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If you're considering a career as a consultant, a
summer internship is a great way to learn more about the business, find
the firm that best fits your style, and add some real-world experience
to your resume.
Competition Is Fierce
Consulting is a popular choice among business majors. Firms offer higher
entry-level salaries and better benefits than most companies in the
financial services or technology industries. Consultants also get to
work inside Fortune 500 companies and meet high-ranking executives who
can help them further their careers.
It shouldn't come as a surprise then that competition for internships at
top-tier firms is intense. Applicants must prove their merit before they
even get in the door. PricewaterhouseCoopers receives more than 75,000
resumes annually for fewer than 250 summer intern positions. Candidates
are expected to have a 4.0 GPA, letters of recommendation from
recognized faculty members, and a substantial extracurricular portfolio.
Other top firms will consider only candidates who have a personal
recommendation from a current staff member.
How to Get the Job
Begin by networking. Find out if anyone you know works for or knows
someone who works at the firm you�d like to join. �[At the end of my
junior year,] I was talking to one of my professors about what I wanted
to do after graduation,� says Denise Shainer, a recent Carnegie Mellon
graduate. �He asked me where I was planning to [do an] internship. When
I said I�d been trying to set something up with KPMG, he put me in touch
with one of his former students who worked there. She helped me get an
interview, and I was ultimately offered an internship.�
Next, you should go to company websites and familiarize yourself with
their projects and goals. Also thoroughly review recruiting materials
for any special requirements. For example, many firms accept
applications only during very specific windows of time. �One recruiter
told me that if I had gotten my resume in a few days sooner, I would
have probably made the callback list,� says one recent B-school grad who
asked not to be named.
font class="text" Lastly, be willing to apply to and interview with smaller, so-called
boutique agencies, such as Gartner or Value Partners. Although such
firms have fewer positions available, they often provide interns with
more direct, hands-on experience and mentorship opportunities. �I
[interned] at Value Partners and worked closely with a senior consultant
there," says Gail Sheedy, now a consultant at Cap Gemni. "I learned a
lot from her, and she has remained one of my best contacts."
The Interview
Consulting-internship interviews can be intimidating and often involve
multiple visits with various members of the staff. You�ll be tested on
your ability to think on your feet and probed to see if you're a good
personality fit for the firm.
�At my second [Arthur] Andersen interview,� says Steve Keller, a senior
at Boston University, �the recruiter started asking me some off-the-wall
questions, like which Survivor cast member I resembled most. It threw me
for a second, before I realized what he was really getting at.�
Your interviewer will probably ask you to complete at least one case
study. These problem-solving exercises are designed to see how well you
know your target industry. Case studies test your strategic and
analytical skills and measure how well you function under pressure.
On the Job
Interns typically earn more than $25 an hour, but expect to work as long
and hard as the full-time consultants you support, without the benefit
of overtime pay.
Many firms lack adequate support staff and expect new recruits,
particularly interns, to take up the slack. �Interning at
PricewaterhouseCoopers was like being a serf,� says Evan Juliano. �I
answered to ten different consultants, and was expected to do anything
and everything they asked me to do, including getting their cars washed
and picking up their dry cleaning.�
�I usually started before six a.m. and left after seven p.m.,� says
Denise Shainer, a former KPMG intern. But, she adds, �[the money I
earned] more than made up for the long hours and intense workload.�
And despite his serfdom, Juliano says, �The best thing about interning
at Pricewaterhouse was the recognition I got when I applied for a
permanent position.� Many students who excel as interns are asked to
join the company after graduation.
�We are always looking for quality candidates,� says Nan Jacobs, a
recruiter for Deloitte Consulting. �If an intern proves [to] have the
right stuff, we will want to keep that person in mind for a permanent
position.� |
