Consulting Internships

Internships are usually offered to penultimate-year students and they always a great way to kick start a career by developing relevant skills and experience in the field that can help you in landing a great job. With the help of experienced professionals, an internship in consulting would give you the necessary skills that would be useful for your future career as well as help you decide if a career in consulting is the right choice for you. Internships give the opportunity for you to work in a real life working environment while gaining valuable experiences along the way and that would help you in possibly becoming a permanent employee in the future.

Benefits of a Consulting Internship1

• Able to build your competencies
During your training in a consulting firm, you will be exposed to responsibilities that require your utmost knowledge, skills and abilities. With the tasks that you get, you will be utilising your critical think aspect, positive work habits and professionalism

• Reflect
Within the short duration of your internship, you can realise if you have chosen the right career path. Questions you may ask yourself are if you feel motivated to get your tasks done? Do you take pressure as positive inspiration? Are you able to get along with people in a face-paced environment? If your answers are positive after the internship then consulting may be for you

• Full-time job offer
If you are able to produce quality output, establish a smooth relationship with colleagues, get constructive feedback and be an active participant, it is most likely that you will be offered an employment contract if the vacant position suits your qualifications

• Broaden network
Even if you don't get offered a full-time position, internships give you the opportunity to meet and work with management consultants and clients that have connections with big companies. In the future, you are able to contact them and seek advice for recommendations and referrals

A few things you can do through an internship that would help you in possibly landing that and making it into a professional career is to2:

• Be responsible
Make sure you arrive on time and are able to prioritise work over social activities

• Demonstrate your initiative
Ask for something to do or when given a task, clarify what you need to do and use resources to get the job done

• Network
Internships give the opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of people that may become helpful in the future so be sure to chat with everyone

• Observe
Use your time to adjust to the work environment with colleagues and what the general atmosphere feels like while trying to see what responsibilities you would be given if you were a permanent employee

What to Expect

There are many different types of consulting internships which can include internships in management, recruitment and environmental.

There are various roles to an internship in management consulting which many include roles in the the front office which that generate income and are client facing, or the back office which are roles like HR and accounting. Management consulting firms in Australia include Oliver Wyman, Deloitte, BCG, PwC, McKinsey, AT Kearney and many more. You may be able to expect tasks such as:

• Explaining organisational situations
• Going through documents and reports
• Analysing critical details

Recruitment consulting involves assisting employers to identify, select and recruit staff and is often linked with HR. You may be able to expect tasks that include:

• Reviewing and placing job advertisements for candidates
• Reference checking, background checks
• Preparing, editing and critiquing resumes
• Participating in recruitment meetings

Seeking an environmental consulting internship will give you the necessary experience and contacts that will help you land a job. Internships in environmental consulting give you the opportunity to work on environmental projects. You can find yourself working in firms such as JBS&G and KMH with tasks that may include:

• Organising projects
• Writing or assisting presentations
• Conducting research
• Laboratory work

Not all consulting firms offer internship programs, however there are also alternatives such as work placements. Look for job fairs and other programs where employers from consulting firms accept on-the-job training applications. If you are able to get the internship opportunity, always make sure to make the most of your experience as they not only provide you an insight of the organisation, but you also encounter with different people that you make network with.

1 consultingfact.com, Management Consulting Internships, 2015
2 TARGETjobs, Getting work as a consulting intern: the basics, 2015