Summer Internship Before Full-time MBB Recruiting
Hi guys,
I am currently a Junior at a target school assessing options for this coming summer. I want to pursue MBB during full-time recruiting but have already been dinged from 2/3 of them after first round during internship recruiting. I have BCG final round this Friday but want to think about options should that not work out. What would be the best experience leading up to full-time recruiting?
If BCG doesn't work out I will be choosing between a tier 2 consulting firm (think OW, ATK) and Corporate Strategy for a Middle Market IB. What would be the best option here? I don't have much interest in finance but have heard that it can be great preparation for transitioning to consulting. On the other hand, I know that I want to pursue consulting but have heard that working at a perceived "lower-tier" firm could affect my chances during full-time.
Currently leaning slightly towards the tier 2 consulting option. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Take tier 2. You'll learn a ton and know if consulting is what you want. Also, it'll look good as your fit part will be much more convincing given that you've actually worked in the industry for a bit. Last, internship places are more competitive than FT so you'll be able to interview again if you had a solid impression
I am a college senior who just got an MBB offer so take it with a grain of salt. I am no expert. This summer I worked at a small boutique consulting firm and got some great experience. A lot of things I could talk about in interviews. That said, I've heard that firms love all three of those types of work, so I don't think you can go wrong. Go with the one you think you fit culturally the most and would get experiences. Also, more importantly, network as much as you can.
From what I've seen MBBs really like a consulting background, even from a "second tier firm". The other responses answer your question well: It shows you know what you're getting into and that you appreciate the work and responsibilities. I even heard about some Western European offices who actively favored applicants with consulting experience over bigger names outside consulting, but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
Nevertheless, I would recommend basing your decision on cultural fit in your case. All options are good if not great, so I would choose the environment in which I am better positioned to perform well.
This is critical to know. I am a junior at a target and will go through MBB on-campus full-time recruiting next year. What is the best internship for me? Do you really think a boutique consultant is greater than, say, a summer analyst internship at Goldman Sachs? I know from my school that it's common to do finance and then transition into full-time consulting. Anyone have thoughts on this?
Boutique consulting can be great if you're trying to stay within a niche, which could mean going from e.g. Putnam, Captech or Bridgespan to MBB in their pharma/biotech, digital or NGO areas, respectively. Other than that, they will be a good name but probably not as good as a decent position in IB/CorpDev (probably PE, too) at a major firm (BBs, F100 firms, etc.).
In my opinion, "tier 2" consulting firms are seen a bit differently. You might not be as prestigious as a GS, Google, etc. in the eyes of the public, but your day-to-day job is likely to be quite similar to what you would do at a MBB. Also, having some implementation/ops experience is an asset if you want to do strategy work since you can anticipate some challenges down the road, which adds value. Therefore, I would consider a "tier 2" internship over a boutique if you are not focused on a specific area of expertise.
In the end, you're weighing great options (boutique, prestigious non-consulting firm, "tier 2") against each other. I wouldn't worry too much about it and take the one with which you feel the best fit. Beyond the internship itself, how you perform during it matters a lot, too.
Obviously t2.
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