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!