MBB Internship: Is less work better?

Question

I'm doing an internship at an MBB for 6 months, and I will need to interview twice to get the conversion role at the end of it

For the past month, I seriously haven't had much to do. This week in particular I've only really worked for 6 hours TOTAL. I am taking this time to case prep/do drills, but I'm also concerned about the conversion if I do get it.

Right now, my priority is to just get the higher pay first and then figure out how to learn on the job, but will this come back to bite me? For context, I really struggled with a lot of tasks that I got earlier on in the internship.

Answer 1

Hi,

It’s not uncommon to have slow periods during an MBB internship, especially between projects, it won’t automatically hurt your conversion.
What matters more is how you perform when staffed and how you use downtime, e.g., asking for work or offering help.

If you struggled earlier, use this time to improve. Keep showing initiative, and when you do get tasks again, aim to deliver confidently, that’s what they’ll remember most.

Answer 2

Hi there,

Sounds like you're struggling a bit.

Basically, it's to be expected that right at the start you have these strange periods of being on the beach for days or weeks on end with nothing happening. Then all of a sudden you get a project or urgent LoP and you're swamped. These sorts of periods disappear once you have a higher tenure, a network and people always want you involved because you have something to offer.

Indeed, use the time to do case practice.

But also reach out to others to see if you can support in any way. The decision with the conversion will be primarily be based on your performance over the past 6 months, less so how you will perform in the interviews per se. They will try to get a sense as to how good you were in these 6 months, how effective at acting on feedback and what was your impact. So I would put most of my effort into actually having something to show after these 6 months.

You might also find these two articles helpful. They contain tips around how to hit the ground running in MBB:

Best,
Cristian

Answer 3

Hi,

I'd recommend you do the following:

1. Learn the basics:

Learn all the shortcuts on Excel and PPT (if you must print them out small and put them on your laptop)
Learn o financial model: Take the time to find someone to teach you how to build a Financial Model

2. Network

Send an email to every Partner/Senior Partner and AP to:

1. Introduce yourself

2. What you're interested in what work you've done on your internship already and how long you have left

3. Do they need support on what they're working on

Follow up with an IM and follow up after a week

3. Case Prep

Practice cases
Make sure you know what you're doing well at , and what you're not doing well at

Good luck and have fun!!!

Answer 4

Hey there 👋
It’s totally okay to have quieter weeks during an internship — that happens more often than you think at MBB 😌 What matters most is how you show up during the active moments: are you proactive, curious, and improving from earlier feedback? If yes, you’re already moving in the right direction 🚀

It’s great you're using the downtime to prep — that shows focus! Just make sure you're also gently asking for work or offering help. That signals motivation, even if things are slow 💼✨

Let’s chat in a coaching session about how to balance learning, visibility & conversion strategy 💬

Best, Alessa

Answer 5

I strongly suggest you proactively look for people to support—whether on internal projects or commercial proposals.

Your hiring decision will hinge heavily on how you perform during those 6 months. That means you need to actively seek out opportunities to get exposure and show what you’re capable of.

Best,

Alberto

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Explore my latest case inspired by a real MBB interview: TitanTrail - Operations Outsourcing