Consulting, Business Strategy

Many consulting firms hire for both internship and full-time roles. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t successful in the summer internship hiring process. Summer intern recruiting is an important process that helps you develop connections and become more of a known entity with firms. Staying connected with the people you have met demonstrates your interest and commitment to the field and can help your candidacy if you apply for a full-time opportunity. If you do get an offer for the summer, the main goal of the summer internship should be to see if consulting is a good fit for you, and if it is, to parlay the internship into a full-time offer.

Quantitative skills are valued, and firms will even look at SAT/ACT or GRE/GMAT scores for evidence of quantitative aptitude. Furthermore, demonstrated ability to work in a team is extremely important. That is partly why consulting firms use the case interview method – to evaluate your ability to solve a problem aloud and to structure and articulate your thought process to a teammate or client. Finally, it is important to remember that consulting is a client-facing industry. It is important to use face-to-face opportunities to demonstrate “core skills,” like communication skills, poise under pressure, and confidence.

Graduate school is not required to work in consulting or strategy. However, hiring organizations may look for more experienced candidates from a wide range of fields and disciplines, including business, law, medicine, and PhD programs for higher level positions within their organization. In particular, many consulting firms hire out of MBA programs, as well as other advanced degrees.