I have earned my PhD, should I apply for internship or fulltime?

Hi there,

I would target an internship in your case if possible for the following reasons:

• Even if you apply for full-time, you won’t probably be able to start before a couple of months. So there won’t be any significant difference in the timeline
• If you get rejected at the application stage for the internship, you may apply again for a full-time position after 6 months – 1 year. On the other hand, the ban for full time usually is longer
• In most countries, you are more likely to be extended a full-time offer after an internship, compared to a confirmation after a trial period if you start with full-time. That’s because even if they offer a full-time position you will still have a trial period there, so they can give you another chance. The internship thus gives you more chances to land a confirmed full-time offer when your performance is borderline
• If you do not get accepted after an internship, you will likely have a higher chance to be invited by other MBB compared to the same application without that internship
• It helps to clarify whether you want to work in strategy consulting / that company

If you have time before the summer internship, you may try to intern in a strategy position before that. You won’t probably be able to leverage this for the MBB internship application as most likely you will apply before starting the job. However, it could be useful for a full-time application to strengthen your profile, in case the internship interviews don’t work out.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there, this is not an easy question because both are viable options. Nonetheless, I would advise you to go for a FT role.

If you're applying for an internship, you will be competing against the current BBAs/MBAs for a limited number of roles and with a strict timeline. The program is ultimately designed for these students, which you're not. There's of course an upside to this avenue as pointed out by Francesco, which is the possibility of re-applying for a FT position if you get invited and fail the interviews. However, I personally wouldn't approach it that way. 

Recruiting for FT positions on the other hand is on a rolling basis and is indeed regarded as more suitable for graduates, especially PhDs. Just make sure you submit a strong application, ideally with a referral, and be prepared if and when the interviews come.

Best of luck!

As I see it, if you apply for an internship you get two shots. You can try the intership, and then afterwards you can try the full time position.

Of course, there's a chance they'll consider you for full time right away, but that's not really a problem. The opposite won't happen.

Also, starting as an intern, you actually get more time until “up or out”. If you do well, you are promoted earlier, but if you don't… you have more time to learn, so you improve your chances of a successful career.

Fellow PhD here (in Physics as well). 

I personally applied for FT and all PhD colleagues I know did the same. We never really considered applying for internship after graduating in the first place.
With your PhD, you're actually qualified to be recruited as an "advanced degree candidate) which means you'll be recruited at a higher position than a standard bachelor candidate (or a intern promoted to full time). 
MBB are familiar with PhDs and have dedicated processes (for instance the bridge program https://www.bcg.com/en-us/careers/students/adc-bridge-to-bcg).

I would look into that direction before considering applying for an internship

Full time, you wouldn't be eligible to apply for internships if you already graduated. Internships are also much harder to get because there are much fewer spots available, so you're unnecessarily wasting your time if your end goal is joining MBB full time. I would suggest you also apply to some T2 firms (EY-P, S&, boutiques that specialize in your industry) so you get some practice interviewing and have potential offers on hand when you interview with MBB – it's a big confidence boost. There is a lot of hiring happening at this time, at least in NA, so this is the perfect time to apply if you're ready to interview.

Hi there, 

You would qualify easily for a full-time role, I have always some of my newcomers (at BCG) with the same profile as yours joining as Associate. 

Applying for an internship may give you on the other hand advantage to first try the experience out and see how you like it and just delay by a few months the full incorporation. 

All the best,
Lucie

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Hello!

You can perfectly do both. 

If HR finds your profile attractive, they will reach out and tell you about opportunities in the other path, if they consider is what fits best. I have seen this in numerous occasions. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hey there,

For McKinsey, once graduated you should always apply for a full-time position. The rationale is that at this stage of your career you should know what to do full-time (as was explained to me by a recruiter).

If you are going for it, check out my two articles on the McKinsey interviews.

1. Case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/mckinsey-interview
2. PEI: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/mckinsey-pei

Cheers,

Florian

Full-time!

Have more confidence and believe in your abilities. All the best.