Full-time role application directly after rejected internship application?

Question

Dear experts,

Do you know whether it is possible to apply for a full-time consultany role (at MBB and Tier2) shortly (<12months) after a rejection of an internship application? Assume situation for Germany.

I am considering applying for an internship at MBB now (internship in fall/winter) even though my main goal is to apply for full-time positions by end of year. I do not want to risk being rejected when applying for full-time due to a lack of work experience - but on the other hand I do not want to risk being banned from applying for full-time positions by end of 2019 if my internship application was unsuccessful.

My Situation: I will graduate (PhD) by end of year and would like to apply for full time positions then. I am unsure if I might need to do another internship before as I firstly do not have much work experience in absolute terms (only 1 internship in DAX30 strategy, 1 internship in unknown startup, 1 working student position at DAX30 M&A project, student consulting club projects) and secondly have an ample academic background (several BSc+MSc degrees) making my work experience appear even less. When speaking with recruiters of consulting firms I was told I needed to do at least one more internship at DAX30 strategy or just that I was lacking work experience (both this feedback was before the DAX30 strategy internship). I do not want to do another DAX30 strategy internship, only a consulting internship, if additional internship is needed.

Your advice on this subject will be highly appreciated :)

Best

Anna

Answer 1

Hi,

No, if you had a reject for the internship it's valid for at list a year. However, I know many cases when the candidates were invited earlier if they participated in various McKinsey events, case competitions, etc. In all of these cases, the Firm asked the candidate to apply.

Best!

Answer 2

Thank you very much for your quick reply, Vlad. Does your answer apply to McKinsey only or to (which) other consulting firms aswell?

What would you recommend me to do from your experience? Use my only chance for an internship (as this might be easier to get) or full-time application (as this is my ultimate goal)?

Anna