Hi Joseph,

Q: I have however received an offer for a Project Management internship with Amazon. Would this make me a competitive candidate for MBB graduate recruiting? Or am I better off looking at Big 4 / tier 3 consulting

The Amazon brand will probably increase the strength of your CV. Whether that position is better than a Big 4 or Tier 3 offer depends on:

• What exactly you would do there
• The brand/division of the alternative (eg would be EY Parthenon or EY? Would be LEK or a completely unknown brand?)

I guess that they gave you a timeline to accept the internship – if you don’t have alternatives, I would take it for the time being.

As mentioned by Ian, in case you have alternatives be sure to consider a job you find interesting. It doesn’t make much sense to accept a position that you don’t like just because it makes it easier to move to consulting later on.

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi Joseph,

You need to pick the job you want.

If you go to Amazon, work for 2-4 years, hate it, apply to MBB, don't get it, and are “stuck” in Tech. How will you feel?

If the Amazon Project Manager internship appeals to you, then do it! If it doesn't, then don't!

Please don't miss the forest for the trees here.

(On a personal note, I would be ecstatic about an Amazon offer in terms of resume, network, learning, etc. And, an internship isn't a full-time commitment. But, ultimately, you need to chase your dreams)

Hi there, 

Something like Amazon does increase the value of your profile in the eyes of MBB. It's a not a gurantee however.

If you have the offer, I would take it and then in parallel start applying for MBB and non-MBB roles. 

Best of luck!
Cristian

Not sure I fully agree. Might depend on what you will be project managing… if it’s internal comms, probably won’t help much with MBB/big4… if it’s core sales/marketing/digital/supply chain etc then it could help…

Amazon’s a great company to have on a resume so congrats!  MBB/Big4 hire a ton of ex-Amazon people. If you do take the offer, might be worth thinking whether you gain some experience first (1,2,3,4 yrs) before transitioning.  Think you need at least 2 annual cycles to really get to grow in a company and secure a good exit opp. 

Project Management is not really looked at as a feeder role into MBB. You ideally want something where you will be known for being an expert (e.g., R&D in healthcare or oil and gas expert etc.), known for skillset (e.g., investment banking and therefore modeling skillset) or if not these then a T2 firm is a better option.

That being said you may not even want to be a consultant over time so the safest choice is to work in a role you really care about with a lot of growth opportunities and knowledge/skill building. That way if you ever decide to become a consultant it will be easy to transition.

(edited)

Amazon hires a lot of ex-consultants and ex-Amazon people get hired by consulting firms. So it seems like a low risk/high reward combination for an internship. It will definitely look good on your resume to have the Amazon brand reflected. Given that you do not have any confirmed consulting offers as of yet, I would not risk your internship if you need to give them a decision soon. Just take it, check out if you like the general area. If yes, you might want to consider returning. If not, you have a strengthened CV for another run at the consulting space.

Good luck

Amazon is better than T3 or Big 4. Definitely.

Hi Joseph,

Yes, this would make you more competitive. What MBB are looking for between the last unsuccessful attempt and your next try is relevant and impressive work experience.

Amazon is as good as it gets to add something to your CV that stands out as probably having helped you leap forward in your development.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Moritz