Preparation for the summer internship

Hi there,

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Know that no-one can perfectly prepare for the job and that's the point: You will mess up, you will learn, you will be trained and supported. That's OK!

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First: Read the 25 tips in my consulting handbook - https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/tips-for-consultans

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Second: In terms of things you can learn/do to prepare beforehand:

1) Daily Reading

• The Economist, The Financial Times, BCG/Mskinsey Insights

2) Industry deep-dives

• Learn, in-depth, how the industries/companies your office advises, work. (PM me for an industry overview template)

3) Analytics tools

• Alteryx, Tableau, etc.

4) Excel

5) Powerpoint

• Best practices/standards
• Different layouts
• Quickly editing/updating slides
• Thinking in PowerPoint

6) Presentation skills / sharp communication

• There are some online/virtual classes for this

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Third: In terms of doing well in your role when you're there:

1) Understand the context/prompt (what role are you in, what company, who's watching, etc.)

2) Understand the objective (what, specifically, is expected from you...both day to day, and in your overall career progression)

3) Quickly process information, and focus on what's important - Take a lot of information and the unknown, find the most logical path, and focus on that.

4) Be comfortable with the unknown, and learn to brainstorm - think/speak like an expert without being one

In summary, there will always be a flood of information, expectations, competition etc. and not enough time. Find out which ones matter when. (i.e. be visibile and focus efforts on the things that people care about)

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Fourth: Here are some great prior Q&As for you!

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-makes-a-good-consultant-how-to-get-a-good-review-6790

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-hard-is-it-to-excel-in-top-consulting-firms-6762

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-become-an-engagement-manager-and-partner-quickly-6722

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/need-to-learn-skills-in-the-ample-free-time-before-starting-at-an-mbb-what-should-i-do-6774

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer first of all!!!

I second Andreas's answer - to rest and come fresh is key.

Some additional preparation that you could think about below, but please do not overdo/over-stress

1) EXCEL

→ Get familiar with the minimum functionalities

→ Focus on learning shortcuts and get fast 

2) POWERPOINT

→ Get familiar with basic functionalities

→ You will have specific powerpoint tools by consultancies, so no point in learning shortcuts here

3) COMMUNIACATION: written - slide making and storylining  + Verbal

→ You will be trained on the job on the specific “written”/unwritten rule of your firm, but it does not hurt to know something in advance

→ Read content on slide making, storylining (some good public resources + content here on the platform)

→ Read content on Verbal communication (how to communicate vs. executives, etc…)

4) Read content on Problem Solving (e.g. Pyramid Principle book)

→ Once again you will be trained, but at least you will have a basic knowledge

Happy to deep dive here, if useful, feel free DM me

Hi there, 

Congrats on the offer!

Yes - I've written a free guide on PrepLounge on how to make the most of your first few months in consulting and become a distinctive candidate. 

The main things to focus on are the following:

• Don’t stress about preparing for the job before actually starting it. At most, enroll in an Excel course. Otherwise, enjoy life, travel, and spend time with your friends and family. Your schedule is about to get packed really soon.
   
• Take risks at the beginning. Nobody is going to fire you for the mistakes you make in the beginning. The first six-month evaluation usually does not matter by default, so your focus should be on trying to learn as much as possible about yourself, your work, and your firm.
   
• Making everybody happy should not be your ultimate goal. To be able to do this work in the long run, identify your boundaries and preferences (e.g., working hours), make sure you stick to them, and politely communicate them to your team and manager.
   
• Find people who can guide you. These can be more senior mentors – such as Partners and Senior Partners – but they can also be consultants that are two years more tenured than you. Aim to make these relationships as non-transactional as possible and try to think of them as a two-way street where you are both learning from each other.
   
• Be open, flexible, and coachable. Show others that you are willing to learn, that you react to feedback and you are striving to get better. Compromise is an important element of progress in a corporate career, so your focus should be on things going your way most of the time, not all of the time.
   
• Exercise critical thinking. At all times, strive to understand why you are doing what you are doing, why is the manager asking for a particular piece of work, how your work fits into the overall story of the project and do your conclusions make any sense considering the wider context of the engagement. The most successful entry-level consultants tend to be those that have the best understanding of the context of their workstream and beyond.

For the full version, you can read the entire article here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/entry-level-consultant-what-is-it-like

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

the best you can do is to come rested and with a fresh & open mind. Take some time off if you can. Don't get overly stressed, as you do not know what the content of your projects will be anyway. 

Just my perspective.

Andreas

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the internship offer from Bain!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, while it is great to see how eager you are to prepare for your career start with Bain, I would highly advise you not to worry about it.
• Bain, like all major strategy consulting companies, will provide you with excellent onboarding and training that will prepare you for everything you need to know.
• Lastly, if you want to prepare on your own, I would advise you to improve your Excel and PowerPoint skills. While there may be company-specific Excel and PowerPoint functions, you will still be faster in the first few months with some practice.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best practice your Excel and PowerPoint skills beforehand, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Congratulations on your internship! 

To be honest, the company is looking for whether you have a ‘can-do’ attitude, get stuck into stuff, and work well with people. They're not expecting you to have excel / powerpoint skills or particular industry knowledge. 

That being said, if you want to be more comfortable when you get there, I recommend doing some of the online excel trainings that you can find, opening power point and getting used to putting boxes on slides, and getting your living situation sorted out so that you can hit the ground running. 

Good luck!