What kinds of internships should I do to get into MBB?

Question

Hello!

I'm currently doing my Bachelor in business administration and I'm wondering what kind of internships I could do that increase my chances to get an offer at McK, BCG, Bain, or other top consulting firm? Like what are very prestigous internships that MBB like to see on my record?

Answer 1

A few companies that you could intern with to increase your MBB chances are:

Consolidated tech companies (e.g. Facebook, Google, LinkedIn)
New, fast-growth tech companies (e.g. Uber, Deliveroo, Tesla)
Entrepreneurial programs (e.g. EntrepreneurFirst, Rocket Internet)
Entrepreneurial adventures (e.g. joining a 10 person start-up in Shangai, and really taking ownership for its development)
Investment banking (e.g. Goldman Sachs)

These names and experiences will be very helpful in the first screening to get you your first interview. However, it is very important that you really do take ownership of the work you do during the summer and deliver impactful results. The stories you tell during the interviews will have a major influence on the outcome.

On another note, internships aren't the only way to help you get an MBB offer. You can focus on some of the following things which should help strengthen your intrinsic skills and your performance in consulting interviews:

Deepen a genuine personal/professional interest that allows you to be more interesting/credible. Your passion will attract people towards you and make you someone they want to work with (i.e. extend you a job offer).
Find more leadership role within your community that really makes a difference. Really learn what it means to lead/be part of a group of people towards a challenging common goal.
Broaden your knowledge/understanding with a range of completely new and relevant topics. Deepen your understanding by being able to logically develop a personal perspective on any topic instead of regurgitating what you have read or heard.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to send me a message.

Answer 2

Hi,

First of all, why don't you want to apply to MBB now? Why do you need these extra steps?

Then options:

Startup - I don't think it's a good option, unless its a big tech. You'll not get a brand. Moreover, Bus dev function in a small startup is the least useful. The only great scenario is a Saas startup where you start as bizdev and build the sales function from a scratch, becoming VP of sales. But I doubt that you can do it with no prior experience
Controlling - better, but quite boring. Consultants don't like auditors:)
IB - here it is. It will give you similar skills as consulting. Go for it

Best

Answer 3

A top tier consulting firm might be looking to very different kind of profiles, depending on its needs or on the trends of the market.

At that level, I think the applicants that impress them the most are the ones with an excellent GPA and an internship experience in a very selective company. Due to the short length of an internship it is rare that the person is able to develop a deep expertise in the industry or the business area covered so the consulting firm would prioritize the ones that successfully went throguh a selection process that is similar to the one they have. This can be considered a good benchmark for how the candidate will perform in the interviews and, eventually, on the job. The first kind of companies that come to my mind are Investment Banks and other top tier consulting firms but there are several others (like the Googles or Apples even thoguh I haven't found many people that switched from those companies to consulting).

A different case can be made for people that spend 2+ years working, in this case it can be highly regarded also someone who doesn't have a top tier employer name on his / her CV but that developed a significant expertise in a specific topic, say operations.

Best,

marco

Answer 4

Hey anonymous,

I agree with Vlad that the start-up is most likely your worst option.

However, I tend to disagree on the rank of the remaining two options: I would go for the controlling role. before doing my MBA, I would agree that the IB role could give you additional skills and easier to fit in consulting afterwards, but today I've a completely different view - most of my IB colleagues failed big time in securing an offer from any MBB (the skillset is completely different and I felt completely disappointed when I mcok interview them!). On the other hand, controlling, despite looking a bit boring for some people, prepare you much better for a consulting interview (you will master as few the concepts of profitability and how to play around it!).

Btw, I used to work as a financial controller for two years before joining McKinsey, so it's really first hand knowledge (and controlling is not auditing!!!).

Best

Bruno