go back to square one in your McKinsey journey it makes perfect sense to enter the firm with a blank slate with a lot of curiosity and eagerness to soak it all up and quickly learn the ropes.
No book, no training, no coach can prepare you for your first day, your first week, your first engagement. Nothing matches the experience and the learning and this is a good thing (also the reason why ex-MBB consultants are valued highly on the job market).
You will learn everything you need to master while doing it. You will be thrown in the cold water and need to swim. However, your colleagues will always be happy to help you and mentor you. And for the rest, you will figure everything out along the way. The key here is always to ask for tips, shortcuts, feedback, etc. Don't be quiet if you get stuck.
Also, for every technical problem (IT, Excel question, etc) McKinsey has a Global Helpdesk and the rule is to call them for every problem you can't solve within 5 minutes. They will fix your computer, guide you through Excel formulas, etc.
Lastly, if you have no domain knowledge about a certain industry or topic, read through the internal library of documentation (which is endless) and call some of the firm experts on the topic. Usually, they are happy to offer you a short call to get you up to speed.
Don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy the ride!
Florian
Two pieces of advice:
Avoid reading many books that some people suggest. Just go for one: Strategic Storytelling from Dave McKinsey (nothing to do with the Firm!).
Beyond that, try to be as fit as you can when you start. Consulting can be tough on the mind and the body at the beginning.
Hi there,
There aren't expectations and attitude is the most important aspect in your first couple of months (willingness to learn).
That said, you can ramp up on the basics beforehand if you really wanted to (excel and powerpoint). There are lots of courses online for this including “beyond formulas” for excel.
Mario
Hi,
congrats on your internship - exciting times ahead.
As already mentioned, each consulting firm has their own PPT graphics/slide guidelines on which they will train you (there are usually also training videos/guides on the respective intranets). That said, you will maybe have an intro training in the beginning but in all likelihood, you will have to learn it on the job.
As for Excel, there are likely some standards on how to structure models that are specific to the firm (or the manager on your team). Regardless, here I would recommend you already familiarize yourself with pivot tables, vlookup, index match and some other general functions. That will help you navigate more easily and to pick up the rest faster.
All in all, there is really not much you can do upfront because you will only be made aware of what really matters once you start. I'd rather spend your remaining free time recharging so you can start your intership with a full tank of energy
Hi Knut,
No expectations at all. Technically…
That said, if you have 0 skills, you really can't go wrong doing prep beforehand. I would highly recommend you do whatever you need to to maximize your odds of a return offer. Minimize the things you'll need to learn and ramp up on.
Powerpoint in particular (and basic/intermediary Excel) is critical to success. Please get ramped up in these skills beforehand to maximize your odds.
Hi Knut,
Congrats on soon getting started (I assume)!
The expectations are low to inexistent. That is a high opportunity, however. If you actually prove to be decent with powerpoint and excel, then you'll provide a lot of value and be an asset to the team despite your limited experience.
If you have the possibility, take some time until you start the internship to work on your skills. This will also make things easier and less stressful on a day to day basis when you do start the job.
Best,
Cristian