Wayfair v. In-house Consultancy Junior-Year Internship?

Question

Hi all, I recently received competing junior-year internship offers at Wayfair (business analyst role) and an in-house consultancy (specialized in logistics consulting, small office, globally-recognized parent company). Given that I will likely re-recruit for full-time MBB/T2 roles next fall, what advice do you have as I'm choosing? From LinkedIn searches, it seems that many former Wayfair interns have recently made the jump to full-time consulting at big firms. This precedent is less apparent at the in-house consultancy. At the same time, I think the consultancy's work would be more relevant and I would allow for more proximity to leadership (slight learning advantage). Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the internship offers!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

First of all, I think both internships would help you get invited to a major consulting firm.
Moreover, I would highly advise you to opt for the option that better aligns with your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. In order to make an informed decision, I would advise you to do the following:
- Weigh the different criteria that are meaningful to you independently of the current options (e.g., prestige, culture, location, compensation, international exposure). After that, score the two options based on your criteria and their weighting, resulting in two scores. This way, you have covered the left-brain perspective.
- Critically assess your initial reaction to the outcome of the scores. For instance, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers, this is a solid indicator that you do not want this decision to become reality. This way, you have covered the right-brain perspective.
- By doing so, you will be able to integrate both parts of the brain into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance that you will still be happy with it years later.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 2

The answer really depends on many factors, one of which is your background:

If you already have internships at renowned companies (especially in business development or strategy), the in-house consulting role could be a great way to test if consulting suits you and build a logical career story for MBB applications.
If you lack such prior experience and the in-house consultancy is very small (+ it's narrowly focused), Wayfair might be the better choice. Unfortunately, having a recognizable name on your CV does matter for screening, and Wayfair’s brand would be a strong advantage.

Once again, this is just a general view of a single dimension. Feel free to reach out via DM, and I’d be happy to provide more tailored advice based on your specific situation. Good luck!

Answer 3

Hi there,

I believe that both options are attractive, and it mainly depends on your

previous professional experience: what can you do to make your profile more well-rounded/diverse?
personal preferences: what area would you enjoy working in more?
recruiting experience: where did you like the interactions and culture best?

You can't really go wrong here! ;-)

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 4

hey!

From my point of view, both offers have their advantages. If your goal is to pivot into consulting (particularly MBB/T2), Wayfair's business analyst role might give you strong analytical experience and offer better networking opportunities, given its track record of interns moving to full-time consulting roles. On the other hand, the in-house consultancy could provide more specialized experience in logistics, with direct access to leadership and a potentially deeper understanding of business operations, which can also be valuable. The key is to weigh what will add more value to your profile. From my experience at McKinsey and BCG, working with high-level leadership in a specialized field could be a great way to differentiate yourself, especially if you're looking for a more technical role in consulting later on. However, if your ultimate goal is to transition to MBB or similar firms, Wayfair might give you a broader set of transferable skills and connections.

best, Alessa

Answer 5

The decision depends on your goals and preferences. If your aim is to build a career in consulting, the in-house role at Wayfair offers exposure to strategy in a business context and could provide a strong foundation. However, a consulting firm internship may give broader, more diverse case experience and build your consulting toolkit faster.

Consider which role aligns better with your long-term goals—depth in one company’s strategy or broader consulting exposure. Either can be valuable depending on your aspirations.

Best of luck!