Which internship would you choose & how do you negotiate start dates?

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offers! In terms of your questions:

1) How would you negotiate start dates? Ideally, I would like to do both internships.

This is what I would recommend:

1. Check with HR for Option A if you can start in Feb 2024.
2. If that doesn’t work, check with HR of Option B if you could start after Option A (assuming that timeline would work for you).
3. If that doesn’t work, check if you could start Option A in mid Jan 2024 and Option B with 2.5 months only.
4. If that doesn’t work, I am afraid you will have to pick one,

2) Assuming both start on the same date, which option would you go for and why?

In general, if you want to do consulting later on, option A seems better as it is consulting as well. For a more proper answer, we would need to know the brand name of the companies (some firms might do consulting but not have a strong brand name/focus for MBB/Tier 2).

You can check the possible career paths from the two companies as follows:

1. Look for alumni of the two companies on LinkedIn.
2. Check how many moved to your preferred exits in your target region.
3. Normalize for the size of the companies in the region.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there!

That's a great overview. 

Basically, you need to think about where you want to go. Once that's clear, choosing between the options becomes obvious. 

They're both cool, but if you want to be in consulting after your graduation, then you should go for the firm that does consulting, not the venture capital. And the other way around. 

In terms of negotiating the start dates, I wouldn't push it. Most firms have these periods set to be aligned with their company objectives, availability to coach you and also periods when they have projects that they could staff you on. 

Best,
Cristian

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Congrats on both offers! First given you are doing your MIM next year anyway, I say either will massively sway your MBB/T1 or 2 chances post graduation.

Option A looks like a safer bet if you are dead-set on consulting as relevant industry experience and client experience.

Option B is a bit more of a wildcard which could make you standout particularly in the Digital practices in consulting, assuming you demonstrate enough mgmt/biz acumen during recruitment post-graduation so they take that as a given. Equally this keeps the door open for you in the future if you want to pivot out of consulting, though I might be biased from my time as a VC post-consulting ;)

Overall, you can't wrong with either, and so I'd way up on how certain you are you want to join MBB post INSEAD and also how much relevant traditional industry experience you already have

Hi,

If I were you, I'd just ask if its possible to start a month later. I doubt there is any ‘formal’ cohort structures they are following given the size of them firm (e.g. in MBB there are fixed start dates for graduates because of the formal training programs).

Between the 2, I think it really depends on what you see the objective of the internship as. If you want to rack up consulting related experience, then go for the Italian consulting firm (which is aligned to your end-goal of MBB/T2). But I would say that if you wanted to try and experience VC and see if it's something for you, then the VC experience would be interesting. 

All the best!

Hi there,

Congrats on the offers! Both internships sound like great opportunities.

I am with Ian. If your objective is MBB/T2 consulting, the Italian company looks closer to your final objective. 

I also suggest you reflect on the point and objective of doing two different internships in a row because

1. They would potentially lead you to different career paths (based on your description of the positions)
2. I challenge that having 3 internships (vs 2) on your CV would increase your chances of joining MBB
3. You can also use this time to reinforce other areas of your CV (languages, volunteering work, etc.) or even apply to a full time position

Just my personal thoughts on the limited view I have on your case :)

I hope it helps!

Alberto

Hi there, great choice to have! I'd slightly overweight the VC role given you have already boutique consultancy on your CV. Have a fun time! Frederic 

Hi,

Taking into account you are planning to do a MiM at a top school, IMO it doesn’t really matter which one you choose now as 3-6 months is too short of a period of time to acquire any sort of skills that will necessarily make your profile more competitive to be considered for a top consulting firm.

Although, contrary to what other coaches stated, I gravitate towards an option B more for several reasons:

1. I believe that there’s a steeper learning curve working in a smaller team compared to a larger one as you may take on more responsibilities (you also state yourself there’s more autonomy at this startup) and communicate directly with more senior colleagues;

2. The position at the Italian consulting firm is focused on public sector research in the Middle East region. I’ve worked on public sector consulting projects that involved a lot of research and believe me: it’s not the most exciting work that exists. Besides, you’ll hardly develop any solid consulting skills just doing research;

3. The financial modelling and due diligence skills you’ll gain at a startup may be even more valuable for your future consulting work than the public sector research skills.

The only upside of the option A I see is that it’s 6 months of experience versus 3 months at a startup.

That‘s my take, but it’s impossible to tell which one you should pick for sure as there are many factors you are not yet aware of, such as how strong are the teams at each firm and how well they’ll be treating you.

So if you can push for one more month so that you can do both internships is an ideal option for you. Also, if you can’t move the starting date of the one internship, ask if you can just do less time at the other internship.

Good luck!

Nick

Hi,

if you cannot move the timing by one more month so that you could do both, I would do the 6-months internship with the consulting firm. That will be more relevant for you if your goal is to make into MBB/Tier 2 consulting.

Best of luck

Maybe I am missing something, but option B seems to be much more aligned with what one does in Strategy Consulting (and much more fun in my personal opinion). And you learn about an exciting topic that can be a differentiator.

I hint that you'll be supporting PMO work in option A. However, I don't understand what is meant by “research work” particularly in the context of an implementation project.

Hi there,

First of all, congrats on two offers!

How would you negotiate start dates? Ideally, I would like to do both internships. Option A is 6 months and B is 3 months. Option A did concede to a January start-date but this doesn’t work - I need to push for one more month.

First, do this. Push for 1 month. See if this works, and, if so, easy decision!

If you have to choose 1, I would pick the Italian consultancy. That's because 1) Consulting is closer to…consulting! and 2) It's in Europe (so UK ties) AND projects in Middle East.

(Again, this is given that you said your #1 goal is MBB/Tier 2 in the UK or Middle East)