Are you a student with your heart set on becoming a consultant? If so, getting a summer internship at a consulting firm will help you to achieve your goal. In this post, we will share tips on how to get a consulting internship.
Ways to strengthen your consulting internship application
Here are some tips for making a successful consulting internship application:
1. Do some Pro Bono consulting work
Look out for opportunities to do some voluntary consulting work. As a university student, there are a few organisations that you can join to gain consulting experience.
Here are some examples:
180 Degrees Consulting
180 Degrees consulting provides socially conscious organisations with consulting services. The organisation connects top university students with companies in need of consulting services to help with improving marketing, expansion, measure impact and more.
There are many benefits of joining 180 Degrees consulting:
- Gain hands-on work experience
- Get professional training
- Experience what a career in consulting would be like
- Develop your problem-solving skills
Visit their website to find out how you can apply to become a consultant at 180 Degrees Consulting.
First Step Consulting
First step consulting is a non-profit social enterprise. It helps organisations to refine their business strategies and capitalise on growth opportunities.
Students can volunteer as a management consulting volunteer. 89% of First Step Consulting volunteers report feeling more confident about their career prospects after completing the programme.
How to get a consulting internship top tip: Gaining these voluntary experiences will help you to develop a wide range of skills that are required for consultants such as problem-solving and communication skills.
Having this experience will help your CV to stand out and boost your internship application.
2: Complete a virtual consulting internship
You can complete a virtual consulting internship online on a site called InsideSherpa.
InsideSherpa hosts a wide range of company-backed, free open access virtual internships.
A wide range of top companies have joined the platform to host their virtual internships and digital experiences.
Here are some free virtual consulting experiences that you may be interested in:
Deloitte Tech Consulting Virtual Internship – on this programme, you’ll learn about cloud engineering, tech strategy & innovation and optimisation and delivery. This programme takes between 5-6 hours to complete.
Accenture Future Innovator in Training – this programme will give you an insight into what it is like working on a project that mirrors the skills the team members at Accenture demonstrate in the workplace.
InsideSherpa have specific guidelines outlining how to include this experience on your CV.
These experiences will demonstrate your passion for a career in consulting and show that you have an idea of what the job will entail.
3. Attend Networking Events and open days
Attending networking events will give you the opportunity to speak to professionals in the industry directly. Getting first-hand insights from consultants will help you to send higher-quality consulting internship applications.
Many of the top consultancy firms attend careers fairs and host open days.
Join Bright Network
Bright Network hosts several events each year specifically for students who aspire to become consultants.
The events give students the opportunity to meet staff from consulting companies.
You can then mention your attendance to these events on your CV and LinkedIn profile.
4. Understand what type of consulting role you would like to go into
Consulting is the professional practice of providing an organisation with expert advice.
Consultants work in a wide range of industries. They typically specialise in a specific area such as:
- Management consulting
- Strategy consulting
- Technology consulting
- Human resource consulting
Tip: when sending your consulting internship application, make it clear that you understand the different types of consulting roles.
5. Prepare adequately for your consulting internship
You will need to pass interviews in order to successfully get a place on a consulting internship programme.
Consulting interviews are typically split into two halves: a personal interview and case study questions.
It is really important that you understand the structure of the interview and what graduate recruiters are looking for.
Get Interview Coaching
Performing highly in interviews is a lifelong skill. As we are not taught how to do well in interviews during our academic careers, many students and graduates find them difficult. You can give yourself a competitive advantage in interviews by getting interview coaching.
Here at Graduate Coach, we offer interview coaching for students and graduates who aspire to become consultants. We have helped candidates to get offers from professional services companies such as PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and Accenture.
We hope our guide on how to get a consulting internship has been useful. Consulting internships and graduate schemes are very competitive so it is important to make your application stand out.
You might also like…
- Effective tips for writing a cover letter for an internship
- The Smart Internship Guide: Everything you need to know about completing an internship while at Uni
FAQs
How to get a consulting internship with no experience?
If you would like to apply for consulting internships but do not have any experience yet, leverage the transferable skills from your extracurricular or academic experiences. You can also complete a virtual consulting internship within 5-6 hours on InsideSherpa to provide you with some insights into consulting.
When should I apply for consulting internships?
Consulting summer internships at large companies are usually open for students in their second year of university to apply for.
How to get an internship at BCG
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is an American management consultancy firm. With over 90 offices in 50 different countries.
Consulting interns at BCG generally spend 2-3 months with the firm. Some interns at BCG get the opportunity to travel giving them the opportunity to meet other interns.
Find out more about how to apply for the consulting internship at BCG.
Featured Photo by Lukas Kloeppel from Pexels
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