Offers for tier 2 consulting (ATK / LEK) and top 5 BBIB - What is better for MBB? [AUSTRALIA]

Hello everyone. My first post so I'll make this worth your while.

I am in my penultimate year. I currently have two offers for summer internships in Australia. One is for a "tier 2" consulting firm (think ATK / LEK). The other is with a top bulge bracket Investment Bank in Australia - which I have already accepted since it was offered a month ago.

My question is which one should I take? My ideal end goal is MBB Australia, hoping to get any advice I can. Specifically which internship would set me up more for graduate applications into MBB??

My thought process at the moment:

T2 Consulting:
- Shows interest in consulting
- Develop consulting skills
- Learn less? (Since I am more familiar with consulting)

BBIB:
- Great learning experience
- Shows I can work my ass off
- Get taste for banking which I may never get the opportunity to do again
- Already accepted offer (Reneging may haven negative effects)

Appreciate the help

 
consultantlife101:
BigPicture:

tier 2

(2) when i interviewed undergrad seniors in the US with banking internships, I was always suspect if consulting was just a safety choice and they really wanted banking

This.

Not necessarily. Some students generally go in and find that banking is really not for them. I know many that struggled with the decision between banking and consulting - an internship is a fine way to try out a path with very little risk.

If you are dead set on consulting, then take the Tier 2 offer. If however, you are unsure about which job you'd enjoy more, then I would say seriously consider the banking offer. The experience is highly sought after in consulting firms anyways if you change your mind after the summer.

Hope this helps.

 

Just finished up interning at one of MBB in Australia. My take: go with the top-tier bank. There were many more people with top banking/law internships at my firm than with second-tier consulting internships. I wouldn't underestimate the value of the brand signal.

Of course, this means that you won't have had any consulting experience before you end up applying for full-time positions, but if you're "already familiar" with consulting, that might not be such a big deal.

(Your mileage may vary - in the end, do what you want to do)

 
Best Response
Laocoon:

Just finished up interning at one of MBB in Australia. My take: go with the top-tier bank. There were many more people with top banking/law internships at my firm than with second-tier consulting internships. I wouldn't underestimate the value of the brand signal.

This has nothing to do with brand signal; it's more a function of how many interns there are in each industry. Banks do most of their hiring during internship recruiting, while consulting firms wait until full-time recruiting.

Both options will be fine for full-time recruiting (in terms of passing the resume test.) The only thing you may need to worry about is timing. I don't know how it is in Australia, but banking interns in the U.S. usually get FT offers with very quick deadlines and need to interview early for consulting if they want to give it a shot. That usually leaves them with less time to prep for the case interviews.

 

Thanks for the thoughts everyone, really appreciate it.

It sounds like T2 consulting would be more valuable from a recruitment perspective since it does demonstrate a proven interest in consulting.

@"Laocoon" I've only heard of Perth getting MBB internships so I presume you are there, but anyhow do you think the fact there are more people with top banking / law internships is because there are less T2 consulting spots offered? Just curious

Also another idea I have is to try to negotiate to have both somehow - eg. Defer 1st semester uni to do T2, or try to change start / end dates. Does anyone know of this occurring, or have any tips on how to actually do this (if at all?)

 

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