Is it recommended to do pro bono consulting projects online for inexperienced applicants? Do they enhance our chances of being taken seriously as compared to not having worked in consulting at all? Can you recommend any websites or portals where we can find such projects?

Hi,

Pro-bono projects can be an extracurriculars/volunteer work that is valuable to have on a resume, but not the main one. The main criteria are still the relevant education and work experience.

What can pro-bono work give you:

1. Exposure to consulting (If it is their pro bono project) that you can mention in a resume
2. Potential referral if you work with current consultants or consultants who have friends in a target company
3. Good materials for your FIT answers (e.g. "one reason to join McKinsey is that I have already worked with them on abc project and saw the quality and standards of their work") and FIT stories (e.g. leadership story from your pro-bono project)

I would start with asking friends from MBB projects whether they have any pro-bono activities and then continue with searching for non-MBB pro-bono perfex-consultantsnsultants.

Other ways to add extracurricular activities to your resume are:

1. Launching your own venture and entrepreneurial activities (even failing them is fine)
2. Grants / scholarships - even better if related to some research or entrepreneurial projects
3. Projects for companies - you may consider doing a free project for the company or a startup or writing a case that future grads will use
4. Volunteer / social activities. I would aim at the activities where you can have a leadership role. Organizing some club may work as well.
5. Case Competitions-especially the ones organized by your target company
6. Researches / articles published in well-known sources

Best!