Taking days off from internship to attend recruiting events

Hey everyone,

I'm in a sticky situation. I am going to be interning at a tier 2 consulting firm (think Oliver Wyman, Kearney etc.) later this year. I have been selected to attend two recruiting events at two of the MBB firms that include an interview for an internship afterwards, and very much want to attend, but the events are going to be happening during my internship period at the tier 2 firm. Thus, I am wondering if it is fine to ask for days off to attend these recruiting events or if this is something I definitely should avoid doing? I would be missing a Thursday and a Friday one week, and a Friday the week after. I could also reschedule my internship for a different period, but am afraid that would mean I would not have time to pursue a potential internship at one of these MBB firms. Any thoughs on this are greatly appreciated :)

 
Most Helpful

I can only tell you what I would do. I would take the days off (if you are entitled to them during your internship, you are free to use them as you wish). You might want to prepare an answer for the "Why do you want to join us if you already have an internship at [T2 shop name here]?"

That last part should not be too difficult (e.g., More strategy-oriented work/better practice in industry X), so take your pick. I wouldn't necessarily reschedule the internship for the T2 shop, assuming that you can indeed take days off during (3 days off across two weeks may be a bit much, but worth checking what the allocation is).

Good luck for those, and well done for your already-secured internship!

 

I don't think I've ever seen an intern take days off outside of medical requirements. Most intern programs don't include PTO or days off. It'd be a bad look with OW to take a Thursday-Friday off then a Friday

OP, have you informed MBB of the conflict with your internship? There's a good chance they'll respect the conflict and find a way to interview you

 

There’s a saying that goes “A bird in the hand is worth more than two and the bush.” That saying applies to you greatly. Don’t take the days off and blow your chances of a return offer for the Tier 2 consulting firm (which is still quite respectable) for a chance to interview (note no internship or even super-day guaranteed) at MBB. An internship is only 10 weeks and thus as the other poster mentioned you are expected to be there every day excepting medical emergencies.

Array
 

I'd 100% take the days off, no question. Ask for them off for vacation. They don't need to know more than that, and it'd be insane to not get any days off at all during the summer of an internship. Even the interns on my teams at Bain took time off. No one takes you too seriously and you're not mission critical to the project, so please take them off as a vacation.

Remember, always be kind-hearted.
 

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