Accepting an internship when I have a full-time offer lined up

Hi there, 

This is hilarious! I love your honesty. 

Sorry to hear though that you're strained financially and need to take the internship for this reason. If you didn't have this problem you could just relax for a bit before you start working. 

I don't see how taking the internship would be an issue with BCG. I don't believe it's necessary to disclose it to them, but to be extra sure have a read through the contract offer they probably sent you already. 

You can also read more HERE on some tips about how to navigate the first few months as a consultant. 

Best,

Cristian

Hello,

Congratulations on receiving the offers!

1. As long as there is no overlap of being employed at both the companies, you should ideally be fine. 

2. There is no harm in quickly checking with your HR contact at BCG if this is okay. Most likely, they will say that if you complete your internship before the start of your contract at BCG, there shouldn't be a problem.

3. What you should also do is manage expectations at the place that you are doing the internship. If they're looking to hire someone full time then you should let them know that you have already signed a full time offer, so that they can look for someone else to continue your work/project.

All the best,

Rushabh

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offers! In terms of your question:

Q: Does anyone have any idea if it's going to be an issue to take the internship? Do I have to disclose it to BCG?  

There should not be any issue and you don’t need to disclose it if you don’t want, unless there is something stated in terms of that in any of your contracts.

The main thing you want to check is if the non-disclosure in the first internship creates any conflict with the BCG one.

Instead of taking the first internship, you might also ask BCG if there is an option to start in July instead.

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

Refreshing to see a straight shooter that doesn't beat around the bush - you'll make a great Senior Partner one day :)

I say go for it! There's no reason in the world I can think of as to why BCG would have any issues with this, so long as it doesn't interfere with you FT position.

You will be able to gain more experience and take a peak under the hood of the competition, even if only a small boutique firm. Both is great and will be appreciated by BCG.

And should anyone ever ask, save the BS and give the same explanation as you did here.

Keep up the good work!

Best,

Moritz

Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for a lot of users, thus I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• It is generally acceptable to take on an internship while also holding a full-time job offer, as long as the internship does not conflict with the start date or other terms of the full-time offer – what should be the case with you. However, it is important to be transparent with both firms about your commitments and to ensure that you are able to fulfill your obligations to both firms.
• It may be a good idea to discuss your plans with the boutique firm to ensure that they are aware that you have a full-time job offer starting in November and to confirm that the internship will not conflict with your start date at BCG. It is also generally a good idea to disclose the internship to BCG and to discuss your plans with them to ensure that they are aware of your commitment to the boutique firm and to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on what to do in your specific situation, please feel free to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Your contract of employment with BCG starts in November so, in theory, you should be fine to do an internship before. 

I would read your BCG employment contract just to make sure you aren't bounded by any clause regarding working for companies that may be competitors to BCG / clients of BCG which you may need to disclose. The same thing goes for the internship employment contract, where you may want to avoid signing a non-compete.

Disclaimer - This is not legal advice

Hi there,

Logistically this makes sense!

Legally, just be careful. You need to check with BCG on this (at a minimum check the contract).

An employer typically has no right of restricting you in any way before you actually start there. If money is your bottleneck, you could ask BCG if they could move up your starting date or give you an advance on the signing bonus (if you get one) so you can get situated.

Otherwise you’d be forced to take on another job in the interim to make ends meet and BCG wouldn’t be able to veto that. If that job ended up being an internship with another consulting firm, it should actually be good for them too because you already learn the ropes of consulting somewhat and will be better prepared to hit the ground running when you do start with them.

The downside is that you will likely leave scorched earth with the boutique consulting firm in case they extend an offer - although, depending on how you communicate it, they should understand that it is a no brainer to choose BCG over them.

Good luck

Hey there,

That is not an issue at all! Enjoy both experiences and all the best!

However, if you already have an offer with BCG, you could ask them for an earlier start date. Worth a shot!

Cheers,

Florian

I don't see why that would be an issue. I would suggest, however, that you reach out to BCG to check if they are willing ot anticipate your starting date.