Should I apply for associate consultant intern or associate consult role at Bain

Question

Hi,

I am a fresh graduate with a BSc Economics degree with no prior experience in consulting(no internship). I have done a few case competition and business case projects as part of the society at uni.

Should I apply for associate consultant intern to increase my chances of getting accepted and get conversion at the end or should I just apply for associate consultant role since I already graduate?

What are the differences in the recruitment process between the two roles

Similarly for firms like BCG and Roland Berger, is it worth doing case team assisstan/ intern position or get straight to full time job given my circumstances?

Answer 1

Hey there,

Agree with Ian. I'd definitely go for a full-time position and that also might be your only way to go. For instance, McKinsey Germany does not hire graduates as interns but only for full-time positions.

Reasons why to go full-time:

The same level of prep and time investment needed
Same interview process and skills needed
Almost the same selection criteria
Many people join ft without an internship first

Reach out to HR to clarify.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 2

Hi there,

Given you have already graduated, I don't see a world in which you are an intern (internships are literally for those in between degree years).

Now, I highly recommend you ask HR/the recruiter in your target office, but I'd be shocked if they advised you to do anything other than apply to the full-time role.

Answer 3

Hi,

I would advise applying for full-time. The recruiting process for internships tend to be quite standardized and aimed at undergraduate or business school students before their final year, and you'd be doing the same amount of prep anyway.

The fact that you have no prior experience in consulting is not a big problem - most people who start full time at the junior level won't have had any prior experience. I would focus on building up your resume and beginning to network with the companies you are interested in.