So you're interested in consulting but want to know if an internship in the field is worth your time? Let's dive into what consulting interns actually do day-do-day!
As a consulting intern, these are the tasks you'll generally be expected to do – regardless of the firm you intern at.
Let's now look at what consultants do in two groups of firms: MBB (McKinsey, Bain, and BCG) and the Big 4 (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC).
Usually, you'll start with about a week of training.
So when you enter the firm's introduction week, first of all, obviously you have all the IT, and they give you the computer, they give you obviously the security and privacy policies from the company, and then you meet all the interns. My class is super, super fun, and then you just get accustomed to ... how the firm works.
At least in my case, there were professionals and actual employees from the firm that explained to you how the process works, how we approach cases, and how we approach our clients and the clients' relationships and privacy policies specifically, super important in this job.
And there's a lot of social events. We went golfing, we went to a game, we had a lot of free food. I literally didn't even cook anything during my first internship week, it was amazing, so much free food.
So that's induction week, introduction week, it was amazing. The firm truly shows you and does, like, what the firm is about, and you feel truly, truly welcome to be there, and you feel part of the firm even though you're not, you're just started out. So it was actually super, super nice, they treat interns super nicely.
– Intern @ Bain
After training, you'll be put on an actual project and assigned to work on a small part of it.
You will:
- Join a real team working on a project for a client,
- Work on a small part of a larger project,
- Own the end-to-end recommendation for that small piece of the project,
- Work directly with a project manager,
- Interact with partners and clients, and
- Have visible impact on client deliverables!
Here's a typical day-in-the-life of an MBB consulting intern on a project.
At 8:00 a.m, we do a check-in and then I would do some of like my own work till around 11:30 12. I'd have like 30 minutes for lunch and then I would keep working until like 5.
During the day, it'll be things like talking to the client, gathering research talking to my team, getting feedback, doing training sessions, and then at 5 we would check out and I would take like an hour and a half break to eat dinner, go for a walk, do those sort of things.
And then after that I would log back on. I wouldn't do meetings but I would do work for another 2-3 hours until it's bedtime.
But Fridays are always more relaxed we had like half days there would be like happy hours and lunches and then I never ever did weekend work. ...
I'd say 60% is slide decks and excel, then like 20% client interactions, and then 20% is like learning about a topic, communicating internally with your team, making client deliverables and then transitioning out of the project that you're in.
Your team is created to solve problems and normally your day starts off with a team meeting where you start solving the problem together. We’ll break up the problem into different parts, break off and solve our individual problems and then come back as a team to discuss it. ...
I get to the client site at 9 AM. We normally have a team check-in to go over research we presented and get critiques.
From that meeting till noon, I’ll spend my time making changes based on the feedback and doing research.
At noon, I’d go out for lunch with someone from the team or my manager. We’d be back by 1 PM, but it was never a rush.
From there, I’d focus on my specific workstream and reach out to experts if I had any questions.
At 5 PM, there was team problem solving and everyone would regroup from the morning check-in, go over the problem and pain points and report on their specific workstream.
And then at 6:30 PM, we’d normally go out for team dinner and I’d finish any work I had after that in my hotel room by 10 PM.
What are the positives and negatives? Positives tend to be related to learning.
The people ... They're always willing to lend a hand, like I talk to random partners I just reach out to because I want to learn about a certain topic. They would always put time on their calendar for me. ...
I also think the learning curve is really unique you're learning a lot about a lot very quickly and the trade-off is that it's stressful but like in two years you probably know about like five or six topics equally as well as an expert in my industry because you've gone so deep into the industry which is really cool.
So first of all is that since I'm working on a research-based study, I am deeply learning a lot about the industry I'm working in and its trends specifically. So I did not think I will have such a big learning experience during my summer, but in just three weeks I have been able to learn about the industry I'm working in a lot, a lot, a lot, which I think it's great and it gives me a lot of insight that I never thought I would have. ...
Another final point that I truly like about the firm in general is that because it's such a global firm, you have a lot of global help, in a way. ...
Let's say I'm researching about something related to China or Taiwan. I can reach out to experts in the firm that have worked with those projects before and ask them about, 'Hey, can you help me with this?'
So something that my project has given me is that I've been able to talk with a lot of experts but also firm members and learn from them and gather their insights on previous projects that relate to actually mine. So having that interaction with experts that know a lot about the industry has been a very nice perk about my project so far.
– Intern @ Bain
Negatives are related to the hours and the specific type of project you might get, which may not involve client work.
I think the hours are pretty difficult. I don't think it's a typical nine to five. I think a lot of the times, things change day to day and you have to adapt to that.
So the cons about my project so far, first of all, is that since my project is a "knowledge creation" kind of project, I don't get to be in site with the clients in a way. For example, I have a lot of friends, fellow interns, that are going to actual client sites, and because they're working more strategic kind of projects.
Since I'm working more knowledge creation, I don't get to experience that face-to-face client relation, which is also something I was hoping to have but it was not the case for this case. So you won't always get to speak with clients and see what they need, etc., etc., depending on the project you have.
And another con I will say is that because this project was knowledge creation based, giving an intern that has no idea what's going on and putting them on a project for the first week, like I remember my first week, I had no idea what was going on. I was like, 'I'm so lost, this is horrible.' ... And honestly, my first week was kind of bad.
But then, instead of staying quiet, I spoke with my manager, I spoke with my professional development manager, ... I also spoke with other firm members and my fellow interns, and I just spoke about how I was feeling. And then with my manager, I was able to establish a very defined work stream and taking it step by step.
And in the difference between week one and the week two and three that I've been working on, has been such a difference. And I've been able to work a lot and not feel frustrated and actually feel part of the team. So it has been a very nice experience so far.
– Intern @ Bain
We have a lot of survey data from junior consultants who participated in internships as students. Some of these former interns mentioned doing minor, administrative tasks.
A lot of admin and following instructions from senior staff. Good experience to what it would be like to work as a permanent staff. Internship definitely made it easier to secure a permanent role
– Junior consultant @ KPMG
During my internship the teams were fairly quiet, but it was good to gain general business experience and perform minor tasks.
– Junior consultant @ EY
Some interns got to do real client work.
Thrown into the job and had immediate responsibiity on client work. Lots of guidance though. No unrealistic expectations from the team
– Junior consultant @ PwC
You are valued as a team member and are given responsibility (it is not just an admin - coffee run/printing internship). Team members are supportive and interested in the areas of growth and share their experiences with you.
– Junior consultant @ KPMG
I was thrown very much in the deep-end in terms of client work. I embraced this and seemed to thrive in it.
– Junior consultant @ KPMG
Some said it was tough.
It was a 6 week interview.
– Junior consultant @ PwC
It was very important in securing my job, it was a tough experience but the value and knowledge from it was great.
– Junior consultant @ PwC
Many former interns said that their Big 4 internships helped them see if the firm was right for them.
Was a great experience to be able to work at the company before securing a job and work oout what area best suits me
– Junior consultant @ PwC
It was very important for me to immerse myself in the company culture and gain first hand experience in working at the company. It also gave the company the opportunity to learn about my working style and assess whether I would fit in well with the team.
– Junior consultant @ KPMG
It was very similar to the work I do in my current role and it was very important to securing the job. What is important to remember is it is a two way street though and that whilst the company will be evaluating performance, each candidate needs to consider if the company is a good fit for them and somewhere they would like to work long term.
– Junior consultant @ PwC
We hope this gives you a better idea of what it's like to be a consulting intern. And if you're still on the hunt for a promising opportunity, check out all the internships we have in the field of consulting!