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MBA summer intern for full time consulting role

intern
New answer on Apr 30, 2020
7 Answers
1.2 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Apr 01, 2020

I am a 1st year MBA student, was recruiting for consulting last semester and did 2 final rounds at leading firms, but didn't get an offer. During the current situation, I am going to take a role at a leading tech for a summer intern and prepare for full time recruiting.

my question is

1, i know most consulting firms stopped hiring now, but for next year full time, will they start to hire again?

2. if so, any suggestions on what I should do now to prepare? case, networking, etc

3. any suggestions what I need to do during my summer intern to make my resume look better

Thank you

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Anonymous replied on Apr 02, 2020

HI there,

Agree with Vlad on 1 & 2.

On 3, beside trying to secure a full time offer from the internship, see if you can tag yourself to some stragety work, or make your experience a bit more closer/relevant for consulting. That can help your CV/resume.

Best,

Emily

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Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 02, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

please find below the answers to your question:

1. I know most consulting firms stopped hiring now, but for next year full time, will they start to hire again?

Some companies are actually still hiring although just in some geographies, while in others they are not recruiting at the moment. No one can know for sure, but I would be surprise if the hiring freeze will still be in place in one year, given the current trend of recovery.

2. If so, any suggestions on what I should do now to prepare? case, networking, etc

For sure networking will be very important, not only for referrals but also to understand which is the real situation in terms of hiring for some offices. You can find more on referrals at the link below:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

3. Any suggestions what I need to do during my summer intern to make my resume look better

This is a bit general since we don’t know your specific role and the details of the job, but consulting companies look for experiences that show problem solving, leadership, ability to influence people and entrepreneurial capabilities. Any activity that will help you to develop such experiences would be helpful.

Best,

Francesco

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Anonymous A on Apr 02, 2020

thank you so much, super helpful

Vlad
Expert
replied on Apr 01, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

1. All the companies are still hiring. They will continue hiring no matter what. The issue is that the entry bar will be much higher and this depends just on the economy.

2. Ideally, you should get a referral. And then the regular prep process (cases, fit). But you should put the double of the regular effort due to the situation

3. Try to do everything to get a full-time offer. In the current situation consulting offer will be hard to secure and the full-time offer in tech is a good alternative

Best!

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Anonymous A on Apr 02, 2020

hi vlad, I will graduate next year, so are you saying offers are hard to get next year as well? I thought the economy will be better in 2021

Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 03, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

What seems clear by now is that this is truly harming economy, and in the next weeks we will see whether we are heading to a global economic recession.

If this is the case, and we indeed face a global recession -even if not as hard as the previous one-, this will have an impact in consulting. Why? Simply because there would be less clients, less engagements with the usual clients, and an overall freeze in spending.

This, for sure, will impact recruiting, reducing the classes of BAs and Associates for a couple of years, hence, different scenarios:

  • Once the offer is extended, it would be EXTREMLY rare that it gets rescinded. If so, I see more feasible that it gets postponed
  • If you are interviewing, it will mostly keep running but only in VC
  • If you are not yet in the interviewing pipeline, it very much depend on different geographies, but it´s likely that it will be postponed until further notice, when we all know more about this

Hence:

  1. See above
  2. Best thing would be to network to get some referrals to push the CV once submitted
  3. Nothing in particular, ensure you excel at what you do!

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Daniel
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 02, 2020
McKinsey / ex-Interviewer at McKinsey / I will coach you to rock those interviews

Agree with Vlad

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Luca
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 04, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello,

Here there are my answers to your questions:

  1. I know most consulting firms stopped hiring now, but for next year full time, will they start to hire again? Many companies have not stopped recruiting, but they are trying to move forward with the hiring process using the videocalls. No one can really know about the new hiring targets until we won't see which will be the impact of the corona virus on the economy, but it's really unlikely that they will stop hiring. They will slow down the recruitments until they won't understand what is the real impact of the corona virus, meaning that the bar will be higher than before.
  2. Any suggestions on what I should do now to prepare? In order to prepare for case interview, I suggest the following approach: • Read the Case in Point (Cosentino) in order to get a first approach with the Case interviews • When you have read most of it, start doing cases on yourself practicing with frameworks, math and structure of the interview. • Practice with other people (candidates/coaches) • Read some chapters of the Case Interview Secrets • Listen to the recordings of the LOMS program While you are practicing for your cases, you have to consider also some time to prepare your CV/Cover Letter and the Fit Interview that is a fundamental part of the interview. If in the meantime you would be able to build a netwrork and get a referral, that would be a good plus for your application.
  3. Any suggestions what I need to do during my summer intern to make my resume look better Feel free to send me your CV for a quick review

Hope it helps,
Luca

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Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Apr 30, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi,
unfortunately, nobody now is able to predict the precise effects on each business. The 2 true facts today are that interviews are taking place regularly but online instead than face to face, and that many new consulting projects are being paused. Therefore if this lockdown continues for long it can cause a shrinking in new hires.

Best,
​Antonello

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